Balancing the Active Power of a Railway Traction Power Substation with an sp-RPC

Abstract

The railway system is one of the safest, most efficient, and environmentally friendly means of land transport for people and goods. However, as the demand for mobility has increased, the current railway system has shown some weaknesses, requiring an increase in catenary power in order to be able to supply power to longer trains and faster locomotives, as well as to increase rail traffic. This paper proposes a control algorithm to be implemented in a sectioning post-Rail Power Conditioner (sp-RPC). The sp-RPC is connected to the neutral section between two traction power substations (TPS). With the control algorithm, it is possible to minimize the existing unbalance of the active powers of each TPS. In a regenerative braking condition, this surplus energy can be used to assist the traction of another locomotive on the existing overhead line. In this way, it is possible to increase the capacity of the overhead line. The analysis was performed with computer models using a modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology for the sp-RPC. Quantitative results for different consumption events of the locomotives and the analysis of the response to these variations are presented.

Broadband Power Line Communication in Railway Traction Lines: A Survey

“…In the far field, the emissions undergo mutual cancellation owing to the inherent symmetry present in the system [61]; this symmetry generally stands because of the power balance maintained across each phase of the transmission power system (TPS). But, this balance can occasionally be disrupted for uneven power consumption among locomotives connected to each catenary [62,63], or unpredictable meteorological events. This is an issue for the railway system as well, which is contrasted by means of rail power conditioners (RPCs) [64] or power electronics converter [65], which help in restoring the equilibrium and mitigating any associated problems.…”

Research on Low-Frequency Stability under Emergency Power Supply Scheme of Photovoltaic and Battery Access Railway Traction Power Supply System

“…At present, the railway power conditioners (RPCs) that utilize single-phase inverters to connect multiple source devices from the traction side have received frequent attention due to their excellent comprehensive performance [9]. The authors of [10][11][12][13][14] studied the unbalanced power compensation and harmonic control of the traction power supply systems with different RPC topologies. In [15], the train braking energy was recycled and reused through a RPC in conjunction with battery devices.…”

Research on the Energy Management Strategy of a Hybrid Energy Storage Type Railway Power Conditioner System

“…Nowadays, "low-carbon development" has become an important concept in global economic development and the implementation of low-carbon transportation is one of the important measures [1,2]. High-speed railways have become an important way of lowcarbon transportation due to their advantages of energy saving, environmental protection, and convenience [3,4]. As the mileage of high-speed railway operations increases, energy consumption by railways will continue to rise.…”