Method and Program for Calculating the Energy Intensity of Electric-Railway Transportation

Abstract

A method for calculating consumption of electric power for the motion of a freight or passenger train is proposed. This method enables determination of the energy needed to implement the traction force of the moving axles of the locomotive without taking into account technological losses in electric-supply-traction devices and an electric-traction drive. Energy-intensity is defined as an indicator of the specific power consumed for acceleration, ascension on slopes, and overcoming of resistance to the motion of train measured in watt-hours per ton of train mass and kilometer of distance traveled (W h/(t km)). The method is based on simulation of the train motion using an approximated time dependence of speed and a physical and mathematical solution of the equation of motion. This technique yields the functional dependence of five variables: the distance traveled, the duration of motion, the steady-state speed, and the acceleration and deceleration of motion. The obtained characteristics of train motion are used in designing individual sections of a line with intense traffic and determining the expected power consumption. A calculation method and a program have been developed for a railway line that consists of individual physical legs of a route with specified traffic parameters, which yields the average specific consumption of electric power by the line under design. A procedure is proposed for separate stages of designing high-speed and heavy-weight electric-traction routes.