ELECTRIC TRACTION

SYSTEM
CONTENT

• 1.1 introduction
• 1.2 system of traction
• 1.3 advantages and disadvantage
• 1.4 Requirement of traction system
• 1.5 selection of motor for traction
ELECTRIC TRACTION
INTRODUCTION

• A system which causes the propulsion of vehicle in which tractive or driving force
is obtained from various devices such as diesel engine drives, steam engine
drives, electric motors, etc. is called as traction system.
• It can also be defined as the railway vehicle that provides the necessary traction
power to move the train is referred as the traction or locomotive. This traction
power can be diesel, steam or electric power.
TRACTION SYSTEM

• The traction system is of two different types: non electric traction system and
electric traction system.
• 1] Non electric traction system
• 2] Electric traction system
• NON ELECTRIC TRACTION SYSTEM
• The traction system that doesn’t use electricity at any stage of a vehicle
movement is referred to as a non-electric traction system. Such a traction system
is used in steam locomotives, IC engines, and in the maglev trains (high -speed
trains).
• ELECTRIC TRACTION SYSTEM
• The traction system that uses electricity in all stages or some stages of a vehicle
movement is referred to as an electric traction system.
ELECTRIFICATION OF TRACTION SYSTEM

• The track electrification refers to the type of source supply system that is used while
powering the electric locomotive systems. It can be AC or DC or a composite supply.
• Selecting the type of electrification depends on several factors like availability of
supply, type of an application area, or on the services like urban, suburban and main
line services, etc.
• The three main types of electric traction systems that exist are as follows:
i) Direct Current (DC) electrification system
ii)Alternating Current (AC) electrification system
iii) Composite system.
DC ELECTRIFICATION SYSTEM

• The choice of selecting DC electrification system encompasses many advantages, such as

space and weight considerations, rapid acceleration and braking of DC electric motors, less
cost compared to AC systems, less energy consumption and so on.
• In this type of system, three-phase power received from the power grids is de-escalated to low
voltage and converted into DC by the rectifiers and power-electronic converters.
• 3rd rail systemThis type of DC supply is supplied to the vehicle through two different ways: the
first way is through the 3rd rail system (side running and under running electrified track and
providing return path through running rails), and the second way is through the overhead line
DC system. This DC is fed to the traction motor like the DC series or compound motors to drive
the locomotive, as shown in the above figure.
AC ELECTRIFICATION SYSTEM

• An AC traction system has become very popular nowadays, and it is more often used
in most of the traction systems due to several advantages, such as quick availability
and generation of AC that can be easily stepped up or down, easy controlling of AC
motors, less number of substations requirement, and the presence of light overhead
catenaries that transfer low currents at high voltages, and so on.
• The supply systems of AC electrification include single, three phase, and composite
systems. The Single phase systems consist of 11 to 15 KV supply at 16.7Hz, and
25Hz to facilitate variable speed to AC commutation motors.
It uses step down transformer and frequency converters to convert from the high
voltages and fixed industrial frequency.
• The Single phase 25KV at 50Hz is the most commonly used configuration for AC
electrification. It is used for heavy haul systems and main line services since it doesn’t
require frequency conversion. This is one of the widely used types of composite
systems wherein the supply is converted to DC to drive DC traction motors.
• AC electrification systemThree phase system uses three phase induction motor to drive
the locomotive, and it is rated at 3.3.KV, 16.7Hz. The high-voltage distribution system
at 50 Hz supply is converted to this electric motor rating by transformers and
frequency converters. This system employs two overhead lines, and the track rail
forms another phase, but this raises many problems at crossings and junctions.
The above figure shows AC electric locomotive operation
wherein the catenary system receives single-phase power
from the overhead system. The supply is stepped up by
the transformer, and then converted to DC by a rectifier. A
smoothening reactor or a DC link, filters and smoothens
DC to reduce the ripples, and then the DC is converted to
AC by an inverter that varies frequency to get variable
speed of the traction motor (similar to VFD).
COMPOSIT ELECTRIFICATION SYSTEM

• This system incorporates the advantages of both DC and AC systems. These

systems are of mainly two types: a single phase to three phases or Kando system,
and the other single phase to DC system.
• Single phase to three phase or Kando systemIn a Kando system, a single overhead line
carries the single-phase supply of 16KV, 50Hz. This high voltage is stepped down and
converted to three-phase supply of same frequency in the locomotive itself through
the transformer and converters.
• This three-phase supply is further supplied to the three-phase induction motor that
drives the locomotive. Since the two-overhead line system of the three-phase system
is replaced by a single overhead line by this system, it is economical.
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF TRACTION
SYSTEM

• ADVANTAGES
• Coefficient of adhesion is better.
• Cheapest method of traction.
• Less vibration.
• less maintenance cost.
• Rapid acceleration and braking.
• High starting torque.
• It has great passenger carrying capacity at higher speed.
• Free from smoke and few gases, so used for underground and tubular railways.
•
• DISADVANTAGES
• Electrically operated vehicles have to move on guided track only.
• Problem of supply failure.
• The leakage of current from the distribution mains and drop of volts in the track
are to be kept within the prescribed limits.
• Additional equipments is required for achieving electric braking and control.
• High capital cost.
REQUIREMENT OF TRACTION SYSTEM

,
The requirements of an ideal traction system are
• The locomotive should be self-contained and able to run on any route braking should be such that minimum wear is
caused on the brake shoes if possible the braking energy should be regenerated and returned to the supply.
• Speed control should be easy.
• The wear on the track should be the minimum.
• The starting tractive effort should be high so as to have rapid acceleration.
• There should be no interference to the communication lines running along the lines.
• It should be Pollution free.
• Low initial and maintenance costs.
SELECTION OF MOTOR FOR TRACTION

• A special type of motor known as traction motor has to be employed

Thee chief features of traction motors are as follows
#Mechanical Feature
• Robust and capability of withstanding the continuous vibration.
• Minimum weight to increase payload capacity of the vehicle.
• Size should be small in overall dimensions
• Totally enclosed type
#Electrical Feature
• High starting torque
• Simple speed control
• Self-protective against overload
• Regenerative braking
• Capability of withstanding voltage fluctuation
• Capability of withstanding temporary interruption
• Overload capacity
• Parallel running
• No single motor can fulfill the entire requirement as given above so different types of motor are chosen. The
commonly used different types of the motor as DC series motor, AC series motor, Three phase induction motor,
Linear induction motor etc.
 DC SERIES MOTOR

• DC series motor is one of the commonly used motors for traction purpose. It possesses
remarkably good characteristics for traction so it is used heavily in industry and locomotives.
• series motor is simple and robust in nature and suitable for all type of traction purpose but it is
specially preferred in the suburban railway system
The various characteristics that made DC series motor useful for traction system are as follows
• It has high starting torque which is important in traction system.
• It has simple speed control methods.
• It has good commutation property up to twice the full load.
• It possesses the ability to run in parallel with other loads.
• It has the capability of withstanding sudden load change.
• It requires less power for high torque production because torque production is directly
proportional to the square of the armature current.
• We know
• Speed(N)∝Vϕ∝1IaSpeed(N)∝Vϕ∝1Ia
• And,
• Torque(T)∝ϕIa∝Ia2Torque(T)∝ϕIa∝Ia2
• sIt has self-protective property, high free running speed and reduced kVA demand on the lines in
case of overload.
• Load sharing if DC series motors are connected in Serie
• These are the features of DC series motor so it is commonly used for traction purpose.
AC SERIES MOTOR

• AC series motor is also commonly used the motor. Although many single phase
AC motor have been developed for traction but compensated series type
commutator motor is considered as the best AC motor.
• The construction of AC series motor is similar to that of DC series motor but to
prevent the eddy current loss, the whole magnetic circuit is laminated. The
voltage is limited to about 300V and the weight is 1.5 to 2 times that of a DC
series motor.
• The starting current is high so the starting power factor is low and low starting
torque so this type of motor is preferred in the main line service. The AC series
motor has almost same type of operating characteristics as the DC series motor.
• The torque varies as the nearly square of current but it has less efficiency than DC series motor.
• The speed control of the AC series motor is not quite flexible like DC series motor but speed can be changed
efficiently by taps on the transformer.
The feature of AC series motor which is useful for traction purpose are
• It has a similar type of Torque-speed characteristic as DC series motor.
• It is cheaper than DC motor.
• It has self-relieving properties (i.e increase in starting torque and decrease in speed with an increase in load).
• It can be operated at a lower frequency. The performance of motor increases when frequency decreases.
• Load sharing
• These given are the feature due to which AC series motor is used in traction system.
• Large starting torque is required for traction system. Single phase induction motor
can’t provide the necessary starting torque because it is fractional kilowatt motor so
there is no sufficient power to generate the required starting torque so Single phase
induction motor is discarded for traction system but three phase induction motor can
generate large torque because it carry high amount of power and It is simple and
robust in nature but it has the problem of speed control and required large rheostat for
starting.
• It has shunt speed torque characteristic. This leads to the unequal sharing of the
load.
• This type of systems is obsolete for traction system but it is used for Kando system in
Hungary and a few existing sections of the Italian Stage Railways, it is not likely to be
used to any extent in the future.