M.Ing. / Spoornet currently has a fleet of more than 1500 electric locomotives in service. The majority of electric locomotives are resistor controlled but there are many chopper as well as thyristor controlled locomotives which all incorporate direct current (dc) traction motors. In recent years Spoornet has also bought locomotives employing alternating current (ac) traction motors. Because locomotives are very expensive and the running costs are high it is important that these locomotives must be available and reliable. Most of the newer generation locomotives, which are the semiconductor controlled locomotives, must be in service for at least another 20 years. The availability and reliability are often influenced by delayed design problems as well as problems arising due to changes in the total system configuration. One way of solving these problems, or at least understanding them, is by employing computer simulations. The availability and reliability can also be improved by using new technologies which were not originally employed on the locomotives. By doing computer simulations the optimal solution can be obtained when introducing new technologies on the locomotive. A good example of this type of application within Spoornet is given in [6], where simulation models for high technology locomotives were developed which were suitable to be used in the assessment of electromagnetic compatibility between modern power electronic locomotives and the railway signaling system. However, these models are also suited to be used in other applications. These models make use of the ATP-EMTP simulation program.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:9033 |
| Date | 13 August 2012 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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