Research on the thermal capacity of the traction converter of CRH3 electric multiple units

Based on the structure parameter and operating principle of the cooling system of traction converter for CRH3 high-speed electric multiple units (EMUs), a finite element model of air heat exchanger is built. Then the simulation including temperature field and fluid field is done. In order to verify the ability of the cooling system, a thermal capacity test rig for the traction converter is built. With the test rig, the temperature rise of traction converter and supply air volume of cooling system are measured in Wu-Guang high speed railway. The results show that when the high speed EMUs running in high speed, the supply air volume of cooling system will decrease, and the cooling system of traction converter for CRH3 EMUs can meet the requirement when the train continuous running in 330km/h. The simulated results are verified by the test results. The test and investigation on the thermal capacity of traction converter for high speed EMUs are firstly developed in China which makes a contribution to the design of the new generation high speed EMUs.