Examination of new current control methods for modern PWM controlled AC electric locomotives

A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world. The single-phase AC network systems are widespread (25 kV 50 Hz or 15 kV 16 2/3 Hz). The Hungarian system is 25 kV 50 Hz AC. This article is just dealing with the AC network supplied locomotives. Nowadays in our country the series wound DC traction motor driven locomotives are still widely used. These vehicles are equipped with diode or thyristor rectifier circuits that inject harmonics into the AC line and distort the line voltage. In our work we examined and compared current control methods that can be achieved by "network-friendly" locomotives connected to distorted line. We worked out a new current control strategy that possesses several advantages. The modern locomotives endeavour to consume sinusoidal current from the AC network, in phase with the network voltage fundamental. In generator mode these endeavour to supply back to the grid sinusoidal current in antiphase to the voltage fundamental. We compared current control methods with this "common" strategy. One of them can reduce the consumed root mean square (RMS) or fundamental current of a distorted line connected modern locomotive in motor mode. Other one can increase the generated RMS and fundamental current in generator mode. With these strategies the harmonic currents can be used for active power. Moreover it turned out that the harmonic content of the network can be reduced by the "new" strategies. For the study, we built a test system. We can model the line side converter of a modern locomotive DC-link frequency converter with the system. A common solution in locomotives is when several line-side converters feed two DC-links. In the test system we modelled these with one