Abstract
Devices for electric heating of railroad turnouts are elements of the railway infrastructure protecting railroad turnouts against blocking them by snow and ice in winter. They often operate based on the principle of resistance heating but other solutions are also emerging. In this paper, one of such new solutions using the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction was presented and tested under various conditions. In comparison with traditional resistive heaters, the inductive ones offer heat distribution directly to ice and snow without intermediation of rails. Moreover, they can use a wide range spectrum of frequency to shorten the melting time. The resistive and inductive devices were tested with respect to melting time, temperatures and energy consumption. It follows that the induction-based device offers much lower energy consumption at a level of 30%–60% of that by resistive heater. The details depend on frequency used, initial temperature and number of induction devices of action assumed equivalent to the resistive one. Inductive heating of turnouts also offers shorter times of operation, which are obtained for frequencies in the range 40–70 kHz. The inductive device was also tested with respect to magnetic field levels around it to assess its possible influence on nearby infrastructure.
Highlights
Railway turnouts are largely influenced by winter weather conditions, which may hinder or even stop train traffic
In terms of the mechanism of operation, the methods of protecting railway turnouts against clogging by snow and ice can be divided into cleaning or heating
In the earliest period of railway development, the critical elements of railway turnouts were cleaned of ice and snow manually by service staff
Summary
Railway turnouts are largely influenced by winter weather conditions, which may hinder or even stop train traffic. The railway infrastructure managers in particular countries are obliged to ensure safe and proper train traffic management. The main elements are the stock rail (non movable), the switch rail (movable), adjusting closures and other elements depending on the turnout type. Various methods are used to keep the space between the stock and switch rails clean [2]. One of the most common methods of ensuring full efficiency of turnouts due to unfavorable weather conditions in winter is using built-in electric heating devices. In the regions subject to PKP (Polish State Railways, Inc.) Polskie Linie Kolejowe S.A.
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