Research and Applications of Permanent Magnet Machines for Novel Railway Transportation Internal Combustion Power Packs

Abstract

In modern railway transportations, electric locomotives and electric multiple units(EMU) become increasingly popular due to the advantages of high efficiency, high speed, environment friendly, high reliability and low maintenance cost. However, electric locomotives and EMU require electric railways and the stable large capacity power supply. Thus, internal combustion (IC) locomotives and multiple units(MU)are still predominant in economically undeveloped countries and areas. Furthermore, considering electric line repair need for the electrified transportation and the national security and strategy, IC locomotives and MU are still promising in terms of market occupancy. Modern IC locomotives and MU use fuel oil to provide energy and are driven by electric traction, while the generator will generate electricity via diesel engine (diesel engine and the generator constructing the IC power pack). Electrically excited (EE) generators are adopted in conventional IC power packs. With the development of power electronics and control techniques, novel IC power packs with permanent magnet (PM) generators rise. Since PM generators have the merits of simple structure, high efficiency, small volume, low weight, high reliability and low maintenance cost, the next generation of IC power packs more and more adopt PM generators. This paper focuses on the PM generators used in novel railway transportation IC power packs. The comparison between conventional EE and PM generators, two rectification methods for PM generators and the research and applications of PM generators are discussed. All of these can provide the reference for novel IC power packs in railway transportation development and applications.