Renewable Energy Sources For
Modern (Maglev) Trains (on photo Maglev train Tokyo Shinkansen)
Abstract
Now a days rail transport
become a cheap means of transport to any class of people and for the working of
the trains it requires some energy in the form of Electrical finally to convert
in to mechanical support for the propulsion. For that among the various forms
of energy solar energy is
the best form to use in the present situation
Here the solar energy is
converted in to the electrical energy by using solar panels and then used for
the needs. Revolutionary changes have taken place in the life of the mankind
since human beings acquired the capability of walking upright.
Ultimately the man has succeeded
to achieve his needs to be done faster through Maglev. Electrical energy plays
a key role for the Maglev. For that the solar energy is used for the
electricity generation for the modern train i.e.., Maglev train to work
efficient and effective such that the electrical consumption can be
decreased.
“Energy Saved is Energy Produced!”
Speed is a target the mankind is
eternally seeking. One of the characteristics of the society created by modern
science and technology is the large volume of information and the wide high
speed transmission of information.
With such an aspiration of the mankind’s
for high speed transportation, Maglev technology was born at the
right moment.
In olden days while the man was
in search of the fast transmission of information railways make a way to them.
Rail transport is where a train runs along a set of two parallel steel rails,
known as a railway or railroad. The rails are anchored perpendicular to ties
(or sleepers) of timber, concrete or steel, to maintain a consistent distance
apart, or gauge.
The rails and perpendicular beams
are placed on a foundation made of concrete or compressed earth and gravel in a
bed of ballast. Alternative methods include monorail and maglev. A train
consists of one or more connected vehicles that run on the rails. Propulsion is
commonly provided by a locomotive that hauls a series of unpowered cars that
can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by steam, diesel
or by electricity supplied by trackside systems.
The term “maglev” refers not only
to the vehicles, but to the railway system as well, specifically
designed for magnetic levitation and propulsion. All operational
implementations of maglev technology have had minimal overlap with wheeled
train technology and have not been compatible with conventional rail tracks.
Definitions
Electromagnetic Levitation
Electromagnetic Levitation
Levitation is the process by
which an object is suspended by a physical force against gravity, in a stable
position without solid physical contact.
Controllable electromagnetic
field is generated by exciting on-board levitation magnets and the magnets and
stator packs of long stator linear motor along the guideway attract each other
thus pulling the train upward and a stable levitation gap being guaranteed by
controlling the levitation excitation current. Levitation gap between magnets
and guideway is normally controlled to the range between 8 and 12 mm.
Electromagnetic Propulsion
Electromagnetic using electricity
to create a magnetic field and Propulsion- the process of propelling something.
Maglev Vision
High-speed Maglev train system
consists of four major components:
Guideway
Vehicle
Power supply and
Operation control system.
Guideway
The guideway guides the direction
of the train’s movement and bears the load of the train.
The superstructure of the
guideway comprises precisely welded steel or reinforced concrete guide way
beams for connecting long stators and substructure constituted by the
reinforced concrete piers and foundations.
Maglev train guideway
Vehicle
Vehicle is the most important
part of high speed maglev system comprising levitation chassis and the magnets
mounted on the chassis, secondary suspension system and vehicle section.
Besides it includes such electrical appliances as on-board batteries, emergency
breaking system and levitation control system.
Power Supply
Power supply includes: substations,
track side feeder cables switch stations and other power supply equipment.
Power supply system feeds the
train with the power required for the train operation by energizing the long
stator windings on the guideway. First, high voltage alternating current
is taken from the 110kv public power grid, step-down to 20kv and 1.5kv using
step-down transformer and then converted in to direct current via
rectifier, then converted back to variable frequency ac current between 0 and
300Hz via rectifier.
After step-up, the current will
be fed to long stator winding on the guideway via guideway cables and switch
stations, generating propulsion force between the stator and on-board magnets.
The rectification equipment and motor stators etc… of the Maglev system are all
installed on the ground.
No strict requirements for the
volume, weight and anti-vibration of the equipment are available.
Maglev train - Power supply
overview
It is the fundamental
guarantee for the normal operation of the entire Maglev system. It
includes all the equipments to be used in security guarantee control, execution
and plan and also includes the equipment to be used in communication among the
equipment.
Operation control system consists
of: operational control center, communication system, decentralized
controlled system and on-board control system.
Maglev Technology
There are two particularly
notable types of maglev technology:
For electromagnetic suspension (EMS),
electromagnets in the train attract it to a magnetically conductive (usually
steel) track.
Electrodynamic suspension (EDS)
uses electromagnets on both track and train to push the train away from the
rail.
Electromagnetic suspension
In current electromagnetic
suspension (EMS) systems, the train levitates above a steel rail while
electromagnets, attached to the train, are oriented toward the rail from below.
The system is typically arranged on a series of C-shaped arms, with the upper
portion of the arm attached to the vehicle, and the lower inside edge
containing the magnets. The rail is situated between the upper and lower edges.
The major advantage to
suspended maglev systems is that they work at all speeds, unlike electrodynamic
systems which only work at a minimum speed of about 30 km/h.
This eliminates the need for a
separate low-speed suspension system, and can simplify the track layout as a
result. On the downside, the dynamic instability of the system demands
high tolerances of the track, which can offset, or eliminate this advantage.
Electrodynamic suspension
EDS Maglev Propulsion via
propulsion coils
In electrodynamic suspension (EDS), both
the rail and the train exert a magnetic field, and the train is levitated by
the repulsive force between these magnetic fields. The magnetic field in the
train is produced by either electromagnets or by an array of permanent magnets.
The repulsive force in the track is created by an induced magnetic field in
wires or other conducting strips in the track.
A major advantage of
the repulsive Maglev systems is that they are naturally stable – minor
narrowing in distance between the track and the magnets creates strong forces
to repel the magnets back to their original position, while a slight increase
in distance greatly reduces the force and again returns the vehicle to the
right separation. No feedback control is needed.
An EDS system can provide both levitation and propulsion using
an onboard linear motor. EMS systems can only levitate the train using the
magnets onboard, not propel it forward. As such, vehicles need some other
technology for propulsion.
A linear motor (propulsion coils)
mounted in the track is one solution. Over long distances where the cost of
propulsion coils could be prohibitive, a propeller or jet engine could be used.
Maglev Electrodynamic suspension
(EDS) system
If superconducting magnets are
used on a train above a track made out of a permanent magnet, then the train
would be locked in to its lateral position on the track. It can move linearly
along the track, but not off the track. This is due to the Meissner Effect.
Power and energy usage
Energy for maglev trains is used
to accelerate the train, and may be regained when the train slows down .It is
also used to make the train levitate and to stabilise the movement of the
train. The main part of the energy is needed to force the train through the
air.
Also some energy is used for air
conditioning, heating, lighting and other miscellaneous systems.
Solar Energy Conservation
The Solar power pulley system
Maglev train is a small scale replica of two ingenious inventions:combined-solar
panels and the maglev train with a few modifications.
In the Maglev trains, while there
was movement, the track is covered with a closed roof such that the roof of top
part covered with solar plates where they absorb the sunlight and acts as
source to the track such that they were in the superconducting state to
levitate the train when there is the movement.
Solar Energy Conservation for
Maglev Train
While in the other method of
using the solar energy is to use the solar panels on upper part of the train
such that the energy is conserved and used irrespective of the motion of the
train.
Solar panels on upper part of the
Maglev train as another solution for conservation of energy
Solar Energy Benefits
In real life if these two
inventions to be combined then it would be one of the best inventions ever.
It would be a clean and renewable
method of transportation. It would be environmentally friendly as zero green
house gases would be produced which is important since climate change is a big
issue these days.
Maglev Rails
Maglev rails
Maglev rails are those in which
the rail acts as the solar panels and they conserve the energy as well as they
act as the track for the maglev train.
Conclusion
Ultimately the maglev technology
is safe, economic and advanced.
Someone said: “Maglev train
is the most fundamental breakthrough in the railway technology since the advent
of Stephenson’s “Rocket” steam locomotive about 200 years”.
This is not at all too much
praise. Maglev train should be regarded not merely as a fundamental
breakthrough, but much more as an example of modern transport means.
The use of the solar energy made
us to not to find for the alternative source for the electric supply to the
track and to the train and even it may not provide total requirement of power
to the train it decreases the respective input that to be supplied to the train
and track.
