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New Challenges in Railway Energy Management Systems

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "E: Electric Vehicles".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2024) | Viewed by 625

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: railway traction; power and energy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: transport energy system modelling and optimization; smart grid and transport energy integration; vehicle operation and optimization
Department of Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: railway system engineering; autonomous train systems; traction systems; hydrogen systems; railway control and signalling systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the contemporary global context, railways play a pivotal role in providing sustainable transportation solutions as we collectively strive to achieve a net-zero-emissions future by 2050. Railways represent the most efficient land-based transportation system for swiftly moving people within and between urban areas as well as connecting remote regions. Moreover, numerous railways worldwide serve a dual purpose, facilitating the transportation of both passengers and freight. These mixed railways face the intricate challenge of managing energy resources to harmonize the demands of both freight and passenger traffic.

However, it is important to note that railways across the world exhibit varying degrees of balance between passenger and freight services. This diversity underscores the challenges they encounter when embracing new technologies for decarbonization. Electrification rates also exhibit significant disparities, ranging from complete electrification to minimal electrification, posing substantial obstacles in the quest for sustainable railway systems.

This Special Issue aims to comprehensively explore all facets of railway energy and power systems, and we invite authors to submit papers that delve into the complex aspects of railway energy and power management. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Infrastructure power supplies, encompassing both AC and DC railways.
  • Innovations in onboard traction systems.
  • Advancements in power electronics tailored for railways.
  • Cutting-edge drives and machines designed for railway applications.
  • Exploration of novel energy sources like batteries and hydrogen fuel cells.
  • Consideration of alternative primary energy sources, such as ammonia and other low-carbon and sustainable fuels, primarily intended for combustion engines.

By delving into these aspects, we aim to facilitate the transition towards cleaner and more efficient railway systems, contributing to our shared goal of decarbonization. We eagerly anticipate contributions that will shape the future of rail transportation and energy management.

Prof. Dr. Stuart Hillmansen
Dr. Zhongbei Tian
Dr. Ning Zhao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • railway traction systems
  • energy management
  • power electronics
  • AC and DC traction
  • batteries
  • hydrogen
  • fuel cells
  • 25 kV railway systems

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 12414 KiB  
Article
Modelling a DC Electric Railway System and Determining the Optimal Location of Wayside Energy Storage Systems for Enhancing Energy Efficiency and Energy Management
by Hammad Alnuman
Energies 2024, 17(12), 2825; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17122825 - 8 Jun 2024
Viewed by 378
Abstract
Global demand for fossil fuels is highly increasing, necessitating energy efficiency to be enhanced in transitioning to low-carbon energy systems. Electric railways are highly efficient in reducing the transportation demand for fossil fuels as they are lightweight and their energy demand can be [...] Read more.
Global demand for fossil fuels is highly increasing, necessitating energy efficiency to be enhanced in transitioning to low-carbon energy systems. Electric railways are highly efficient in reducing the transportation demand for fossil fuels as they are lightweight and their energy demand can be fed by renewable energy resources. Further, the regenerative braking energy of decelerating trains can be fed to accelerating trains and stored in onboard energy storage systems (ESSs) and stationary ESSs. It is fundamental to model electric railways accurately before investigating approaches to enhancing their energy efficiency. However, electric railways are challenging to model as they are nonlinear, resulting from the rectifier substations, overvoltage protection circuits, and the unpredictability and uncertainty of the load according to the train position. There have been few studies that have examined the ESS location’s impact on improving the energy efficiency of electric railways while using specialised simulation tools in electric railways. However, no single study exists that has studied the location impact of stationary ESSs on the energy efficiency of electric railways while the trains are supported by onboard ESSs. Given these goals and challenges, the main objective of this work is to develop a model using commercial software used by industry practitioners. Further, the energy saving is aimed to be maximised using stationary ESSs installed in optimal locations while trains are supported by onboard ESSs. The model includes trains, onboard ESSs, rail tracks, passenger stations, stationary ESSs, and traction power systems involving power lines, connectors, switches, sectioning, and isolators. In this article, a test scenario is presented comprising two trains running on a 20 km with three passenger stations and two substations. The trains and track are modelled in OpenTrack simulation software (Version 1.9) while the power system is modelled in OpenPowerNet simulation software (Version 1.11). The two simulation tools are used in the railway industry and can produce realistic results by taking into account the entire electrical network structure. A stationary ESS is added on the wayside and moved in steps of 1 km to obtain the optimal location before investigating the impact of stationary ESSs on the performance and energy management of onboard ESSs. It is found that the energy saving when installing a stationary ESS at the optimal location is 56.05%, the peak-power reduction of Substation 1 is 4.37%, and the peak-power reduction of Substation 2 is 18.67%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Railway Energy Management Systems)
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