Calculation of the Voltage Unbalance Factor for High-Speed Railway Substations with V-Connection Scheme

Abstract

In France, high-speed railway lines are powered by a 2 × 25 kV/50 Hz electrification system. The substations include two single-phase transformers connected to the high-voltage electrical transmission network on different pairs of phases according to a so-called “V-connection scheme”. In practice, due to the large variations in the power absorbed by the trains, this connection does not make it possible to satisfactorily limit the unbalance in the three-phase voltages. In order to correctly size a balancing system to be associated with the substation, it is necessary to calculate, with precision, the voltage unbalance factor as a function of the power drawn by the trains. In its first part, this paper presents modelling of the substation and proposes an algorithm which allows for the calculation of the upstream line voltage as a function of the power consumption at the secondary of the transformers. The voltage unbalance factor can then be determined over a long period of operation. In the second part of this paper, the same approach is applied with an unbalance-compensator based on Steinmetz circuits controlled by AC choppers. Finally, in both cases, the results of the calculations are validated by simulations performed with PLECS simulation software.

Keywords

• railway
• traction substation
• voltage unbalance factor
• Steinmetz circuit
• AC chopper