Modeling the Operation of Traction Power Systems Incorporating

Wind Turbines

Andrey Kryukov

1,2 a

, Konstantin Suslov

1,3 b

, Aleksandr Cherepanov

and Alexander Kryukov

Department of Power Supply and Electrical Engineering, Irkutsk National Research Technical University, Irkutsk, Russia

Department of Transport Electric Power, Irkutsk State Transport University, Irkutsk, Russia

Department of Hydropower and Renewable Energy, National Research University,

Moscow Power Engineering Institute, Moscow, Russia

Keywords: Traction Power Systems, Wind Turbines, Modeling the Operation, Renewable Energy Sources.

Abstract: The paper presents the outcomes of the research aimed at developing digital models for calculating the op-

erating conditions of railway power supply systems (RPSS) incorporating wind turbines. The implementa-

tion of the models relies on the methods of phase coordinates, which enable a systems, universal, and com-

prehensive approach. The systems dimension is achieved by considering all the significant properties of a

complex RPSS and a supply network. The versatility is ensured by modeling traction networks, power lines,

and transformers of various designs. The comprehensiveness lies in the possibility of calculating the normal,

emergency, and special operating conditions in the RPSS. The study highlights a variety of applications of

the wind turbines: to power the facilities located in regions with unstable energy supply; to enhance the reli-

ability of power supply to the consumer whose disconnection could lead to serious consequences; to supply

energy to relatively low-power facilities. The creation of the calculation model for the RPSS requires the

implementation of an algorithm for the interaction of models of individual components and includes the fol-

lowing stages: modeling the rolling stock traffic schedule; developing instantaneous diagrams correspond-

ing to specific time instants and calculating their operating parameters; determining integrated modeling in-

dices. The results obtained using the Fazonord software indicate that the use of wind turbines can bring

about the following benefits: cutting down energy supply costs; reducing unbalance on the busbars of trac-

tion substations, stabilizing voltage levels on the current collectors of electric locomotives.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6543-1790

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-2857

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7712-9537

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3272-5738

1 INTRODUCTION

In order to enhance the reliability of power supply,

improve the quality of electricity, and reduce the

cost of energy supply in railway transport, an emerg-

ing solution is the adoption of self-generation (SG)

plants utilizing renewable energy sources (RES), for

example, micro hydroelectric power stations (Bula-

tov, 2022), wind turbines (Shevlyugin, 2008;

Petrushin, 2021), geothermal and solar power plants

(Samarov, 2017).

The self-generation plants can be used to:

• power the facilities located in regions with

unstable energy supply;

• boost the reliability of power supply to the

consumer whose disconnection could lead to

serious consequences;

• supply energy to individual facilities of rela-

tively low power (Rylov, 2021).

The significance of using renewable energy

sources (RES) in transport is demonstrated by a

wealth of publications suggesting various approach-

es to address this issue. For example, (Cheng, 2021)

provides an overview of fault-tolerant traction power

supply systems (TPSS) and concludes that the inte-

gration of RES ensures a reduction in damage from

disruptions and failures in the network. The use of

renewable energy sources to improve the efficiency

Kryukov, A., Suslov, K., Cherepanov, A. and Kryukov, A.

Modeling the Operation of Traction Power Systems Incorporating Wind Turbines.

DOI: 10.5220/0012729900003714

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems (SMARTGREENS 2024), pages 29-37

ISBN: 978-989-758-702-3; ISSN: 2184-4968

of solar power plants in India is discussed in (Bade,

2018). The findings of the study into short circuit

processes in power plants with renewable energy

sources are presented in (Kuznetsov, 2022). The

efficiency of a traction network incorporating re-

newable energy sources is assessed in (Singh, 2016).

Methods for solving the problem of integrating re-

newable energy sources into traction power system

to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs are

discussed in (Tian, 2020). An overview of the trac-

tion power systems equipped with RES is given in

(Bade, 2018). Important aspects related to the use of

renewable energy sources to ensure train safety are

considered in (Spunei, 2019). The problem of form-

ing wind-solar traction power systems is solved in

(Bakre, 2020). A comparative analysis of options for

integrating photovoltaic sources into traction net-

works is carried out in (D' Arco, 2018). The tasks of

using solar power plants in transport energy systems

are described in (Di Noia, 2019). A method for gen-

erating a traffic schedule, considering a wind farm,

is described in (Wu, 2022). A traction power supply

system with photovoltaic modules is presented in

(Rageh, 2018). Hybrid DC traction power system

with renewable energy sources is described in (Yu

2021). The photovoltaic system for traction power

system and a strategy for its control are presented in

(Mingliang, 2017). The issues of integrating rail-

based public transportation system and using regen-

erative energy are considered in (Çiçek, 2022). The

issue of identifying optimal sites for installing solar-

powered permafrost stabilization systems on rail-

ways is resolved in (Loktionov, 2019). The efficien-

cy of photovoltaic panels placed on locomotive roofs

is the focus of (Lencwe, 2016).

In modern context, the integration of renewable

energy sources must be addressed on the basis of

digital models that take into account the specifics of

RPSS, which are as follows:

• Traction loads greatly worsen the quality of

electricity in electrical networks of non-

traction consumers, where it is planned to use

RES-based SG plants;

• The non-stationary nature of single-phase

traction loads leads to significant voltage de-

viations on the busbars of substations to

which SG plants are connected;

• Single-phase traction load causes a marked

unbalance on these busbars, which, some-

times, considerably exceeds permissible lim-

its;

• Electric locomotive converters generate har-

monics into the network.

An analysis of the presented publications shows

that modeling the RPSS with SG plants based on

RES has not been fully examined (Monakov, 2023,

Shushpanov, 2021). To study this issue comprehen-

sively, one can use the methods presented in (Zakar-

yukin, 2005, 2023, Bulatov, 2020). Based on the

approaches proposed in these articles, it is possible

to implement the modeling methodology that has the

following distinctive features:

• The ability to model operating conditions con-

sidering the properties and characteristics of a com-

plex traction power system and electric power sup-

ply system (EPS);

• The versatility, providing modeling of traction

networks (TN), power lines, and transformers of

various designs;

• The comprehensiveness, which implies the pos-

sibility of determining normal, emergency, and spe-

cial conditions in RPSS, for example, those arising

when ice melts on the traction networks.

Below are the results of the research aimed at de-

veloping methods for modeling RPSS incorporating

wind turbines.

2 METHODOLOGY

A formalized description of the RPSS can be pro-

vided by the following model:

()

,,,, CSVX

Φ=

, (1)

where

is an n- dimensional vector of parameters

characterizing the operating condition, for which

Cartesian or polar coordinates of nodal voltages are

used;

is an n-dimensional nonlinear vector func-

tion;

is an m-dimensional vector of disturbances,

the components of which are active and reactive

loads and generations;

is an  -dimensional vector

of control actions, generated based on the train

schedule, and instructions coming from the control

center;

is a q -dimensional vector, including ele-

ments of the conductance matrix corresponding to

the RPSS electrical network.

Due to insufficient information available, the

practical use of model (1) is only possible in the

future. Therefore, it is reduced to a set of static (in-

stantaneous) diagrams. In doing so, the interval un-

der study

T is divided into small intervals

tΔ

within which the above parameters are considered to

be constant. At each interval

tΔ

, the following non-

SMARTGREENS 2024 - 13th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems

linear system of equations describing the steady state

of the corresponding instantaneous diagram is

solved:

[]

0VCSXF =

kkkk

,,, , (2)

where

kkkk

VCSX ,,

are the vector values of

VCSX ,,,

for the k-th instantaneous diagram.

The simulation modeling methodology proposed

in (Zakaryukin, 2005) and implemented in the Fazo-

nord software enables calculations of operating pa-

rameters for the RPSS, including the supply network

of EPS, the traction power system, and areas of

power supply to non-traction consumers.

3 RESULTS OF MODELING

Model in the form of system (2) is used for model-

ing the operating conditions of the RPSS with SG

plants based on wind turbines. The mathematical

model, which can be used for wind turbines, is as

follows:

() () ()

()

() () ()

()

() () ()

()

() () ()

()

() () ()

()

() () ()

()











=−−

QQQ

PPP

where

() ()

QP ,

are active and reactive power of the

wind turbine generator connected to phase k (k=A, B

, C) of the j-th network node;

() ()

QP ,

are active and

reactive power of the load connected to phase k of

the j-th network node;

() ()

QP ,

are network active

and reactive power of phase k of the j-th network

node.

The effects of using wind turbines are quantified

by modeling the traction power system, including

three traction substations (TSs). The modeling is

carried out using the Fazonord software version

5.3.4.1-2024 (Zakaryukin, 2023). A fragment of the

original RPSS diagram is shown in Figure 1. Con-

sideration is given to the movement of trains weigh-

ing 3200 tons in a down direction and 6000 tons

in an up direction, with an interval of 30 minutes

(Fig. 2). The modeling results are presented in Fig-

ures 3 – 6.

Modeling was performed for two options:

1. There are no wind turbines in the RPSS.

2. Wind farms (WFs) with the total capacity of

wind turbines shown in Figure 1 are connected to 6

kV busbars of traction substations.

Graphs of changes in WF power are shown in

Figure 4.

Single-phase traction loads create significant un-

balance on the busbars of 6 kV traction substations

(TSs), which can have a negative impact on wind

turbine equipment. This problem can be addressed

by using phase-controlled sources of reactive power

(SRP), (Fig.5), which can reduce the unbalance to

acceptable limits. The power equipment of SRP rep-

resents reactors and static capacitor banks, which

can be connected in a “star” (Fig. 6) or “delta” (Fig.

7) configuration.

Figure 1: RPSS diagram: CN – contact network; EMS – electromotive stock.

Modeling the Operation of Traction Power Systems Incorporating Wind Turbines

Figure 2: Train schedule.

Figure 3: Current profiles of electric locomotives; a –

down direction; b – up direction.

The SRP models are built by fixing the required

levels of linear or phase voltages with the possible

setting of constraints on generated reactive power:

() () ()

;

maxmin

QQQ

≤≤

where

() ()

maxmin

are reactive power constraints.

Figure 4: Dynamics of changes in the total power of wind

farms: a – WF connected to TS1; b – WF connected to TS

2; c – WF connected to TS 3.

The studies performed for a real-world railway

power supply system show that the use of SRP with

delta-connected power equipment provides better

balancing. A “star” connection of the SRP phases

with a grounded neutral causes a zero-sequence

voltage. The SRP whose equipment is delta-

connected do not have this downside. Therefore, the

models used below rely on the SRP diagrams with

delta-connected power equipment.

SMARTGREENS 2024 - 13th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems

Transformer

Capacitor bank

Reactor

Measuring

element (voltage

transformer)

Control system

Figure 5: SRP diagram.

Control system

Measuring element

Reactor

Capacitor bank

Figure 6: SRP in the case of star connection.

Measuring

element

Control system

Figure 7: SRP in the case of delta connection.

The modeling results are presented in Figures 8 –

17. Figures 8-10 show the graphs characterizing

voltage changes on the current collectors of electric

locomotives. As seen in the Figures, when the wind

farm is connected, the minimum levels of these volt-

ages increase by 3.2% for a down train and by 5.3%

for an up train.

Figure 8: Dynamics of voltage changes on the current

collector of the first down train: 1 – WFs are on; 2 – WFs

are turned off.

Figure 9: Dynamics of voltage changes on the current

collector of the first up train: 1 – WFs are on; 2 – WFs are

turned off.

Modeling the Operation of Traction Power Systems Incorporating Wind Turbines

Figure 11 shows the time dependences of the

power generated by reactive power sources. Their

use provides a reduction in the voltage unbalance on

the buses of 6 kV traction substation to acceptable

limits (Figures 12, 13). Additional reactive power

flows do not cause overload of traction transformers,

as evidenced by the dependences of losses shown in

Figures 14, 15.

Figure 10: Minimum voltage levels on current collectors

of electric locomotives: 1 – WFs are on; 2 – WFs are

turned off.

When the wind farms are turned on, the power

consumption from the EPS goes down, as evidenced

by the graphs of changes in active power flows

along power line 1 (Fig. 16); At the same time, at

some points in time, the energy of the wind farm is

transferred to the EPS. The maximum power losses

in power line 1, when the wind farm is turned on, are

reduced by a factor of 2.5 (Fig. 17).

Figure 11: Generation of reactive power by SRP: a – SRP

installed at TS 1; b – SRP installed at TS 2; c – SRP in-

stalled at TS 3.

SMARTGREENS 2024 - 13th International Conference on Smart Cities and Green ICT Systems

Figure 12: Dynamics of changes in factors of negative-

sequence unbalance on busbars of 220 kV traction substa-

tions: a –TS1; b –TS2; c –TS3; 1–WFs are on; 2–WFs are

turned off.

Figure 13: Maximum values of unbalance factors: 1 –

WFs are on; 2 – WFs are turned off.

Figure 14: Dynamics of changes in losses in traction trans-

formers: a – TS 1; b – TS 2; c – TS 3; 1 – WFs are on; 2 –

WFs are turned off.

Modeling the Operation of Traction Power Systems Incorporating Wind Turbines

Figure 15: Maximum loss levels in traction transformers:1

– WFs are on; 2 – WFs are turned off.

Figure 16: Dynamics of changes in flows along power line

1:1 – WFs are on; 2 – WFs are turned off.

Figure 17: Dynamics of changes in losses in power line 1:

1 – WFs are on; 2 – WFs are turned off.

4 CONCLUSIONS

1. The paper presents the findings of the research

aimed at developing digital models to calculate the

operating parameters of railway power supply sys-

tems incorporating wind farms. The implementation

of these models involved a methodology for model-

ing the operating parameters in phase coordinates.

This methodology is distinguished by the following

features: systems dimension, consisting in the ability

to factor in all the important characteristics of trac-

tion and external power supply systems; versatility,

providing modeling of traction networks and power

lines of various designs; comprehensiveness, which

implies the possibility of calculating normal, emer-

gency, and special operating parameters.

2. Modeling of the operating conditions was car-

ried out for two options. The first focused on a typi-

cal RPSS without self-generation plants. The second

involved modeling the RPSS with wind generators

connected to the 6 kV busbars of traction substa-

tions.

3. The modeling results have demonstrated that

with the wind farms operating in the RPSS, it is pos-

sible to cut down electricity consumption from EPS

networks; increase the reliability of power supply to

the essential consumers by using wind turbines for

backup; and improve the quality of electricity in

traction networks and 6-10 kV networks, which

power stationary railway transport facilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research was conducted within the framework

of the State Assignment “Conducting applied scien-

tific research” on the topic “Development of meth-

ods, algorithms, and software for modeling the oper-

ation of traction power systems for DC railways”

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