A Simulation Tool to Predict the Impact of Soil Topologies on Coupling Between a Light Rail System and Buried Third-Party Infrastructure

• Published in: IEEE transactions on vehicular technology Vol. 57; no. 3; pp. 1404 - 1416
• Main Authors: Charalambous, C.A., Cotton, I., Aylott, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-05-2008; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Computer simulation; Conductivity; Corrosion; Corrosion prevention; dc light rail; Direct current; Exact sciences and technology; Ground, air and sea transportation, marine construction; Infrastructure; Light rail systems; Light rail transportation; Mathematical models; Optical coupling; Predictive models; Production systems; Protection; Rails; Railway transportation and traffic; Software packages; Soil; Soil (material); soil topologies; stray current; Topology; stray current; Corrosion; soil topologies; DC light rail; Performance evaluation; Target tracking; Shunt; Resistivity; Software package; Durability; Stray current; Modeling; dc light rail; Learning; Case study; Rail; System simulation; Reliability; Mathematical model; Train; Stray current corrosion
• ISSN: 0018-9545; 1939-9359
• DOI: 10.1109/TVT.2007.909312

The production of stray currents by DC light rail systems leads to the corrosion of the supporting and third-party infrastructure in close proximity to the rail system. This paper simulates two parallel tracks that are occupied by two trains: one on each track. This type of modeling constitutes a case study that is utilized to investigate the effect of soil topologies on the corrosion performance of a floating DC light rail system focusing on the supporting and third-party infrastructure. The modeling technique used involves the accurate computation of the shunt and series parameters for use in a resistive-type model using a commercially available software package. The results demonstrate the importance that soil resistivity has on the corrosion risk to traction system and third-party infrastructure. Such information could ultimately be used to vary the level of stray current protection across a light rail system to ensure a consistent lifetime across the whole system.