Calculations and measurements of harmonic current distributions in the catenary of railways with single-phase A.C.

Abstract

Frequency converters find wide application in rail vehicles and power supply stations of railway networks. An important disadvantage of frequency converters is the emission of voltage and current harmonics. They cause extra stress to railway equipment and can interfere with sensitive signalling circuits resulting in their mis-operation. Therefore, propagation of current harmonics in the catenary network and resonance phenomena have to be investigated, which requires network calculations for high frequencies. A new catenary network calculation method covers the frequency range up to 20 kHz. Experimental proof of the calculation method was done. Comparison of calculations and experimental results is given.