Advanced Modelling of Energy Losses in Railway Vehicles Considering Temperature Dependencies

This paper presents the modelling and simulation of energy losses in the drive train of railway vehicles, considering nonlinear loss characteristics, temperature dependencies, and operation point deviations due to individual load distributions. Multidimensional look-up tables (LUTs) are employed to accurately determine the component losses within the drivetrain of railway vehicles. Both Cauer and Foster thermal models are implemented to calculate the temperatures of the components. By comparing the resulting operating points of different axles, the influence of load distribution on component losses is analysed. The evaluation of multiple test cases highlights the significant impact of temperature dependencies on component losses. Different assumptions regarding component temperatures can result in variations in total losses by up to 14 percentage points when compared to the worst-case scenario. Consequently, ignoring temperature dependencies can lead to significantly erroneous outcomes.