RU2643184C1 - Method of removing the glaze ice from wires of the contact network of railway and tramway transport by means of microwave electromagnetic radiation of the antenna array - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electrical engineering.

SUBSTANCE: use - in the field of electrical engineering and power engineering. Method is based on heating the contact wire by its microwave electromagnetic radiation using the antenna array, including at least 25 horn radiating antennas that are located on the roof of the locomotive or of the tram in front of the pantograph. Signal with the frequency of 2,450 MHz is supplied to the radiating elements from the magnetrons, which are located in the instrument compartment. As a result of exposure to microwave radiation, the ice film covering the contact wire warms up and melts. Thus, using this method, it is possible to clean the contact wire from ice and ensure normal operating conditions for railway and tramway transport.

EFFECT: technical result is the increase in the intensity of the impact on the ice film.

1 cl, 3 dwg

Description

One of the natural phenomena that negatively affects the functioning of technogenic systems is the formation of an ice layer on metal objects when freezing cold drops of rain or fog. Such icing, called ice, occurs under certain meteorological conditions - ambient temperature from 0 to -5 ° C and high humidity.

Ice is particularly dangerous for industrial facilities, the most important element of which is open metal wires of long lengths. In addition to high-voltage electric power transmission lines, such objects include a contact-electric network of railway and tram vehicles.

In such vehicles, as a result of icing, the contact resistance between the pantograph’s graphite current collector and the wire through which current is supplied increases sharply, resulting in powerful arc discharges that lead to firing of wires and damage to expensive graphite current collectors. Similar phenomena occur even when a thin ice layer in the form of hoarfrost forms on the wires. Another consequence of ice is an increase in the mass of wires, which leads to their sagging, swaying, and even to breakage.

To clean the wires of the contact network from icing, mechanical, electrical and chemical methods are used (see, for example, Porzelan A.A., Pavlov I.V., Neganov A.A. Fighting ice on electrified railways. - M.: Transport , 1970). Known methods do not allow, however, to fully cope with the problem of neutralizing the harmful effects of ice on the contact network and do not provide a quick elimination of ice film that impedes the normal movement of vehicles.

Let us turn to the description of the proposed method of dealing with ice using microwave electromagnetic waves, free from the disadvantages of known methods. According to the proposed method, on a special platform located on the roof of a locomotive or tram, a group of directional emitters is installed - horn antennas of rectangular or round type (Fig. 1), to which a microwave signal from magnetrons with a frequency of 2450 MHz is supplied. (This frequency in Russia and other countries is approved for industrial use.) The magnetrons themselves with power supplies are located in the instrument compartment. A group of N emitters forms an antenna array (Fig. 2), which creates an electromagnetic field above a moving locomotive or tram that melts ice on the contact wire. The number of emitters - horn antennas (position 2 in Fig. 2) - can vary, their total number is not less than 25. Thanks to the placement of the antenna array on a specific area of 2 × 2 m, the contact wire is irradiated - (position 3 in Fig. 2), on which graphite current collector slides (position 1 in Fig. 2). The described device is installed in a locomotive or tram specially designated for the purpose of combating icy conditions.

Closest to the claimed method for the protection of contact power lines from ice is the technical solution described in the patent for the invention of the Russian Federation No. 2564769 from 09.09.2016 "Method of cleaning the icy wires of the railway contact network by means of electromagnetic radiation".

The fundamental difference between the proposed method and the one stated in the said patent is that in the prototype the ice of the contact wire is cleaned using an open resonator, and in the proposed device by directing microwave radiation using an antenna array.

The consequence of this difference is a more intense effect of electromagnetic radiation on the heating of an icy film. Roughly, at the same radiation power, the film melting time decreases by half.

We present the results of an experimental verification of the proposed method of melting an ice film on a contact wire. A photograph of the laboratory setup is shown in FIG. 3. The installation includes a 800 W magnetron with a power supply from a commercially available microwave oven. A contact wire with an ice film was located in front of the magnetron at a distance of 20 cm. Melting of the latter took place 30–49 s after the magnetron was turned on. Thus, the method of remote melting of ice on the contact wire using microwave irradiation was experimentally confirmed.

For a better understanding of the essence of the claimed invention, the following drawings are attached.

FIG. 1. Horn antenna.

FIG. 2. Microwave installation for heating the contact wire (top view).

FIG. 3. Photograph of the laboratory setup.

Claims (1)

The method of removing ice from the wires of the contact network of railway and tram vehicles, characterized in that an antenna array is used that includes 25 or more horn radiating antennas located on the roof of a locomotive or tram and creating a vertically directed electromagnetic field with a frequency of 2450 MHz, melting ice film.

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