16 ENERGY EFFICIENCY www.prbx.com Issue 3 2024 Power Electronics Europe www.power-mag.com These 104 eligible trainsets have been assessed during the 4th quarter of 2023 and 1st quarter of 2024. A number of criteria will be taken into account when deciding the fate of each train set, including the condition of the structure of the train set, its metal components, the boiler, the bogies and the electrical installations including power supplies. Based on these criteria, the trainsets will be classified into three categories: 1. Those in perfect condition that will continue to be in service, but will undergo renovation to improve their comfort. 2. Those that require more extensive reliability and renovation work due to their advanced age. 3. Those that will be withdrawn from service due to obsolescence of parts (electronic components or state of the chassis). These written-off trainsets will be used as parts banks as they contain up to 3,000 potentially recoverable components that can be reused to repair other trainsets. illustrates within an industrial environment what Ecodesign Reuse, Repair and Prolong Lifetime is aiming for. Reusing parts to reduce waste and optimize resources has been part of the SNCF life cycle process for a long time as rather than buying new, checking and repairing 500,000 TGV spare parts every year represents a saving of half a billion euros a year. Designing power supplies for refurbishing – New technology paradox. The variety of power supplies required by railway companies when refurbishing trains is very wide and covers from low power modules to high power converters up to hundreds of kilowatts (Figure 03). In a train, many power supplies are embedded within sub-assemblies e.g., LED lighting with built-in power supplies and drivers, but a number of systems require standalone power solutions meeting the latest legislative requirements. In general, refurbishing contractors are using referenced part numbers approved by the train manufacturers, and about 80% of the need is available as Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) from certified power supplies manufacturers, complying with railways standards. However, when refurbishing and modernizing trains that might have been manufactured decades ago, 20% of the power supplies will require extra features, higher power density, lower energy consumption and many more things, often with the need to fit into an existing box that’s specific to the application (Figure 04). When refurbishing or modernizing, the railway industry is following the same pattern as the others, and with the increased demand for higher power density and lower power consumption, power designers are now investigating the implementation of Wide Bandgap (WBG) switching semiconductors, Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC). SiC diodes have been used in railway power supplies for decades, but power switching transistors are relatively new in railway applications. Considering that the lifetime of railway equipment could be greater than 20 years, reliability and supply chain sustainability are a must, and implementing a new technology requires a thorough technical evaluation and the need to ensure that the supply chain is able to guarantee product support for more than 20 years. In the process of validating a new technology for highly demanding railway Figure 03 Left – Power supplies required by railway companies when refurbishing trains is very large and going from low power modules to high power converters up to hundreds of kilowatts. (Source : PRBX/Shutterstock/E CO LENS) Figure 04 Left – PRBX 110VDC, 10kW NickelCadmium battery charger for refurbishing when replacing Lead-Acid batteries in railway applications. (Source: PRBX)
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