Multi-conductor model for AC railway train simulation

Railway Operators and Infrastructure Owners are required to design the railway to specific national and international, technical and safety performance standards. These standards and codes of practice provide the basis for company 'Codes of Practice', which detail the design methodology, application and system installation. To validate the design and to comply with these standards and codes of practice, Atkins and the University of Birmingham have developed the multi-train simulator (MTS) to model AC railway electrification infrastructure. The development was carried out under a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Atkins and the University of Birmingham. The MTS models multiple trains moving on AC traction railway networks following specified timetables. The model of the traction power network covers all types of AC feeding arrangements in the UK, including the rail-return system, the classic booster transformer system and the autotransformer system. This study addresses the work undertaken by the Knowledge Transfer Partnership and describes the development of AC railway electrification infrastructure modelling based on a multi-conductor model for MTS. The modelling of multi-conductors in AC power networks separately, instead of lumping them together, enables more accurate calculations of induced voltage, EMC analysis, return current distribution, positive and negative energy consumptions and loss calculations.