Project Details

[Return to Previous Page]

Wireless communication in high Emi environment

Company: Wabtec

Major(s):
Primary: EE
Secondary: CMPEN
Optional: EGEE, ME

Non-Disclosure Agreement: YES

Intellectual Property: YES

Modern locomotives and mining trucks use multiple high powered variable frequency variable voltage traction drives to propel the equipment. For example, each locomotive is equipped with multiple traction motors (typically 4, 6, or 8), each responsible for driving an axle through a gear mesh, thus rotating 2 axle mounted wheels and propelling the locomotive. At present each of these drives are made up of a three-phase inverter operating from 0 to 1400V and each phase switching currents from 0 to 2000A at up to 1000Hz. These equipments are housed in an 8’ x 12’ x 8’ steel compartment with doors. The control communicates to each of the switches using fiber optic cables to each of the 6 switches with a time resolutions of 0.5 usec to turn ON or turn OFF switch. It is desirable to remove these fibers and run this information wirelessly. The goal is to develop wireless techniques, concepts, solutions that can transfer this information with <0.5 usec lag. These solutions should be designed based technology used for other application with high reliability.