DC Autotransformer-Based Traction Power Supply for Urban Transit Rail Potential and Stray Current Mitigation

The rails are generally employed as the return path of traction current in urban rail transit. As the rails are not totally earth isolated, there exist the rail potential and stray current issues inevitably, which may lead to the electric shock, corrosions, and other hazards. In the past decades, different mitigation measures have been adopted to solve these issues. However, there are some limitations in the existing mitigation measures, such as poor performance, weak applicability, and so on. Therefore, the dc autotransformer (DCAT)-based traction power supply system is proposed in this article for the rail potential and stray current issues. The configurations, principles, and current distributions of DCAT system are analyzed in this article. Then, the comparisons between the DCAT system and the existing system for the rail potential and stray current issues are discussed, considering the different grounding schemes. Finally, the correctness and effectiveness of DCAT system on the rail potential and stray current issues are validated by both simulation and experimental results. Moreover, it is shown that DCAT system transfers the traction current from the rail to other lines and solves the rail potential and stray current issues much effectively.