Modeling and Simulation of Regenerative Braking Energy in DC Electric Rail Systems

Regenerative braking energy is the energy produced by a train during deceleration. When a train decelerates, the motors act as generators and produce electricity. This energy can be fed back to the third rail and consumed by other trains accelerating nearby. If there are no nearby trains, this energy is dumped as heat to avoid over voltage. Regenerative braking energy can be saved by installing energy storage systems (ESS) and reused later when it is needed. To find a suitable design, size and placement of energy storage, a good understanding of this energy is required. The aim of this paper is to model and simulate regenerative braking energy. The dc electric rail transit system model introduced in this paper includes trains, substations and rail systems.