Reactive power compensation in railways based on AC boost choppers

摘要

In this study, a new topology, using AC choppers is proposed for reactive power compensation in 25 kV/50 Hz railway networks. The low losses of these converters compared to other solutions such as voltage-sourced inverters-based STATCOMs, makes this approach attractive for high-power, single-phase systems such as railway networks. A possible solution based on the controlled impedance concept working in boost mode is proposed and applied to a substation in the French rail network. Design method presented end simulation results which confirm the performance of this low-cost and low-loss solution. Finally, the experimental results achieved on a 1.2 MVAR prototype are presented.