Feeding systems for railways include those which feed electric power via the overhead trolley line and those which supply power via the third rail installed on the ground. Third rail systems require a large amount of electric current to operate electric railcars because the insulation distance is rather short and the voltage is limited to a low value. To apply the superconducting cable to a railway with the third rail system, the superconducting cable was installed in an actual railway route to conduct the cooling test and current test. It was confirmed that the system was capable of providing stable capacity for circulative cooling using the cryocooler and circulation pump. In the cooling test for failure recovery, it was confirmed that the function of the system was restored when the power was turned on again after the power-off. In the current test, it was confirmed that the superconducting cable with the two-layer structure was capable of carrying a current of 6 kA per one layer and had a sufficient capacity for operating trains. In addition, the superconducting cable was installed along a railway route so that a part of a part of it crosses the track to determine that the cable is not affected by any external disturbance such as vibration and can be used for operation without problems.
Key words
Superconducting cable/Railway line/Cooling test/Current test
NSTL
Elsevier