The PINTA2 progress beyond the state of the art has not changed at the end of Period2 compared to what has been written in the §1.4.1 submitted Proposal.
The ambitions of S2R which are inherited by PINTA2 require substantial ground-breaking improvements in the Traction and Brakes systems addressed by the Project.
PINTA2 State-of-the-art and needed progress :
Traction equipment are heavy and large (volume) : we developed smaller,lighter; enrgy efficient, reliable Traction components (transformers, Traction case, traction components innovative cooling systems, gearbox, motors) thanks to new SiC semi-conductor technology used in an optimised manner
Non-driven independent wheels in low floor High Speed Trains (HST) : we designed new motor for higher line capacity due to a reduction of dwell time at stations thanks to new independent driven wheel assemblies integrated in low-floor HSTs
To reduce development cycles duration of the Traction system, we developped and tested new early stage low noise traction component design thanks to predicted noise signature, and more generally speaking implemented new methofdologies and 3D simulation tools to reduce cost of design, validation and certification. Electric,electro-magnetic, thermal, mechanical, combined physics are covered by this new approach. That allow to better design, elimination of potential mistakes at early stage of the design, reducing prototype test bench stage tuning, and moreover huge cost to correct problems if they are lately discovered on trains
Reliability of Traction is improved and life time prediction of semi-conductors in real train operational conditions is on the right track (even if it still needs some work in PINTA3).We developed -with a real European cooperation- a new and exhaustive methodology to predict semi-conductors lifetime, to achieve significant progress in maintenance costs of Traction.
The virtual validation & certification of the traction systems and components has significantly progressed. The cooperation across IP1 train sub-systems has been discussed via a workshop led by the CCA virtual certification leader ( SNCF). Apart progressing on more virtual proofs to save time and cost on components and sub-sytems validation& certification, it also paves the way for further Digital Twin work within Europe’s Rail future J.U. (expected to start end of 2021)
Adhesion
Highly changeable properties of the wheel-rail contact are influencing rail traffic characteristics, including safety and punctuality. Sanding and Wheel Slide Protection are typically employed, but are improvable : we developed new technologies of wheel-rail contact braking to better cope with the variance of the adhesion characteristics and, combined with a more sophisticated WSP technology, allowing the reduction of braking distances in low adhesion condition, improving the overall train safety, and reduce the wheel and track LCC.
The developments done open the demonstrations phase ( for Faiveley Italy and Knorr Bremse Germany) in PIVOT2 project.
Societal impact : improvement of Life Cycle Cost of the trains, improvements of technical performances of Traction and Braking system and components like weigh savings, energy and maintenance savings, noise reduction, volume savings, reliability improvements are contributing to S2R Kpis ( LCC, capacity, reliability/punctuality) and will help to have more productive and attractive trains.
