EP2719600A1

EP2719600A1 - Two-section gas-turbine locomotive

Info

Publication number: EP2719600A1
Application number: EP20120876586
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vladimir Fedorovich RUDENKO; Valery Semenovich Kossov; David Lvovich Kirzhner; Valentin Aleksandrovich Gapanovich; Aleksandr Dmitrievich KORCHAGIN; Andrei Gennadievich VORONKOV; Evgeny Yuryevich STALNOV
Original assignee: Russian Railways JSC
Current assignee: Russian Railways JSC
Priority date: 2012-08-17
Filing date: 2012-09-27
Publication date: 2014-04-16
Anticipated expiration: 2032-09-27
Also published as: EP2719600B1; EP2719600A4

Abstract

The invention relates to designs of locomotives running on a cryogenic fuel, in particular on liquefied natural gas. The inventive gas-turbine locomotive comprises two units each of them comprising a frame with a body, a control cab, bogies with traction electric motors, an electric equipment package with high-voltage chambers supplying power to the traction electric motors. The first unit accommodates a gas-turbine engine, a traction turbogenerator and a gas equipment package, and the other unit accommodates a cryogenic tank for liquefied natural gas and cryogenic equipment connected to the gas equipment package of the first unit. The body of the second unit of the inventive gas-turbine locomotive comprises a front compartment and a rear compartment with a frame open floor arranged therebetween. The cryogenic tank for liquefied natural gas is made removable and is installed on the frame open floor. A control cab is arranged in the front compartment, and the cryogenic equipment and the high-voltage chambers are arranged in the rear compartment.

Description

The invention relates to rail transport and, specifically, to designs of locomotives, in particular to designs of gas-turbine locomotives.
A gas-turbine locomotive is known, which engine runs on compressed natural gas. Gas tanks are arranged on the locomotive frame and occupy approximately a half of its length, having a significant weight ( US Patent No. 5129328 , IPC 61 C 5/00, 1992).
Disadvantages of the known gas-turbine locomotive are:

low unit power associated with large dimensions of compressed gas tanks;
low fuel reserve and significant weight of tanks;
increased explosion hazard due to high gas pressure in tanks.

A twin-unit gas-turbine locomotive is known that has a tender for heavy fuel oil, the tender being a separate tank car. Fuel is filled into the tank car at the temperature of +93 °C, and the tank walls are provided with heat insulation for the purpose of maintaining the temperature.
The frame of each of the two units is supported by two three-axle bogies having wheel pairs provided with traction engines. One unit accommodates a power plant comprising a gas-turbine engine driving a traction generator and an auxiliary generator as well as a fuel system comprising a pump supplying fuel from the tender tank to combustion chambers of the gas-turbine engine. The other unit accommodates a control cab and auxiliary equipment comprising an auxiliary diesel generator, a diesel fuel tank, a cooling system for the diesel generator, brake compressors, control apparatus. The units are connected by power cables, control cables, two hoses for supplying cooling water, a pipeline for supplying diesel fuel necessary for starting the gas-turbine engine, brake hoses. (Article "Gas-Turbine Traction: History and Outlook", Locomotive Magazine No. 3, 2005, p. 41)
Disadvantages of this locomotive are:

use of a heavy fuel oil impairing ecological characteristics;
only one control cab, which requires turning of a locomotive after each trip (and this is complicated by its large length);
the presence of an auxiliary diesel generator, which requires providing a reserve of a diesel fuel and systems necessary for operating it.

A gas-turbine jet locomotive is known that comprises a turbojet engine having a dual-fuel combustion chamber, a heat-exchanger - gasifier of liquefied natural gas that is heated by hot gas from the gas-turbine engine, cryogenic tanks for storing a liquefied gas either inside the body or on the roof of the locomotive ( RU Patent No. 225105 C1 , IPC 61C 11/06, 2005).
Disadvantages of this locomotive are:

high noise levels;
low power due to the fact that both a gas-turbine engine and tanks for LNG are arranged in one unit;
increased explosion hazard because both a gas-turbine engine and fuel tanks are arranged in one unit;
complexity of locomotive control (because a locomotive running due to a gas jet may not reverse);
non-uniform distribution of axle loads due to overturning moment and the presence of several fuel tanks with unequal offtake of fuel therefrom).

A twin-unit gas-turbine locomotive is known that comprises two traction units, each being provided with a body comprising a frame, a control cab, bogies with motored wheel pairs. One of the units accommodates a power plant comprising a gas-turbine engine driving a traction turbogenerator, an auxiliary turbogenerator and auxiliary equipment. The other unit accommodates a cryogenic tank for cryogenic liquefied gas fuel and an auxiliary diesel generator. The tank is arranged so as the center of gravity coincides (in the vertical axis) with the center of gravity of the unit itself, which precludes different loads on the bogies arising during offtake of fuel. The tank and the power plant are separated by partitions from the control cabs ( RU Patent No. 2352484 C2 , IPC B61C5/00, 2007).
Disadvantages of this locomotive are:

increased explosion hazard due to the fact that the cryogenic tank and the gas equipment are arranged within the locomotive body, which may result in accumulation of all fuel leaks within the body during operation;
prolonged locomotive idle time during refueling due to the necessity of sending it to a refueling point being at a significant distance from its point of deployment and due to prolonged time required for fueling the tank;
absence of means for monitoring fuel quantity in the tank.

The technical effect of the invention is as follows:

excluding connection between regions, where a gas-turbine locomotive is operated, and particular points, where natural gas is liquefied, by means of using removable tanks that may be refueled in the points, where natural gas is liquefied, and transported directly to regions, where a gas-turbine locomotive is operated;
shortening locomotive idle time when refueling by means of replacing an empty tank by a full one;
improving measurement accuracy of fuel consumption.

The above technical effect is achieved due to the fact that the inventive twin-unit gas-turbine locomotive comprises two traction units, each being provided with a body with a frame and a control cab and bogies with motored wheel pairs. One of the units accommodates a power plant comprising a gas-turbine engine driving a traction generator, auxiliary equipment, a gas equipment package comprising a gas receiver and automatic control devices, an electric equipment compartment and other equipment necessary for ensuring locomotive motion. The other unit accommodates a removable tank for liquefied natural gas (or another cryogenic fuel), a cryogenic equipment package with a cryogenic piston pump, a high-voltage electric equipment compartment and an auxiliary equipment compartment. A heat-insulated cryogenic tank for storing LNG is made removable, has the size of a standard container and is arranged on an open floor and fixed by standard supports for a container. The supports are equipped with special weight-measuring devices enabling to monitor fuel quantity in the tank both during stops and in motion. A fuel is supplied to the cryogenic equipment package through a quick release coupling enabling to connect and disconnect a tank quickly. A fuel is supplied from the cryogenic equipment package to the gas equipment package via a flexible inter-unit connection.
Figure 1 schematically shows a general side view of the first unit of the gas-turbine locomotive.
Figure 2 schematically shows a general top view of the first unit of the gas-turbine locomotive.
Figure 3 schematically shows a general side view of the second unit of the gas-turbine locomotive.
Figure 4 schematically shows a general top view of the second unit of the gas-turbine locomotive.
The twin-unit gas-turbine locomotive comprises two traction units 1 and 2 (Figures 1, 2) that are provided with bodies 3 and 4 with frames 5, 6 and control cabs 7 arranged at the opposite ends of the gas-turbine locomotive. The frames 5, 6 of the units 1 and 2 are installed on bogies 8 with wheel pairs equipped with traction electric motors 9.
The body 3 of the unit accommodates a power plant 10 comprising a gas-turbine engine 11, a traction turbogenerator 12, an electric equipment compartment 13 including traction rectifiers 14, a high-voltage chamber 15 with an axial fan, a gas equipment compartment 16. A compartment for a battery 17 is under the frame 4 of the unit 1, between the bogies 8.
The body 4 of the unit 2 is subdivided into two compartments, i.e., the front one 18 and the rear one 19, a removable tank 20 is arranged between these compartments, on an open floor. The tank is fixed to the frame 6 of the unit 2 with standard supports 21 for containers that prevent it from moving and ensure reliable fixation. The supports 21 are equipped with special weight-measuring devices 22. Quick release couplings 23, which are accessed through a doorway 24 at the wall of the rear compartment 19 of the body 4, are connected to the rear end of the tank 20. The rear compartment 19 accommodates a cryogenic equipment package 25 comprising a cryogenic piston pump 26, a cryogenic pipeline system 27 and a high-voltage chamber 28. The front compartment 18 accommodates braking system equipment, equipment of a microprocessor system for locomotive control and an electric power transmission system for the unit 2. A compartment with two centrifugal fans 29 for cooling the traction electric motors 9 is provided below, under the frame 4 and between the bogies 8.
For the purpose of supplying a fuel from the cryogenic equipment package 24 of the unit 2 to the gas equipment package 16 of the unit 1 and back, the units are connected by two cryogenic inter-unit pipelines 30. For the purpose of transmitting electric power from the electric equipment compartment 13 of the unit 1 to the high-voltage chamber 28 of the unit 2 flexible metallic buses 31 are used that are arranged on the roofs of the bodies 3 and 4. In order servicing personnel may pass from one unit to the other one, traveling platforms 32 with door blocks 33 are arranged at the rear end walls of the unit bodies.
The gas-turbine locomotive can be operated as follows.
The tank 20, after being filled with a cryogenic fuel, is installed on the supports 21 of the frame 6 of the unit 2. The cryogenic quick release couplings 22 are connected to the tank 20. A cryogenic fuel passes through the quick release couplings 22 to the cryogenic piston pump 26 and, via the pipeline system 27 through the inter-unit pipelines 30, is fed to the gas equipment package 16. There the cryogenic fuel is gasified and supplied via the pipelines to the gas-turbine engine of the power plant 10. The gas-turbine engine 11 is started with an electric starter 34 arranged thereon. After start, the gas-turbine engine drives the rotor of the traction turbogenerator 12. Electric current, as generated by the turbogenerator 12, comes to the traction rectifiers 14 in the compartment 13. Rectified current from the traction rectifiers 14 comes to the high-voltage chamber 15 in the unit 1 and, via the inter-unit metal buses 30, to the high-voltage chamber 28 in the unit 2. This current comes from the chambers 15 and 28 to the traction electric motors 9.

Claims

A gas-turbine locomotive comprising two units, each of them having a frame with a body, a control cab, bogies with traction electric motors, an electric equipment package with high-voltage chambers supplying power to traction electric motors, wherein the first unit accommodates a gas-turbine engine, a traction turbogenerator, a gas equipment package, and the other unit accommodates a cryogenic tank for liquefied natural gas and cryogenic equipment connected to the gas equipment package of the first unit, characterized in that the body of the second unit of the gas-turbine locomotive comprises a front compartment and a rear compartment with a frame open floor arranged therebetween, the cryogenic tank for liquefied natural gas is made removable and is installed on the frame open floor, the control cab is arranged in the front compartment, and the cryogenic equipment and the high-voltage chambers are arranged in the rear compartment.
The gas-turbine locomotive according to Claim 1, characterized in that the removable tank for liquefied natural gas is fixed to the frame open floor by standard supports for containers.
The gas-turbine locomotive according to Claim 2, characterized in that the supports are provided with weight-measuring devices for measuring an amount of liquefied natural gas in the removable tank.