• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers B
• /
• v.51 no.9
• /
• pp.509-514
• /
• 2002

The aim of this research is to find out how the common earth network affects the level of the traction return current in the $2{\times}25 kV$ Power Supply System. The traction return current plays a significant role in the operation of the facilities near the rails. It is shown that the common earth network in the $2{\times}25 kV$ power supply system not only minimizes the level of the traction return current, but also increases the safety of the working crew on the railways. In order to determine the relationship between common earth network and the traction return current, we investigated the earth system of the Gyongbu High Speed Line that is constructed following the SNCF regulations. We carried out the field test in the Osong station. The results of the test show that the common earth network minimizes the effect of the traction return current. We also find that the simulated results are very similar to the test results. We concluded that the results of the test can be applied for the rest of the Gyongbu High Speed Line under construction.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2016

KTX wheelset bearings have thus far been maintained in accordance with the maintenance system of French national railway company, SNCF. The overhaul cycle time (OCT) of KTX wheelset bearings is now 1.4 million km in mileage. This value, however, has not been validated in Korea that has much different railway environments with France. In fact, it is impossible to validate OCT of wheelset bearings directly because they are disassembled and cleaned only when some faults are detected. In this paper, the accuracy of the current OCT value was evaluated indirectly by investigating the effect of grease lubricants on the bearing life. Five grease samples (one new and four aged greases) were used in this study. Four aged greases of different conditions were obtained from four wheelset bearings whose mileages were about 0.3, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.8 million km, respectively. Each grease sample was then injected into the RCF (Rolling Contact Fatigue) tester and fatigue lifetime was experimentally estimated. In addition, the wt% of Fe in each grease sample was analysed. The experiment results reveal that the bearing lifetime is inversely proportional to the mileage of grease sample while the wt% of Fe increases with the mileage of grease sample. Based on the experimental results, it can be concluded that the current OCT value is appropriate for the first overhaul of wheelset bearings. However, further validation is required to determine the second and third OCT values.