Independently rotating wheels with induction motors for high speed trains

Railway vehicles with conventional sets often cause problems of hunting and severe wear. The use of an independently rotating wheel set (IRW) would eliminate the cause of wheel set hunting and wear since an IRW can decouple the wheels. This paper presents an investigation into the design of a suitable motor configuration and controller for IRW in order to provide the stability required to satisfy the performance requirements. A computer model of the mechanical and electrical parts of the system was developed. Simulation and experiments of the wheelsets with active driving motor control have demonstrated that a wheelset with independently driven wheels has a good stability performance over a traditional wheelset. Controllers with indirect field orientation control for dynamic control of a motor have shown to be suitable for this application in both its response and its controllability.