Projects:About

Introduction

The traction system of Adelaide tramline uses a simulation tool to monitor and view the electrical operation of the trams. The main audience for this tool are the employees of the Public transport services department who use it to generate reports. . The reports consists of instructions for safe operation of maintenance work. On evaluation of the tool it was noticed that certain emergency conditions were not incorporated. Therefore, the aim of the project is to integrate more functionalities into the existing tool in the offline mode which fulfils these conditions. This document will also cover the progress made during the semester.

Background

Adelaide tramline consists of 7 substations extending from Hindmarsh to Gleneng. These substations receive 11KV AC power from the power system which they rectify to 600V of DC power which are fed to the tramlines. The electrical lines cover a distance of 11kms of overhead and underground lines in one direction. Out of the 7 substations, 5 are single rectifiers and 2 are dual rectifiers. Each substation is linked to another through circuit breakers, connection switches and transmission lines. Circuit breakers are switches when closed allow the flow of electricity and when open stop the flow of electricity . Motivation

The main reason for the expansion of the simulation tool is to incorporate safety measures for the people of Adelaide who use the tram services. To point out a few scenarios of the many, there have been situations when the department of transport has received calls from the local police stating that they possess information about suicide attempts by jumping in front of the tram lines or a fire has started in certain sections or bad weather conditions has caused certain electrical lines to snap and they are being dragged by the trams. These situations not only cause safety issues for passengers but also for people in close vicinity of the tram lines. It becomes important for the department of transport to address these emergency conditions. Also, Adelaide is a growing city expanding at a considerable rate. These developments demand better connectivity to different suburbs of the city. The extension of the tram lines to different parts of the city will help in easier commutation for the public. These reasons are the stimulating factors to conduct this project.

Objectives

In order to successfully address the conditions mentioned in the previous section, the project targets the following objectives: a) Addition of two new dual rectifier substations in the simulation tool namely at Woodville and Semaphore. b) Development of a new function in the tool called the panic button also known as the dead mans’ switch. On activating this button the power to all the tram lines will be cut off thereby bringing the trams to a complete halt immediately. c) Improvement in the automated program to incorporate the additional features and make the system more reliable and stable.

Software

The simulation tool is built on the CitectSCADA platform. It is free software available for download on the Schneider Electric company website.