Six Months Industrial Training Report

At

PRADEEP ENGINEERING INDUSTRIES

PHAGWARA, PUNJAB
Submitted to Punjab Technical University in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Technology
IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Submitted By
NAVEEN SHARMA
Roll. No. 1913857

At

ANAND COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT

KAPURTHALA-144601

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is our pleasure to be indebted to various people, who directly or indirectly contributed in the
development of this work and who influenced my thinking, behavior and acts during the course of
study.

We express our sincere gratitude to Dr. G. S. Brar worthy Principal for providing me an
opportunity to undergo Industrial Training as the part of the curriculum.

We are thankful to ……………......... for his support, cooperation, and motivation provided to us during
the training for constant inspiration, presence and blessings.

We also extend our sincere appreciation to …………………………who provided his valuable suggestions
and precious time in accomplishing our training.

Lastly, we would like to thank the almighty and our parents for their moral support and friends with
whom we shared our day-to day experience and received lots of suggestions that improve our quality
of work.

NAVEEN SHARMA NAVEEN SHARMA

Roll No 1913857 Roll No 1913857

2
CERTIFICATE

I hereby certify that I have completed the Four months training in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering. I did my
training in Pradeep Engineering Industry, Phagwara from 01-10-2021 to 16-01-2022.
Signature of Student
Naveen Sharma (1913857)

Signatures:
Examined by:

1.HOD (Mechanical Branch) 2. External Examiner

3
4
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr No. Topics Page No.

1. About Rail Coach Factory 1-4

2. Introduction 5-9

3. Central Organisation of Railway Electrification 10-11

4. Three Phase Electric Locomotives 12

5. Electrification 13-16

5. A.C. Power Stations 16-17

6. Steam Turbines 17

7. Electric Grid 18

8. Benefits Of Electrification 19

9. Hydro Electricity 20

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10. 25 KV A.C. Railway Electrifiction 20

Classification
11.  Electrification System 21-23

12. Overhead Systems 23-25

13. World Electrification 25-30

14. Electric Locomotives Types 30-31

15. Power Transmission 31-32

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 Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala

Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala in the Indian state of the Punjab is located on the Jalandhar-
Firozpur line.

Rail Coach Factory

Built 1986; 30 years ago

Location Kapurthala, Punjab

Industry Railways

Products Rolling stock

Employees 7000 (Approx.)

Address Kapurthala, Punjab

History
Established in 1986, RCF is a coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways. It has
manufactured more than 30000 passenger coaches of different types including Self Propelled
passenger vehicles which constitute over 50% of the total population of coaches on Indian
Railways.
Some of them are:

 1st AC (Air-Conditioned) Sleeper Coach (5 ft 6 in or 1,676 mm BG)

 2 Tier AC Sleeper Coach (Broad gauge, (BG)); Meter Gauge, MG)
 3 Tier AC Sleeper Coach (BG)
 AC Inspection Coach (BG)
 AC Chair Car, Executive Class & Economy Class (BG/MG)
 AC Buffet Car (BG)

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 AC Power Car (BG)
 MG Diesel Electric Multiple Units
 Main Line Electric Multiple Units (BG)
 Non-AC Sleeper Class Day Coach (BG)
 Non-AC General Coach (BG/MG)
 Non-AC Luggage-cum-Brake Van (BG/MG)
 Refrigerated Parcel Van (BG)
 Non AC Inspection Coach (BG)
 High Capacity Parcel Van (BG)
 Accident Relief Train (BG)
 Post Office Coach (BG)
 Coaching Container Flats (BG)
 Double Decker Coach (BG)
 Non-AC Day Coach (BG)

Production
This output constitutes over 35% of the total population of coaches on Indian Railways. The
Rail Coach Factory (RCF) has produced record number of coaches in the financial year 2013-
14, as it reached the mark of 1701 coaches against installed capacity of 1500 per annum.
During the year RCF produced 23 different variants of coaches for high-speed trains like
Rajdhani, Shatabdi, double decker and other trains. The factory in association with DRDE also
developed a highly cost-effective indigenous technology for treatment of bio waste in coaches.
Around 2096 bio-toilets have been fitted in 2013-14.

Air-conditioned LHB Coach of Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani

1. Broad Gauge Air Conditioned

1.1 AC Sleeper (AC First, AC-2 Tier, AC-3 Tier)
1.2 AC Chair Car (Executive Class, Second AC)
2. Broad Gauge Non Air Conditioned

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 2.1 General Second Class Seating
2.2 General Second Sleeper
2.3 General Second Class Day Coach
2.4 General Second Class With Luggage Rack and Guard's Compartment
2.5 General Second Class With Disabled Compartment and Guard's Compartment
2.6 Power Cars
3. Stainless Steel BG Coaches
3.1 AC Sleeper (AC First, AC-2 Tier, AC-3 Tier)
3.2 AC Chair Car (Executive Class, Second AC)
3.3 AC Pantry Car
3.4 General Second Class Seating
3.5 General Second Sleeper
3.6 General Second Class With Luggage Rack and Guard's Compartment
4. Meter Gauge Air Conditioned Coaches
4.1 AC Sleeper (AC First, AC-2 Tier, AC-3 Tier)
4.2 AC Chair Car (Executive Class, Second AC)
4.3 General Second Class Seating
4.4 General Second Class With Luggage Rack and Guard's Compartment
5. Self-Propelled Coaches
5.1 Accident Relief Train
5.2 Mail line Electric Multiple Unit
5.3 Mainline Diesel Multiple Unit
5.4 Meter Gauge Diesel Multiple Unit
6. Special Purpose Coaches
6.1 RA Coaches
6.2 Parcel Vans
6.3 Refrigrated Parcel Vans
6.4 Postal Vans

The factory is also manufacturing 120 Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches to be exported

to Bangladesh at an estimated cost of Rs 367 crore, with the first consignment of 40 set to be
dispatched in March 2016. The factory has already exported coaches to South East Asian and
African countries which have Metre Gauge rail networks and Indian Railways' past experience
in Meter Gauge rolling stock has proves handy in serving these markets.

9
Employees Welfare
Hospital
A 65-bed Hospital supplies free medicine and free check-up to railway staff and their family
members.
Education
The township has two KendriyaVidhyalaya's, one Government Elementary School (Punjabi
medium), one Government Senior Secondary School (Punjabi medium), two Jack 'N' Jill
schools run by RCF Women's Welfare Organization, of which one handles up to UKG and
other up to 6th Standard.
Recreation
A Lake complex in with boating channel and a park in the memory of martyr of The War of
Kargil in 1999, which have 'LakshmanJhula' tied with metal ropes between two hills. Apart
from these it has stadiums and courts for indoor and outdoor games.There are 3 club in R.C.F.
namely worker club, suprvisor club, officer club in which there are facilities of outdoor and
indoor games.
Utilities
The township also has Shopping complexes, Banks, Post office, Staff canteen,
KaramchariKalyanKosh, Handicraft Centre, Creche and a RCF/WWO–run Computer Centre.

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 INTRODUCTION
Power Supply System of Indian Railway Coaches
Indian Railways have 46,038 various types of coaches (excluding EMUs and MEMU coaches)
and around 3000 of new coaches are being added annually to the system. There are two
classes of the coaches called conventional and LHB being manufactured at ICF/Perambur and
RCF/Kapurthala respectively.

There are three power supply systems as existing over Indian Railways to provide
illumination, fan, air-conditioning and other miscellaneous needs of electricity for travelling
passengers.

Self Generating (SG)

2×25 kW alternators for AC coach and 1×4.5 kW for non-AC coach is mounted underslung,
driven by a pulley-belt arrangement when driving pulley is mounted on coach axle. Output is
rectified and charges 110V DC battery for continuous power supply to AC and non-AC
coaches. AC load of roof mounted packaged units is supplied by converting DC into 2×25
kVA inverters. This system is followed over trains having a combination of AC and non-AC
coaches.

End-on-Generation (EOG)

Two power cars each equipped with 2×750 kVA DG sets, one at each end of the train,
supplies 3 phase power at 750 V AC power to each electrically interconnected air conditioned
coach. The voltage is stepped down to 3 phase 400 V and supplied to standard voltage
equipment on each coach. EOG system is followed for fully air conditioned train like
Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duranto, Garib Rath, Premium special trains. Import of LHB class of
coaches from Germany is provided with the EOG system with a promise to provide SG system
design for indigenous manufacturing. SG technology given was a complete failure and IR is
still struggling to develop designs for the last 15 years.

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Head-on-Generation (HOG)

Power is supplied from the train locomotive at the head of the train. The single phase 25 kV
transformer of the electric locomotive is provided with hotel load winding which is converted
to three phase AC at 750 V using 2×500 kVA inverter and supplied to the same system as that
of EOG. In case of Diesel Locomotive, three phase alternator is mounted on the traction
alternator and feeds the hotel load. This is the most efficient system as the cost of power is
about 25% less as compared to EOG, but the system is still under development for the last 30
years. The other class of trains namely Electrical Multiple Unit and Main Line Electrical
Multiple Units employs the same system for coach lighting. The system is similar to what is
followed in train-set composition of train having a power unit at head as well as on tail and
power the entire load of the coach for comfort.

Running of mixed LHB design AC and non-AC coach

There is a need for running a mix of AC and non-AC coaches with LHB coach design to improve
passenger satisfactory, higher capacity and improved riding with less maintenance. RCF has already
started manufacturing Non-AC LHB and 276 such coaches have gone into service till 31st March 2014
and working on Northern Railway, North Western Railway, Western Railway, East Central Railway
and Eastern Railway. The only way to power these coaches is by EOG system as the SG design not yet
successful. The electrical load of the train is about 250 kW and with a diversity factory of 80%, system
loading will be around 200 kW for which the existing power cars is of over capacity.

Development history of SG AC LHB coach

For manufacturing of Non-AC LHB version, M/s LHB provided Indian Railways a design for
driving the alternator with carbon shaft arrangement as per the terms and condition of the
contract.

Carbon Shaft Arrangement

In this arrangement, 25KW alternator was of conventional type except belt transmission
replaced with a carbon shaft which was driven by a gear box mounted on the axle. The
alternator was mounted on the coach underframe to take care of space constraints in the bogie.
This design was given by LHB to RCF as per the contractual condition. Based on this design,
one rake was turned out to work in Shalimar rake (4545/4646).

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The rake turned out by RCF worked between NDLS & JAT for few days but design lapses
surfaced out within a short period. The design lapse was non-damping of vibrations emerging
from the track irregularities resulting failure on account of breakage of gear box & Carbon
shaft, failures of fasteners provided for coupling of Carbon & gear box, shearing of flange for
coupling, jamming of Carbon shaft arrangement, development of gap between torque limiter
plates, breakage of gear box torque arm pin cap locking stud in Carbon shaft system and
damage of fork arm bolt provided in Carbon shaft arrangement.

Failure Mode of Carbon Shaft arrangement

Damaged Gear Box

13
 Shaft Broken

Alternator mounted directly on Mid Axle

RCF took initiative of developing of Permanent Magnet Alternator fitting the rotor directly on
the axle of the wheel itself. The rotor consists of a solid core with embedded permanent
magnets with no field windings. The stator is in two halves and provided on the axle with the
help of split bearings on both sides of the alternator. The stator is held in position with a
reaction rod, which is secured with the stator on one end and bogie on the other end. There is
no belt drive in this system.

RDSO initiated the development process about 10 years ago, but not yet successful. This one
development alone can change the complete scenario of power supply system benefitting
Indian Railways in the following respect.

Energy Efficiency: The energy efficiency of SG system is very poor if the efficiency of the
entire system of mechanical power generation at the train head to conversion into electrical is
taken into account and works out to be around 50% as compared to 80% of EOG.

Constructional details of mid axle PM alternator

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Rotor, Stator and Reaction Rod

These type of alternators were developed by M/s Landert HMTD, Mumbai and 4 nos. of
alternators with ERRUs were commissioned successfully on LHB SG ACCN coach nos.
05143 & 05146 and put on 06 to 08 months commercial trial in Shalimar Rake (4545/4646)
ex. NDLS to JAT and with a lot of problems when put into service. Finally, the coaches were
detached from the Shalimar Rake and sent back to RCF by Northern Railway. The defects
observed were damage of bearings, grease leakage, damage/burning of stator windings &
insulating material, breakage of terminal box, accumulation of copper dust and repeated
control card failures in ERRU etc. Apart from above, M/s. Landert, Switzerland, who was the
technical partner of M/s. HMTD, Mumbai did not technically supported M/s. HMTD. The
most important issue of the design was that if the bearing fails, it results in immobilization of
the coach, most severe condition of service failure and project failed.

Belt Driven Permanent Magnet Alternator

The existing Alternator used in conventional SG AC coaches cannot be fitted in the LHB-
FIAT bogies due to space constraint in FIAT bogies. At this stage, Indian Railway was in look
out for a smaller size alternator which can be fitted within the space available. It was well-
known that the size reduces considerably with the use of a permanent magnet alternator and
that gave the lead. Two numbers of belt driven 30 kW alternators with permanent magnet
were developed and installed on a coach for trial. This design has been developed in close co-
ordination of RCF, RDSO and M/s I.C.Electricals. This coach has been running in regular
service since Nov. 2012 with satisfactory performance. The advantage with permanent magnet
is due to reduction in the size of the rotor as it does not have winding to generate electric field,
and therefore, a reduction in overall size, weight, efficiency, durability and you name the
advantage, it is there. But the progress is slow for two reasons.

15
1. Only one source so far and unless there is a competition, the firm will jack up the price.
Two more sources, namely HMTD and Signotron has been given dimensional fitment
clearance by RDSO.
2. Jacking up the price of permanent magnet in the international market by China finding the
demand going up for its useful application in motors and alternators. Developers already
finding difficulty in supplying the permanent magnet alternator at a reasonable cost.
3. Permanent magnet alternator is going to be a major source of providing magnetic field in
traction motor with the intention of reducing size and application in low floor height
driving coach in metro rakes.

Financial Viability of different systems of power supply

1. HOG system is considered to be the most economical for the reason the cost of generation
is minimum, but the issue is that the head on locomotive is not wedded to the train. If for
some reason, it is detached, there is no source of power, therefore, one power car has to
remain in the system. There is one more angle to this, that if the power car become
mechanically sick en route and detached then continuation of both the power cars justified
even with HOG. This is the reason that there is not much enthusiasm for HOG.
2. There is always debate about the economics of SG versus EOG and each group justifying
in his own way. EOG favours all factors over SG, except two i.e. the earning capacity of
the power car and loosing flexibility of interchangeability . For this, the initiative was taken
to develop under slung mounted DG set, thus releasing the space for luggage. If this is
done, all economics will shift towards to EOG system. As regards, flexibility of
interchangeability, successful running of LHB coach train mix with AC and Non-AC on
EOG has proved this wrong and is only a fear.
3. The most important financial, practical and workable solution is to develop under slung
mounted DG sets in two versions of 2×750 kW and 2×250 kW for fully AC and mix train
of AC and non-AC coach . This will release 50% of the space presently used in the power
car for DG set and power panels.

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Central Organisation for Railway Electrification

The Central Organisation for Railway Electrification (CORE), has its headquarters
at Allahabad, India. It is in overall charge of railway electrification over the entire network
of Indian Railways. However of late, some electrification works have been entrusted to Rail
Vikas Nigam Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways of
the Government of India. Additionally small electrification works are being done by zonal
railways. The organisation has been functioning since 1961 and is headed by a General
Manager. Projects units operate
from Ambala, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Bangalore, Secunderabad, Lucknow, Kota, Kolkata G
orakhpur, Jaipur, Jabalpur and New Jalpaiguri. The Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-LehraMohabat or
popularly known as RBR, route is also a sanctioned railway electrification project and shall be
executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. This project was sanctioned in the year 2013-14 with a
nod from Ministry Of Railway and Railway Board. Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. is responsible of
electrifying the Golden Quadrilateral routes. The Rajpura-Patiala-Dhuri-LeraMohabat is also a
feeder route under Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.
History
1500 volt DC
Railway electrification begain with the inauguration of the first electric train between Bombay
Victoria Terminus and Kurla Harbour on 3 February 1925 on the then existing Great Indian
Peninsula Railway (GIP) at 1500 V DC. Heavy gradients on the Western Ghats necessitated
the introduction of electric traction on the Central Railway up to Igatpuri on the North East
line and to Pune on the South East line. 1500 volt DC traction was introduced on the suburban
section of the Western Railway between Colaba and Borivili on 5 January 1928 and
between Madras Beach and Tambaram of the Southern Railway on 11 May 1931. This was
primarily to meet the growing traffic on these metros. Thus, before the dawn of Independence,
India had 388 km of electrification on DC traction. Only the stretch from ChhatrapatiShivaji
Terminus - Thane and ChhatrapatiShivaji Terminus - Panvel of Central Railway is still under
DC traction after the conversion of Churchgate - Andheri stretch of Western Railway to 25 kV
AC on 5 February 2012.
3000 volt DC
In the post independence era, electrification of the Howrah-Burdwan section of the Eastern
Railway was done at 3000 volt DC during the First Five Year Plan period and completed in
1958. The electric multiple unit (EMU) services were inaugurated in Howrah-
Sheoraphuli section by Pandit JawaharLal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India on 14
December 1957.
25 kV AC

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The 25 kV AC system of traction emerged as an economical system of electrification as a
result of research and trials in Europe, particularly on French Railways (SNCF). Indian
Railways decided in 1957 to adopt the 25 kV AC system of electrification as a standard, with
SNCF as their consultant in the initial stages.
In the wake of industrial development in the Eastern region (due to the setting up of steel
plants, large-scale movement of iron and coal, and growth in freight traffic that could not be
managed by steam traction) electrification and dieselisation had to be introduced in early
1960s to cope with the growing traffic.
The first section electrified on the 25 kV AC system was Raj Kharswan — Dongoaposi on
the South Eastern Railway in 1960. With a view to provide continuity of traction system, the
Howrah — Burdwan section of the Eastern Railway and Madras Beach — Tambaram section
of the Southern Railway were converted to the 25 kV AC system by 1968.
The manufacture of electric multiple units (EMUs) required for Kolkata suburban services
was taken up at Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai and the first EMU rolled out during
September 1962.
Supervisory Remote Control & Data Acquisition System (SCADA)
The 220 / 132 / 25 KV power supply network for electrification extends along the track over a
zone of about 200/300 km. It is centrally controlled from the division control centre through
remote control arrangements to ensure un-interrupted power supply to the track overhead
equipment. In the present day electrification projects, a state-of-the-art microprocessor based
supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA) is being provided as against the
earlier electro-mechanical Strowger system of remote control equipment. The SCADA system
has facilities for tele-metering of voltage, current, maximum demand and power factor on a
real-time basis, enabling control of maximum demand and thereby the charges thereof to be
paid to the State Electricity Boards. In addition, this system provides for automatic trouble-
shooting and isolation of faulty sections.
Electric Rolling Stock
As of 31 March 2012, the total number of electric locomotives is 4,309. As part of the
modernisation plan, Indian Railways imported eighteen 6,000
horsepower thyristorlocomotives, with transfer of technology. They are now going to be
produced at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). Indian Railways have
developed chopper technology for DC electric multiple units in collaboration with Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and 20 motor coaches with this technology will be inducted
progressively in service in the next year. The chopper technology, in addition to being less
maintenance intensive, is expected to save energy by 30% to 34% in the suburban services.
Optical Fibre Communication

18
Indian Railway have implemented modern communication technology using optical fibre
cable. As on 31 March 2012, 40,332 Route Kilometres of Optical Fibre Cable has been
commissioned that is carrying Gigabits of traffic. Railway Control Communication which is
quintessential for train operation and control is also being transferred to OFC system. Till date
control communication on 37,389 Route Kilometres has been shifted on OFC system.

Train Radio Communication

Optical fibre technology has come in handy for introducing mobile communication from
running trains and this was successfully introduced along with electrification. With this
technology, the driver and guard can talk to each other, and to the control centre, from a
moving train. This will be especially useful in an emergency, such as an accident.
THREE PHASE ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES
 Need Indian Railways imported 2900 HP passenger and freight locomotives along with
transfer of technology from 50 cycles group in France in the year 1960. The
indigenous production of locomotive was taken up at CLW in the year 1965. Indian
Railways have been continuing with this technology for over 30 years and during this
period improved it to optimise its use to produce 5000HP freight and passenger
locomotives. Further up gradation was not possible. With the increase in train loads
and need for higher speeds both for passenger and freight to enable hauling of more
traffic with existing infrastructure, it became important to upgrade existing technology
of electric locomotives and, thus IR decided to go for most modern three phase high
horse power electric locomotives.

 Acquisition IR have acquired 30 no.s high horse power. state of the art microprocessor
controlled GTO thyristor based three phase drive electric locos from M/s Bombardier
Transportation, Switzerland along with transfer of technology (TOT) to manufacture
them indigenously at Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).

 Indigenous manufacturing by Indian Railways:

Through Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement with Bombardier, Switzerland for 5
major electrical equipments i.e. Power Converter, Auxiliary Converter, Control
Electronics, Transformer and Traction Motor to Indian Industry and three other items
i.e. bogies, shell and traction motors to CLW, first indigenously built 3-phase electric
locomotive was turned out by CLW on 14th Nov., 1998. The cost of these
locomotives has been progressively coming down from the original import cost of Rs.
22 cr. (excluding custom duties) through indigenisation initiatives. CLW has so far

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 manufactured 40 locomotives with indigenisation of major items and the cost per
locomotive has come down to 12.5 cr.
 Features:
 Less maintenance due to adoption of electronic controls and 3 phase AC
traction motors. Saving in power demand due to unity P.F (existing P.F is
0.85).
 Ability to haul heavier trains due to higher adhesion.
 Low wear on rails and disturbance to track geometry due to low sprung
masses.
 Reduced harmonics with exclusive harmonic filter circuit.
 Underslung arrangement of compressors with no oil fumes and oil spillage
inside the machine room.
 Micro-processor based fault diagnostic system to facilitate maintenance.
 Crew friendly both in operation and trouble shooting.
 Low consumption of brake blocks on wagons/coaches
 Reduction in consumption of wheel discs of loco due to increased life of
wheels.
 Availability of extra line capacity on saturated routes due to higher acceleration
and balancing speeds.
 Higher engine kms /per day due to improved transit time and higher
productivity.
 Reduced requirement of rolling stock due to lesser turn around period.
 Regenerative braking leading to higher efficiency and energy conservation.

Electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and is usually associated with
changing over from another power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the
history of technology and economic history, usually applies to a region or national economy.
Broadly speaking, electrification was the build out of the electrical generating and distribution
systems which occurred in Britain, the United States, and other countries from the mid-1880s
until around 1950 and is in progress in rural areas in some developing countries. This included
the change over from line shaft and belt drive using steam engines and water power to electric
motors.
The electrification of particular sectors of the economy is called by terms such as factory
electrification, household electrification, rural electrification or railway electrification. It may
also apply to changing industrial processes such as smelting, melting, separating or refining
from coal or coke heating, or chemical processes to some type of electric process such

20
as electric arc furnace, electric induction or resistance heating, or electrolysis or electrolytic
separating.
Electrification was called "the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th Century" by
the National Academy of Engineering.
History of electrification
Development of magnetos, dynamos and generators

Faraday disk, the first electric generator. The horseshoe-shaped magnet (A) created a magnetic
field through the disk (D). When the disk was turned, this induced an electric current radially
outward from the center toward the rim. The current flowed out through the sliding spring
contact m, through the external circuit, and back into the center of the disk through the axle.
In the years of 1831–1832, Michael Faraday discovered the operating principle of
electromagnetic generators. The principle, later called Faraday's law, is that an electromotive
force is generated in an electrical conductor that is subjected to a varying magnetic flux, as for
example, a wire moving through a magnetic field. He also built the first electromagnetic
generator, called the Faraday disk.
Around 1832, HippolytePixii improved the magneto by using a wire wound horseshoe, with
the extra coils of conductor generating more current, but it was AC. André-Marie
Ampère suggested a means of converting current from Pixii's magneto to DC using a rocking
switch. Later segmented commutators were used to produce direct current.
The first practical generator, the Gramme machine was made by Z.T Gramme, who sold many
of these machines in the 1870s. British engineer R. E. B. Crompton improved the generator to
allow better air cooling and made other mechanical improvements. Compound winding, which
gave more stable voltage with load, improved operating characteristics of generators. The
improvements in electrical generation technology increased the efficiency and reliability
greatly in the 19th century. The first magnetos only converted a few percent of mechanical
energy to electricity. By the end of the 19th century the highest efficiencies were over 90%.
Electric lighting

21
Arc lighting
Carbon arc lamps were started by making contact between two carbon electrodes, which were
then separated to within a narrow gap. Because the carbon burned away, the gap had to be
constantly readjusted. Several mechanisms were developed to regulate the arc. A common
approach was to feed a carbon electrode by gravity and maintain the gap with a pair of
electromagnets, one of which retracted the upper carbon after the arc was started and the
second controlled a brake on the gravity feed. Arc lamps of the time had very intense light
output – in the range of 4000 candlepower (candelas) – and released a lot of heat, and they
were a fire hazard, all of which made them inappropriate for lighting homes.
In the 1850s, many of these problems were solved by the arc lamp invented by William Petrie
and William Staite. The lamp used a magneto-electric generator and had a self-regulating
mechanism to control the gap between the two carbon rods. The first successful arc lamp was
developed by Russian engineer PavelYablochkov, and used the Gramme generator. Its
advantage lay in the fact that it didn't require the use of a mechanical regulator like its
predecessors. It was first exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1878 and was heavily promoted
by Gramme. The arc light was installed along the half mile length of Avenue de l'Opéra, Place
du Theatre Francais and around the Place de l'Opéra in 1878.
British engineer R. E. B. Crompton developed a more sophisticated design in 1878 which gave
a much brighter and steadier light than the Yablochkov candle In 1878, he formed Crompton
& Co. and began to manufacture, sell and install the Crompton lamp. His concern was one of
the first electrical engineering firms in the world.
Incandescent light bulbs
Various forms of incandescent light bulbs had numerous inventors; however, the most
successful early bulbs were those that used a carbon filament sealed in a high vacuum. These
were invented by Joseph Swan in 1878 in Britain and by Thomas Edison in 1879 in the US.
Edison’s lamp was more successful than Swan’s because Edison used a thinner filament,
giving it higher resistance and thus conducting much less current. Edison began commercial
production of carbon filament bulbs in 1880. Swan's light began commercial production in
1881.
Swan's house, in Low Fell, Gateshead, was the world's first to have working light bulbs
installed. The Lit & Phil Library in Newcastle, was the first public room lit by electric
light, and the Savoy Theatre was the first public building in the world lit entirely by
electricity.
Central power stations and isolated systems
The first central station providing public power is believed to be one at Godalming, Surrey,
U.K. autumn 1881. The system was proposed after the town failed to reach an agreement on
the rate charged by the gas company, so the town council decided to use electricity. The

22
system lit up arc lamps on the main streets and incandescent lamps on a few side streets with
hydroelectric power. By 1882 between 8 and 10 households were connected, with a total of 57
lights. The system was not a commercial success and the town reverted to gas.
The first large scale central distribution supply plant was opened at Holborn Viaduct in
London in 1882. Equipped with 1000 incandescent lightbulbs that replaced the older gas
lighting, the station lit up Holborn Circus including the offices of the General Post Office and
the famous City Temple church. The supply was a direct current at 110V; due to power loss in
the copper wires, this amounted to 100V for the customer.
The first large scale central power station in America was Edison's Pearl Street Station in New
York, which began operating in September 1882. The station had six 200 horsepower Edison
dynamos, each powered by a separate steam engine. It was located in a business and
commercial district and supplied 110 volt direct current to 85 customers with 400 lamps. By
1884 Pearl Street was supplying 508 customers with 10,164 lamps.
Load factor & isolated systems
One of the biggest problems facing the early power companies was the hourly variable
demand. When lighting was practically the only use of electricity, demand was high during the
first hours before the workday and the evening hours when demand peaked. As a
consequence, most early electric companies did not provide daytime service, with two-thirds
providing no daytime service in 1897.
The ratio of the average load to the peak load of a central station is called the load factor. For
electric companies to increase profitability and lower rates, it was necessary to increase the
load factor. The way this was eventually accomplished was through motor load. Motors are
used more during daytime and many run continuously. Electric street railways were ideal for
load balancing. Many electric railways generated their own power and also sold power and
operated distribution systems.
Before widespread power distribution from central stations, many factories, large hotels,
apartment and office buildings had their own power generation. Often this was economically
attractive because the exhaust steam could be used for building and industrial process
heat, which today is known as cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP). Most self-
generated power became uneconomical as power prices fell. As late as the early 20th century,
isolated power systems greatly outnumbered central stations. Cogeneration is still commonly
practiced in many industries that use large amounts of both steam and power, such as pulp and
paper, chemicals and refining. The continued use of private electric generators is called micro-
generation.
Direct current electric motors
The first commutator DC electric motor capable of turning machinery was invented by the
British scientist William Sturgeon in 1832. The crucial advance that this represented over the

23
motor demonstrated by Michael Faraday was the incorporation of a commutator. This allowed
Sturgeon's motor to be the first capable of providing continuous rotary motion.
Frank J. Sprague improved on the DC motor in 1884 by solving the problem of maintaining a
constant speed with varying load and reducing sparking from the brushes. Sprague sold his
motor through Edison Co. It is easy to vary speed with DC motors, which made them suited
for a number of applications such as electric street railways, machine tools and certain other
industrial applications where speed control was desirable.
Alternating current
Although the first power stations supplied direct current, the distribution of alternating
current soon became the most favored option. The main advantages of AC were that it could
be transformed to high voltage to reduce transmission losses and that AC motors could easily
run at constant speeds.
Alternating current technology was rooted in Michael Faraday 1830-31 discovery that a
changing magnetic field can induce an electric current in a circuit.
It was in the 1880s that the technology was commercially developed for large scale electricity
generation and transmission. In 1882 the British inventor and electrical engineerSebastian de
Ferranti, working for the company Siemens collaborated with the distinguished physicist Lord
Kelvin to pioneer AC power technology including an early transformer.
AC power stations
The first AC power station in the world was built by the English electrical engineer Sebastian
de Ferranti. In 1887 the London Electric Supply Corporation hired Ferranti for the design of
their power station at Deptford. He designed the building, the generating plant and the
distribution system. It was built at the Stowage, a site to the west of the mouth of Deptford
Creek once used by the East India Company. Built on an unprecedented scale and pioneering
the use of high voltage (10,000V) AC current, it generated 800 kilowatts and supplied central
London. On its completion in 1891 it was the first truly modern power station, supplying high-
voltage AC power that was then "stepped down" with transformers for consumer use on each
street. This basic system remains in use today around the world.
In America, George Westinghouse who had become interested in the power transformer
developed by Gaulard and Gibbs, began to develop his AC lighting system, using a
transmission system with a 20:1 step up voltage with step-down. In 1890 Westinghouse and
Stanley built a system to transmit power several miles to a mine in Colorado. A decision was
taken to use AC for power transmission from the Niagara Power Project to Buffalo, New
York. Proposals submitted by vendors in 1890 included DC and compressed air systems. A
combination DC and compressed air system remained under consideration until late in the
schedule. Despite the protestations of the Niagara commissioner William Thomson (Lord
Kelvin) the decision was taken to build an AC system, which had been proposed by both

24
Westinghouse and General Electric. In October 1893 Westinghouse was awarded the contract
to provide the first three 5,000 hp, 250 rpm, 25 Hz, two phase generators.
Steam turbines
The efficiency of steam prime movers in converting the heat energy of fuel into mechanical
work was a critical factor in the economic operation of steam central generating stations. Early
projects used reciprocating steam engines, operating at relatively low speeds. The introduction
of the steam turbine fundamentally changed the economics of central station operations. Steam
turbines could be made in larger ratings than reciprocating engines, and generally had higher
efficiency. The speed of steam turbines did not fluctuate cyclically during each revolution;
making parallel operation of AC generators feasible, and improved the stability of rotary
converters for production of direct current for traction and industrial uses. Steam turbines ran
at higher speed than reciprocating engines, not being limited by the allowable speed of a
piston in a cylinder. This made them more compatible with AC generators with only two or
four poles; no gearbox or belted speed increaser was needed between the engine and the
generator. It was costly and ultimately impossible to provide a belt-drive between a low-speed
engine and a high-speed generator in the very large ratings required for central station service.
Steam turbines could be built to operate on higher pressure and temperature steam. A
fundamental principle of thermodynamics is that the higher the temperature of the steam
entering an engine, the higher the efficiency. The introduction of steam turbines motivated a
series of improvements in temperatures and pressures. The resulting increased conversion
efficiency lowered electricity prices. The power density of boilers was increased by using
forced combustion air and by using compressed air to feed pulverized coal. Also, coal
handling was mechanized and automated.
built the Neptune Bank Power Station near Newcastle upon Tyne in 1901, and by 1912 had
developed into the largest integrated power system in Europe. In 1905 he tried to influence
Parliament to unify the variety of voltages and frequencies in the country's electricity supply
industry, but it was not until World War I that Parliament began to take this idea seriously,
appointing him head of a Parliamentary Committee to address the problem.

Electrical grid
With the realization of long distance power transmission it was possible to interconnect
different central stations to balance loads and improve load factors. Interconnection became
increasingly desirable as electrification grew rapidly in the early years of the 20th century.
Charles Merz, consulting partnership, built the Neptune Bank Power Station near Newcastle
upon Tyne in 1901, and by 1912 had developed into the largest integrated power system in
Europe. In 1905 he tried to influence Parliament to unify the variety of voltages and
frequencies in the country's electricity supply industry, but it was not until World War I that

25
Parliament began to take this idea seriously, appointing him head of a Parliamentary
Committee to address the problem. In 1916 Merz pointed out that the UK could use its small
size to its advantage, by creating a dense distribution grid to feed its industries efficiently. His
findings led to the Williamson Report of 1918, which in turn created the Electricity Supply
Bill of 1919. The bill was the first step towards an integrated electricity system in the UK. The
more significant Electricity (Supply) Act of 1926, lead to the setting up of the National
Grid. The Central Electricity Board standard the nation's electricity supply and established the
first synchronised AC grid, running at 132 kilovolts and 50 Hertz. This started operating as a
national system, the National Grid, in 1938.
In the United States it became a national objective after the power crisis during the summer of
1918 in the midst of World War I to consolidate supply. In 1934 the Public Utility Holding
Company Act recognized electric utilities as public goods of importance along with gas,
water, and telephone companies and thereby were given outlined restrictions and regulatory
oversight of their operations.
Household electrification
The electrification of households in Europe and North America began in the early 20th
century in major cities and in areas served by electric railways and increased rapidly until
about 1930 when 70% of households were electrified in the U.S. Rural areas were electrified
first in Europe, and in the US the Rural Electric Administration, established in 1935 brought
electrification to rural areas.
Historical cost of electricity
Central station electric power generating provided power more efficiently and at lower cost
than small generators. The capital and operating cost per unit of power were also cheaper with
central stations. The cost of electricity fell dramatically in the first decades of the twentieth
century due to the introduction of steam turbines and the improved load factor after the
introduction of AC motors. As electricity prices fell, usage increased dramatically and central
stations were scaled up to enormous sizes, creating significant economies of scale.

Benefits of electrification
Electric lighting was highly desirable. The light was much brighter than oil or gas lamps, and
there was no soot. Although early electricity was very expensive compared to today, it was far
cheaper and more convenient than oil or gas lighting. Electric lighting was so much safer than
oil or gas that some companies were able to pay for the electricity with the insurance savings.

26
Pre-electric power
One of the inventions most important to a class of highly skilled workers (engineers) would be
a small motive power - ranging perhaps from the force of from half a man to that of two
horses, which might commence as well as cease its action at a moment's notice, require no
expense of time for its management and be of modest cost both in original cost and in daily
expense.
Economic impact of electrification
From 1870-80 each man-hour was provided with .55 hp. In 1950 each man-hour was provided
with 5 hp, or a 3% annual increase, declining to 1.5% from 1930-50.
The period of electrification of factories and households from 1900 to 1940, was one of
high productivity and economic growth. In economics, the efficiency of electrical generation
has been shown to correlate with technological progress.
Power sources for generation of electricity
Most electricity is generated by thermal power stations or steam plants, the majority of which
are fossil fuel power stations that burn coal, natural gas, fuel oil or bio-fuels, such as wood
waste and black liquor from chemical pulping.
The Neptune Bank Power Station near Newcastle upon Tyne in 1901, and by 1912 had
developed into the largest integrated power system in Europe. In 1905 he tried to influence
Parliament to unify the variety of voltages and frequencies in the country's electricity supply
industry, but it was not until World War I that Parliament began to take this idea seriously,
appointing him head of a Parliamentary Committee to address the problem. In 1916 Merz
pointed out that the UK could use its small size to its advantage, by creating a dense
distribution grid to feed its industries efficiently. His findings led to the Williamson Report of
1918, which in turn created the Electricity Supply Bill of 1919. The bill was the first step
towards an integrated electricity system in the UK. The more significant Electricity (Supply)
Act of 1926, lead to the setting up of the National Grid. The Central Electricity Board standard
the nation's electricity supply and established the first synchronised AC grid, running at
132 kilovolts and 50 Hertz. This started operating as a national system, the National Grid, in
1938.
In the United States it became a national objective after the power crisis during the summer of
1918 in the midst of World War I to consolidate supply. In 1934 the Public Utility Holding
Company Act recognized electric utilities as public goods of importance along with gas,
water, and telephone companies and thereby were given outlined restrictions and regulatory
oversight of their operations.
Hydroelectricity

27
Hydroelectricity uses a water turbine to generate power. In 1878 the world's first hydroelectric
power scheme was developed at Cragside in Northumberland, England by William George
Armstrong. It was used to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery. The old Schoelkopf
Power Station No. 1 near Niagara Falls in the U.S. side began to produce electricity in 1881.
The first Edison hydroelectric power plant, the Vulcan Street Plant, began operating
September 30, 1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, with an output of about 12.5 kilowatts.
Wind turbines
The first electricity-generating wind turbine was a battery charging machine installed in July
1887 by Scottish academic James Blyth to light his holiday home in Marykirk,
Scotland. Some months later American inventor Charles F Brush built the first automatically
operated wind turbine for electricity production in Cleveland, Ohio. Advances in recent
decades greatly lowered the cost of wind power making it one of the most competitive
alternate energies and competitive with higher priced natural gas (before shale gas). Wind
energy's main problem is that it is intermittent and therefore needs grid extensions and energy
storage to be a reliable main energy source.
Geothermal energy
Prince PieroGinori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904
in Larderello, Italy. It successfully lit four light bulbs. Later, in 1911, the world's first
commercial geothermal power plant was built there. Italy was the world's only industrial
producer of geothermal electricity until 1958. Geothermal requires very hot underground
temperatures near the surface to generate steam which is used in a low temperature steam
plant. Geothermal power is only used in a few areas. Italy supplies all of the electrified rail
network with geothermal power.
25 kV AC railway electrification
25 kV alternating current electrification is commonly used in railway electrification
systems worldwide, especially for high-speed rail.A CSR EMU on the Roca Line in Buenos
Aires, using 25kV AC. This electrification is ideal for railways that cover long distances or
carry heavy traffic. After some experimentation before World War II in Hungary and in
the Black Forest in Germany, it came into widespread use in the 1950s.
One of the reasons why it was not introduced earlier was the lack of suitable small and
lightweight control and rectification equipment before the development of solid-
state rectifiers and related technology. Another reason was the increased clearance distances
required where it ran under bridges and in tunnels, which would have required major civil
engineering in order to provide the increased clearance to live parts.
Railways using older, lower-capacity direct current systems have introduced or are
introducing 25 kV AC instead of 3 kV DC/1.5 kV DC for their new high-speed lines.

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Classification

Electrification systems in Europe:

Non-electrified
750 V DC
1.5 kV DC
3 kV DC
15 kV AC
25 kV AC
High speed lines in France, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and
Turkey operate under 25 kV, as do high power lines in the former Soviet Union as well.
 Electrification systems are classified by three main parameters:
 Voltage
 Current
 Direct current (DC)
 Alternating current (AC)
 Frequency
 Contact system
 Third rail
 Fourth rail
 Overhead line (catenary)
 Standard voltages

29
Six of the most commonly used voltages have been selected for European and international
standard. These are independent of the contact system used, so that, for example, 750 V DC
may be used with either third rail or overhead lines.
There are many other voltage systems used for railway electrification systems around the
world, and the list of current systems for electric rail traction covers both standard voltage and
non-standard voltage systems.

Voltage
Electrification
system Min. non- Min. Max. Max. non-
Nominal
permanent permanent permanent permanent

600 V DC 400 V 400 V 600 V 720 V 800 V

750 V DC 500 V 500 V 750 V 900 V 1,000 V

1,500 V DC 1,000 V 1,000 V 1,500 V 1,800 V 1,950 V

3 kV DC 2 Kv 2 kV 3 kV 3.6 kV 3.9 kV

15 kV AC,
11 Kv 12 kV 15 kV 17.25 kV 18 kV
16.7 Hz

25 kV AC,
50 Hz (EN
50163) 17.5 Kv 19 kV 25 kV 27.5 kV 29 kV
and 60 Hz
(IEC 60850)

DIRECT CURRENT

Railroad rotary converter at Illinois Railway Museum

30
 Mercury arc rectifier
Railways must operate at variable speeds. Until the mid 1980s this was only practical with the
brush-type DC motor, although such DC can be supplied from an AC catenary via on-
board electric power conversion. Since such conversion was not well developed in the late
19th century and early 20th century, most early electrified railways used DC and many still
do, particularly rapid transit (subways) and trams. Speed was controlled by connecting the
traction motors in various series-parallel combinations, by varying the traction motors' fields,
and by inserting and removing starting resistances to limit motor current.
The increasing availability of high-voltage semiconductors may allow the use of higher and
more efficient DC voltages that heretofore have only been practical with AC. Some DC
locomotives used motor-generator sets as "step-down transformers" to produce more
convenient voltages for auxiliary loads such as lighting, fans and compressors but they are
inefficient, noisy and unreliable. Solid-state converters have replaced them. State-of-the-art
locomotives (diesel-electric as well as electric) have even replaced the traditional universal-
type traction motor with a 3-phase AC induction motor driven by a special-purpose AC
inverter, a variable frequency drive.
Overhead systems

Class EM1 locos on the 1,500 V DC Wood head Line

31
Nottingham Express Transit in United Kingdom uses a 750 V DC overhead, in common with
most modern tram systems. 1,500 V DC is used in the Netherlands, Japan, Republic Of
Indonesia, Hong Kong (parts), Republic of Ireland, Australia (parts), India (around
the Mumbai area alone, has been converted to 25 kV AC like the rest of India), France (also
using 25 kV 50 Hz AC), New Zealand (Wellington) and the United States (Chicago area on
the Metra Electric district and the South Shore Line interurban line). In Slovakia, there are two
narrow-gauge lines in the High Tatras (one a cog railway). In Portugal, it is used in
the Cascais Line and in Denmark on the suburban S-train system.
In the United Kingdom, 1,500 V DC was used in 1954 for the Wood head trans-Pennine route
the system used regenerative braking, allowing for transfer of energy between climbing and
descending trains on the steep approaches to the tunnel. The system was also used for
suburban electrification in East London and Manchester, now converted to 25 kV AC. It is
now only used for the Tyne and Wear Metro.
3 kV DC is used in Belgium, Italy, Spain, Poland, the northern Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Slovenia, South Africa, Chile, and former Soviet Union countries (also using 25 kV 50 Hz
AC). It was formerly used by the Milwaukee Road from Harlowton, Montana to Seattle-
Tacoma, across the Continental Divide and including extensive branch and loop lines in
Montana, and by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad (now New Jersey Transit,
converted to 25 kV AC) in the United States, and the Kolkata suburban railway (Bardhaman
Main Line) in India, before it was converted to 25 kV 50 Hz AC.
Standard frequency alternating current
Only in the 1950s after development in France (20 kV; later 25 kV) and former Soviet
Railways countries (25 kV) did the standard-frequency single-phase alternating current system
become widespread, despite the simplification of a distribution system which could use the
existing power supply network.
The first attempts to use standard-frequency single-phase AC were made in Hungary as far
back as 1923, by the Hungarian KálmánKandó on the line between Budapest-Nyugati and
Alag, using 16 kV at 50 Hz. The locomotives carried a four-pole rotating phase converter
feeding a single traction motor of the polyphase induction type at 600 to 1,100 V. The number
of poles on the 2,500 hp motor could be changed using slip rings to run at one of four
synchronous speeds. The tests were a success so, from 1932 until the 1960s, trains on
the Budapest-Hegyeshalom line (towards Vienna) regularly used the same system. A few
decades after the Second World War, the 16 kV was changed to the Russian and later French
25 kV system.
Today, some locomotives in this system use a transformer and rectifier to provide low-
voltage pulsating direct current to motors. Speed is controlled by switching winding taps on
the transformer. More sophisticated locomotives use thyristor or IGBT circuitry to generate

32
chopped or even variable-frequency alternating current (AC) that is then supplied to the AC
induction traction motors.
This system is quite economical but it has its drawbacks: the phases of the external power
system are loaded unequally and there is significant electromagnetic interference generated as
well as significant acoustic noise.
To prevent the risk of out-of-phase supplies mixing, sections of line fed from different feeder
stations must be kept strictly isolated. This is achieved by Neutral Sections (also known
as Phase Breaks), usually provided at feeder stations and midway between them although,
typically, only half are in use at any time, the others being provided to allow a feeder station to
be shut down and power provided from adjacent feeder stations. Neutral Sections usually
consist of an earthed section of wire which is separated from the live wires on either side by
insulating material, typically ceramic beads, designed so that the pantograph will smoothly run
from one section to the other. The earthed section prevents an arc being drawn from one live
section to the other, as the voltage difference may be higher than the normal system voltage if
the live sections are on different phases and the protective circuit breakers may not be able to
safely interrupt the considerable current that would flow.
On French high-speed rail lines, the UK High Speed 1 Channel Tunnel rail link and in
the Channel Tunnel, neutral sections are negotiated automatically. In
Japanese Shinkansen lines, there are ground-operated switched sections installed instead of
neutral sections. The sections detect trains running within the section and automatically switch
the power supply in 0.3 s, which eliminates the need to shut off power at any time.
World electrification
In 2006, 240,000 km (150,000 mi) (25% by length) of the world rail network was electrified
and 50% of all rail transport was carried by electric traction.
In 2012 for electrified kilometers, China surpassed Russia making it first place in the world
with over 48,000 km (30,000 mi) electrified. Trailing behind China were Russia 43,300 km
(26,900 mi), India 26,200 km (16,300 mi), Germany 21,000 km (13,000 mi), Japan 17,000 km
(11,000 mi), and France 15,200 km (9,400 mi).
Comparing electrification systems
Energy-efficiency, AC vs DC for mainlines
Modern electrification systems take AC energy from a power grid which is delivered to a
locomotive and converted to a DC voltage to be used by traction motors. These motors may
either be DC motors which directly use the DC or they may be 3-phase AC motors which
require further conversion of the DC to 3-phase AC (using power electronics). Thus both
systems are faced with the same task: converting and transporting high-voltage AC from the
power grid to low-voltage DC in the locomotive. Where should this conversion take place and
at what voltage and current (AC or DC) should the power flow to the locomotive? And how

33
does all this relate to energy-efficiency? Both the transmission and conversion of electric
energy involve losses: ohm losses in wires and power electronics, magnetic field losses in
transformers and smoothing reactors (inductors). Power conversion for a DC system takes
place mainly in a railway substation where large, heavy, and more efficient hardware can be
used as compared to an AC system where conversion takes place aboard the locomotive where
space is limited and losses are significantly higher.
In the Soviet Union, in the 1970s, a comparison was made between systems electrified at 3 kV
DC and 25 kV AC (50 Hz). The results showed that percentage losses in the overhead wires
(catenary and contact wires) was over 3 times greater for 3 kV DC than for 25 kV AC. But
when the conversion losses were all taken into account and added to overhead wire losses
(including cooling blower energy) the 25 kV AC lost a somewhat higher percent of energy
than for 3 kV DC. Thus in spite of the much higher losses in the catenary, the 3 kV DC was a
little more energy efficient than AC in providing energy from the USSR power grid to the
terminals of the traction motors (all DC at that time). While both systems use energy in
converting higher voltage AC from the USSR's power grid to lower voltage DC, the
conversions for the DC system all took place (at higher efficiency) in the railway substation,
while most of the conversion for the AC system took place inside the locomotive (at lower
efficiency). Consider also that it takes energy to constantly move this mobile conversion
hardware over the rails while the stationary hardware in the railway substation doesn't incur
this energy cost.
 Advantages as compared to diesel traction
1. Lower cost of building, running and maintaining locomotives and multiple units
2. Higher power-to-weight ratio
3. Fewer locomotives
4. Faster acceleration
5. Higher practical limit of power
6. Higher limit of speed
7. Less noise pollution
8. Faster acceleration clears lines more quickly to run more trains on the track in urban
rail uses
9. Reduced power loss at higher altitudes
10. Independence of running costs from fluctuating fuel prices

 Disadvantages as compared to diesel traction

Electrification cost requires an entire new infrastructure to be built around the existing tracks
at a significant cost. Costs are especially high when tunnels, bridges and other obstructions
have to be altered for clearance. Another aspect that can raise the cost of electrification are the
alterations or upgrades to railway signalling needed for new traffic characteristics, and to

34
protect signalling circuitry and track circuits from interference by traction current.
Electrification may require line closures while the new equipment is being installed.
Electrical grid load adding a major new consumer of electricity can have adverse effects on
the electrical grid and may necessitate an increase in the grid's power output. However, a
railway can be electrified in such manner, that it has a closed and independent electrical
network of its own and backup power available if the national or state electrical grid suffers
from downtime.
The overhead line structures and cabling can have a significant landscape impact compared
with a non-electrified or third rail electrified line that has only occasional signalling equipment
above ground level.
Fragility and vulnerability overhead electrification systems can suffer severe disruption due to
minor mechanical faults or the effects of high winds causing the pantograph of a moving train
to become entangled with the catenary, ripping the wires from their supports. The damage is
often not limited to the supply to one track, but extends to those for adjacent tracks as well,
causing the entire route to be blocked for a considerable time. Third-rail systems can suffer
disruption in cold weather due to ice forming on the conductor rail.
Theft:
The high scrap value of copper and the unguarded, remote installations make overhead cables
an attractive target for scrap metal thieves. Attempts at theft of live 25 kV cables may end in
the thief's death from electrocution. In the UK, cable theft is claimed to be one of the biggest
sources of delay and disruption to train services. People may climb onto standing train cars,
and some are seriously hurt or killed when they come too close to the overhead contact line.
Birds may perch on parts with different charges, and animals may also touch the electrification
system. Animals fallen to the ground are fetched by foxes or other predators. In most of the
world's railway networks, the height clearance of overhead electrical lines is not sufficient for
a double-stack container car. Lots Road Power Station in a poster from 1910. This private
power station, used by London Underground, gave London trains and trams a power supply
independent from the main power network.
Maintenance costs of the lines may be increased, but many systems claim lower costs due to
reduced wear-and-tear from lighter rolling stock.[30]There are some additional maintenance
costs associated with the electrical equipment around the track, such as power sub-stations and
the catenary wire itself, but, if there is sufficient traffic, the reduced track and especially the
lower engine maintenance and running costs exceed the costs of this maintenance
significantly.
In theory, these trains could enjoy dramatic savings through electrification, but it can be too
costly to extend electrification to isolated areas, and unless an entire network is electrified,
companies often find that they need to continue use of diesel trains even if sections are
electrified. The increasing demand for container traffic which is more efficient when utilizing

35
the double-stack car also has network effect issues with existing electrifications due to
insufficient clearance of overhead electrical lines for these trains, but electrification can be
built or modified to have sufficient clearance, at additional cost.
Summary of advantages and disadvantages:
Lines with low frequency of traffic may not be feasible for electrification (especially
using regenerative braking), because lower running cost of trains may be outweighed by the
high cost of the electrification infrastructure. Therefore, most long-distance lines in
developing or sparsely populated countries are not electrified due to relatively low frequency
of trains.
Electric locomotives may easily be constructed with greater power output than most diesel
locomotives. For passenger operation it is possible to provide enough power with diesel
engines (see e.g. 'ICE TD') but, at higher speeds, this proves costly and impractical. Therefore,
almost all high speed trains are electric.
The high power of electric locomotives gives them the ability to pull freight at higher speed
over gradients; in mixed traffic conditions this increases capacity when the time between
trains can be decreased. The higher power of electric locomotives and an electrification can
also be a cheaper alternative to a new and less steep railway if trains weights are to be
increased on a system.
Energy efficiency
An early rail electrification substation at Dartford in England, UK. Electric trains need not
carry the weight of prime movers, transmission and fuel. This is partly offset by the weight of
electrical equipment. Regenerative braking returns power to the electrification system so that
it may be used elsewhere, by other trains on the same system or returned to the general power
grid. This is especially useful in mountainous areas where heavily loaded trains must descend
long grades.
Central station electricity can often be generated with higher efficiency than a mobile
engine/generator. While the efficiency of power plant generation and diesel locomotive
generation are roughly the same in the nominal regime, diesel motors decrease in efficiency in
non-nominal regimes at low power while if an electric power plant needs to generate less
power it will shut down its least efficient generators, thereby increasing efficiency. The
electric train can save energy (as compared to diesel) by regenerative braking and by not
needing to consume energy by idling as diesel locomotives do when stopped or coasting.
However, electric rolling stock may run cooling blowers when stopped or coasting, thus
consuming energy.
Large fossil fuel power stations operate at high efficiency, and can be used for district
heating or to produce district cooling, leading to a higher total efficiency. Energy sources
unsuitable for mobile power plants, such as nuclear power, renewable hydroelectricity,

36
or wind power can be used. According to widely accepted global energy reserve statistics, the
reserves of liquid fuel are much less than gas and coal.
Characteristics
One advantage of electrification is the lack of pollution from the locomotives. Electrification
results in higher performance, lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs.
Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as
locomotive engines. The power can come from clean or renewable sources,
including geothermal power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar power and wind
turbines. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to diesel locomotives since there is no
engine and exhaust noise and less mechanical noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means
electric locomotives are easier on the track, reducing track maintenance.
Power plant capacity is far greater than any individual locomotive uses, so electric
locomotives can have a higher power output than diesel locomotives and they can produce
even higher short-term surge power for fast acceleration. Electric locomotives are ideal
for commuter rail service with frequent stops. Electric locomotives benefit from the high
efficiency of electric motors, often above 90% (not including the inefficiency of generating
the electricity). Additional efficiency can be gained from regenerative braking, which
allows kinetic energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer
electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems that provide for regenerative
braking.
In Europe and elsewhere, railway networks are considered part of the national transport
infrastructure, just like roads, highways and waterways, so are often financed by the state.
Operators of the rolling stock pay fees according to rail use. This makes possible the large
investments required for the technically and, in the long-term, also economically advantageous
electrification. Because railroad infrastructure is privately owned in the U.S., railroads are
unwilling to make the necessary investments for electrification.
Introduction of alternating current

A prototype of a Ganz AC electric locomotive in Valtellina , Italy, 1901

37
The first practical AC electric locomotive was designed by Charles Brown, then working
for Oerlikon, Zürich. In 1891, Brown had demonstrated long-distance power transmission,
using three-phase AC, between a hydro-electric plant at Lauffen am Neckar and Frankfurt am
Main West, a distance of 280 km. Using experience he had gained while working for Jean
Heilmann on steam-electric locomotive designs, Brown observed that three-phase motors had
a higher power-to-weight ratio than DC motors and, because of the absence of a commutator,
were simpler to manufacture and maintain. However, they were much larger than the DC
motors of the time and could not be mounted in underfloor bogies: they could only be carried
within locomotive bodies.
In 1896, Oerlikon installed the first commercial example of the system on the Lugano
Tramway. Each 30-tonne locomotive had two 110 kW (150 hp) motors run by three-phase
750 V 40 Hz fed from double overhead lines. Three-phase motors run at constant speed and
provide regenerative braking, and are well suited to steeply graded routes, and the first main-
line three-phase locomotives were supplied by Brown (by then in partnership with Walter
Boveri) in 1899 on the 40 km Burgdorf—Thun line, Switzerland. The first implementation of
industrial frequency single-phase AC supply for locomotives came from Oerlikon in 1901,
using the designs of Hans Behn-Eschenburgand Emil Huber-Stockar; installation on the
Seebach-Wettingen line of the Swiss Federal Railways was completed in 1904. The 15 kV,
50 Hz 345 kW (460 hp), 48 tonne locomotives used transformers and rotary converters to
power DC traction motors.
In Europe, electrification projects initially focused on mountainous regions for several
reasons: coal supplies were difficult, hydroelectric power was readily available, and electric
locomotives gave more traction on steeper lines. This was particularly applicable in
Switzerland, where close to 100% of lines are electrified. An important contribution to the
wider adoption of AC traction came from SNCF of France after World War II. The company
had assessed the industrial-frequency AC line routed through the steep Höllental Valley,
Germany, which was under French administration following the war. After trials, the company
decided that the performance of AC locomotives was sufficiently developed to allow all its
future installations, regardless of terrain, to be of this standard, with its associated cheaper and
more efficient infrastructure. The SNCF decision, ignoring as it did the 2,000 miles
(3,200 km) of high-voltage DC already installed on French routes, was influential in the
standard selected for other countries in Europe.
In the 1980s, development of very high-speed service brought further electrification. The
Japanese Shinkansen and the French TGV were the first systems for which devoted high-
speed lines were built from scratch. Similar programs were undertaken
in Italy, Germany and Spain; in the United States the only new main-line service was an
extension of electrification over the Northeast Corridor from New Haven,
Connecticut to Boston, Massachusetts, though new electric light rail systems continued to be
built.

38
  Electric locomotive types
 An electric locomotive can be supplied with power from
 Rechargeable energy storage systems, such as battery or ultra capacitor-
powered mining locomotives.
 A stationary source, such as a third rail or overhead wire.
 A diesel-electric combines an onboard diesel engine with an electrical power
transmission or storage (battery, ultra capacitor) system.
 The distinguishing design features of electric locomotives are:
 The type of electrical power used, AC or DC.
 The method of storing (batteries, ultra capacitors) or collecting (transmission)
electrical power.
 The means used to couple the traction motors to the driving wheels (drivers).
 Direct and alternating current

The most fundamental difference lies in the choice of AC or DC. The earliest systems used
DC as AC was not well understood and insulation material for high voltage lines was not
available. DC locomotives typically run at relatively low voltage (600 to 3,000 volts); the
equipment is therefore relatively massive because the currents involved are large in order to
transmit sufficient power. Power must be supplied at frequent intervals as the high currents
result in large transmission system losses.
As AC motors were developed, they became the predominant type, particularly on longer
routes. High voltages (tens of thousands of volts) are used because this allows the use of low
currents; transmission losses are proportional to the square of the current (e.g. twice the
current means four times the loss). AC traction still occasionally uses dual overhead wires
instead of single phase lines. The resulting three-phase current drives induction motors, which
do not have sensitive commutators and permit easy realisation of a regenerative brake. Speed
is controlled by changing the number of pole pairs in the stator circuit, with acceleration
controlled by switching additional resistors in, or out, of the rotor circuit. The two-phase lines
are heavy and complicated near switches, where the phases have to cross each other. The
system was widely used in northern Italy until 1976 and is still in use on some Swiss rack
railways. The simple feasibility of a fail-safeelectric brake is an advantage of the system,
while speed control and the two-phase lines are problematic.
Rectifier locomotives, which used AC power transmission and DC motors, were common,
though DC commutators had problems both in starting and at low velocities. Today's
advanced electric locomotives use brushless three-phase AC induction motors. These poly-
phase machines are powered from GTO-, IGCT- or IGBT-based inverters. The cost of
electronic devices in a modern locomotive can be up to 50% of the cost of the vehicle.
Electric traction allows the use of regenerative braking, in which the motors are used as brakes
and become generators that transforms the motion of the train into electrical power that is then

39
fed back into the lines. This system is particularly advantageous in mountainous operations, as
descending locomotives can produce a large portion of the power required for ascending
trains. Most systems have a characteristic voltage and, in the case of AC power, a system
frequency. Many locomotives have been equipped to handle multiple voltages and frequencies
as systems came to overlap or were upgraded. American FL9 locomotives were equipped to
handle power from two different electrical systems and could also operate as diesel-electrics.
Power transmission

A modern half-pantograph.
Electrical circuits require two connections (or for three phase AC, three connections). From
the beginning, the track was used for one side of the circuit. Unlike model railroads the track
normally supplies only one side, the other side(s) of the circuit being provided separately. It
was replaced by a third rail, in which a pickup (the "shoe") rode underneath or on top of a
smaller rail parallel to the main track, above ground level. There were multiple pickups on
both sides of the locomotive in order to accommodate the breaks in the third rail required by
track work. This system is preferred in subways because of the close clearances it affords.
 Railways generally tend to prefer overhead lines, often called "catenaries" after the
support system used to hold the wire parallel to the ground. Three collection methods
are possible:
 Trolley pole: a long flexible pole, which engages the line with a wheel or shoe.
 Bow collector: a frame that holds a long collecting rod against the wire.
 Pantograph: a hinged frame that holds the collecting shoes against the wire in a fixed
geometry.

Of the three, the pantograph method is best suited for high-speed operation. Some locomotives
use both overhead and third rail collection. A GG1 electric locomotive the whyte
notation system for classifying steam locomotives is not adequate for describing the variety of
electric locomotive arrangements, though the Pennsylvania Railroad applied classes to its
electric locomotives as if they were steam. For example, the PRR GG1 class indicates that it is
arranged like two 4-6-0 class G locomotives coupled back-to-back.

40
UIC classification system was typically used for electric locomotives, as it could handle the
complex arrangements of powered and unpowered axles and could distinguish between
coupled and uncoupled drive system.

41
SOFTWARE
TRANING
REPORT

42
43
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr No. Topics Page No.

1. Introduction 1-3

2. What is Programmable Logic Controller 3-7

3. Programming Language’s 7-10

4. Industrial Applications 10-23

5. Factors And Parameters Affecting Heating 23-25

6. Power Source 25-26

7. Programmable Logic Controller Program 27

44
 INTRODUCTION

Need of programmable logic controller :-

Before PLCs came into existence; sequencing, safety interlock logic for manufacturing, and
other controls were accomplished using physical relays, timers, and dedicated closed-loop
controllers. A relay is a simple device that uses a magnetic field to control a switch .When a
voltage is applied to the input coil, the resulting current creates a magnetic field to control a
switch. When a voltage is applied to the input coil, the resulting current creates a magnetic
field. The magnetic field pulls a metal switch (or reed) towards it and the contacts touch,
closing the switch. The contact that closes when the coil is energized is called Normally
Open(NO).The Normallyclosed (NC) close when the input coil is not energized and open
when the input coil is energized. But the control industries were looking forward to eliminate
the high costs associated with inflexible, relay controlled systems. The specifications required
a solid-state system with computer flexibility which must be able to

(1) survive in an industrial environment,

(2) be easily programmed and maintained by plant engineers and technicians, and
(3) be reusable.
Such a control system would reduce machine downtime and provide expandability for
the future.

Some of the initial specifications included the following:-

• The new control system had to be price competitive with the use of relay
systems.
• The system had to be capable of sustaining an industrial environment.
• The input and output interfaces had to be easily replaceable.
• The controller had to be designed in modular form, so that subassemblies
could be removed easily for replacement or repair.
• The control system needed the capability to pass data collection to a central
system.
• The system had to be reusable.
• The method used to program the controller had to be simple, so that it
could be easily understood by plant personnel.

45
The first programmable controllers:-
By 1969 the first programmable controller was developed. These early controllers met
the original specifications andopened the door to the development of a new control
technology.
The first PLCs offered relay functionality and replaced the original hardwired relay logic,
which used electrically operated devices to mechanically switch electrical circuits. They met
the requirements of modularity, expandability, programmability, and ease of use in an
industrial environment. These controllers were easily installed, used less space, and were
reusable.
The controller programming, although a little tedious, had a recognizable plant standard: the
ladder diagram format.By 1971 PLC had spread to other automation industries such as food
and beverage, metals and manufacturing, pulp and paper.

The conceptual design of PLC:-

The first programmable controllers were more or less just relay replacers. Their primary
function was to perform the sequential operations that were previously implemented with
relays. These operations included ON/OFF control of machines and processes that required
repetitive operations, such as transfer lines and grinding and boring machines. However,
these programmable controllers were a vast improvement over relays. They were easily
installed, used considerably less space and energy, had diagnostic indicators that aided
troubleshooting, and unlike relays, were reusable if a project was scrapped.

Although PLC functions, such as speed of operation, types of interfaces, and data-
processing capabilities, have improved throughout the years, their specifications still hold
to the designers’ original intentions—they are simple to use and maintain.

Today’s Programmable Controllers:-

Many technological advances in the programmable controller industry continue today. And
these have led to many hardware (physical components) and software (control program)
upgrades. The following list describes some recent hardware and software enhancements:-

• Faster scan times are being achieved using new, advanced microprocessor and
electronic technology.

46
• Small, low-cost PLCs , which can replace four to ten relays, now have more power
than their predecessor, the simple relay replacer.
• Mechanical design improvements have included rugged input/output enclosure
and input/output systems that have made the terminal an integral unit.

47
• High-density input/output (I/O) systems provide space-efficient interfaces at
low cost.

• Intelligent, microprocessor-based I/O interfaces have expanded distributed

processing. Typical interfaces include PID (proportional - integral-derivative), network,
CAN bus, fieldbus, ASCII communication, positioning, host computer, and language
modules (e.g., BASIC,
Pascal).

• Special interfaces have allowed certain devices to be connected directly to the

controller. Typical interfaces include thermocouples, strain gauges, and fast-response
inputs.

• Small PLCs have been provided with powerful instructions, which extend the area
application for these small controllers.

• High-level languages, such as BASIC and C, have been implemented in some

controllers’ modules to provide greater programming flexibility when communicating with
peripheral devices and manipulating data.

• Advanced functional block instructions have been implemented for ladder diagram
instruction sets to provide enhanced software capability using simple programming
commands.

• Diagnostics and fault detection have been expanded from simple system diagnostics,
which diagnose controller malfunctions, to include machine diagnostics, which diagnose
failures or malfunctions of the controlled machine or process.

• Floating-point math has made it possible to perform complex calculations in control

applications that require gauging, balancing, and statistical computation.

WHAT IS PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER

A programmable logic controller ,commonly known as PLC, is a solid state, digital , industrial
computer using integrated circuits instead of electromechanical devices to implement control
functions. It was invented in order to replace the sequential circuits which were mainly used for
machine control. They are capable of storing instructions,such as sequencing, timing,counting,
arithmetic, data manipulation and communication,to control machines and processes.

According to NEMA(National Electrical Manufacture’s Association ,USA),the definition of PLC

has been given as
48
“Digital electronic devices that uses a programmable memory to store instructions and to
implement specific functions such as logic , sequencing, timing, counting, and arithmetic to
control machines and processes.”

PLC conceptual application diagram

Basic parts of PLC:-

All programmable controllers contain a CPU, memory, power supply, I/O modules, and
programmable devices. Basic parts of the PLC are as follows:-

(1) Processor
(2) Memory
(3) Input/output devices
(4) Programming panel or unit
(5) Power supply

49
 Programming panel

Program memory Working memory

CPU Power supply

Input circuits Output circuits

Input devices Output devices

Basic parts of PLC

Processors module:-

Processor module is the brain of the PLC. Intelligence of the PLC is derived from
microprocessor being used which has the tremendous computing and controlling capability.
Central processing –unit (CPU) performs the following tasks:-

• Scanning
• Execution of program
• Peripheral and external device communication
• Self- diagnost

Power of PLCs depends on the type of microprocessors being used. Small size PLCs use 8-bit
microprocessors where as higher order controllers use bit-slice microprocessor in order to
achieve faster instruction execute

Modern day PLCs vary widely in their capabilities to control real world devices, like some
processors are able to handle the I/O devices as few as six and some are able to handle
40000 or more. The no. of input/output control of PLCs depends on the, hardware, software,
overall capacity and memory capability of the PLCs.

50
 The CPU upon receiving instruction from the memory together with feedback on the status
of the I/O devices generates commands for the output devices. These commands control the
devices on a machine or a process. Devices such as solenoid valves, indicator lamps, relay
coils and motor starters and typical loads to be controlled.

Operating system is the main workhouse of the system and hence performs the following tasks:-

1. Executions of application program

2. Management of memory
3. Communication between programmable controller and other units
4. i/o handling of interfaces
5. resource sharing
6. diagnostics

Input modules:-

There are many types of input modules to choose from. The type of input module selection
depends upon the process, some example of input modules are limit :-switches, proximity
switches and push buttons etc. nature of input classification can be done in three ways,
namely:-

• low/high frequency
• analog/digital (two-bit, multi-bit)
• maintained or momentary
• 5V/24V/110V/220V switched

Some most industrial power systems are inherently noisy:- electrical isolation is provided
between the input and the processor. Electromagnetic interference (EMI)

And radio frequency interference (RFI) can cause severe problems in most solid state control
systems. The component used often to provide electrical isolation within I/O cards is called
an optical isolator or auto-coupler. typically, there are 8 to 32 input points on any one input
modules. Each input point is assigned a unique address by the processor.

Output modules:-

Output modules can be used for devices such as solenoids, relays, contractors, pilot lamps
and led readouts. Output cards usually have 6 to 32 output points on a single module. Output
cards , like input cards , have electrically isolation between the load being connected and the
PLC. Analog output cards are a special type of output modules that use digital to analog
conversion. The analog output module can take a value stored in a 12 bit file and convert it
to an analog signal. Normally , this signal is 0-10 volts dc or 4-20ma. This analog signal is
51
often used in equipment , such as motor-operated valves and pneumatic position control
device. Each output point is identified with a unique address.

Programming unit:-

It is an external, electronic handheld device which can be connected to the processors of the
PLC when programming changes are required. Once a program has been coded and is
considered finished, It can be burned in to ROM. The contents of ROM cannot be altered, as
it is not affected by power failure. Now a days EPROM/EEPROM are provided in which
program can be debugged at any stage. Once the program is debugged, programming unit is
disconnected ; and the PLC can operate process according to the ladder diagram or the
statement list.

Communications in PLC:-

There are several methods how a PLC can communicate with the programmer, or even with
another PLC. PLCs usually built in communication ports for at least RS232, and optionally for
RS 485, and Ethernet. Modbus is the lowest common denominator communication protocol.
Others are various fieldbuses such as profile bus, interbus-s, foundation field bus, etc.

PLCs are becoming more and more intelligent .in recent years, PLCs have been integrated in
to industrial networks, and all the PLCs in an industrial environment have been plugged in to
a network. The PLCs are then supervised by a control centre. There exist many types of
networks, SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition)

Operation of PLC :-
During program execution , the processor reads all the inputs , and according to control
application program , energizes and de-energizes the outputs. Once all the logic has been
solved, the processors will update all the outputs. The process of reading the inputs,
executing the control application program, and updating the output is known as scan.

The inputs to the PLCs are sampled by processor and the contents are stored in memory.
Control program is executed, the input value stored in memory are used in control logic
calculations to determine the value of output. The outputs are then updated.

The cycle consisting of reading of inputs, executing the control program, and actuating the
output is known as “scan” and the time to finish this task is known as “scan time” . The
speed at which PLC scan depends upon the clock speed of CPU. The time to scan depends
upon following parameter:-

• Scan rate
• Length of the program

52
 • Types of functions used in the program

Faster scan time implies the inputs and outputs are updated frequently. Due to advance
techniques of ASIC ( application specific integrated circuit) within the microcomputer for
specific functions , scan time of different PLCs have reduced greatly.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
As PLCs have developed and expanded, programming languages have developed with them.
Programming languages allow the user to enter a control program into a PLC using an
established syntax. Today’s advanced languages have new, more versatile instructions, which
initiate control program actions. These new instructions provide more computing power for
single operations performed by the instruction itself.
In addition to new programming instructions, the development of powerful I/O modules has
also changed existing instructions. These changes include the ability to send data to and
obtain data from modules by addressing the modules’ locations. For example, PLCs can now
read and write data to and from analog modules. All of these advances, in conjunction with
projected industry needs, have created a demand for more powerful instructions that allow
easier, more compact, function-oriented PLC programs.

The three types of programming languages used in PLCs are:-

• Ladder
• Boolean
• Grafcet

The ladder and Boolean languages essentially implement operations in the same way, but they
differ in the way their instructions are represented and how they are entered into the PLC. The
Grafcet language implements control instructions in a different manner, based on steps and
actions in a graphic oriented program.

Ladder language:-

For ease of programming the programmable controller was developed using existing relay
ladder symbols and expressions to represent the program logic, needed to control the
machine or process. The resulting programming language, which used these original basic

53
relay ladder symbols, was given the name ladder language. Figure below illustrates a relay
ladder logic circuit and the PLC ladder language representation of the same circuit.

Hardwired logic circuit and its PLC ladder diagram representation

The evolution of the original ladder language has turned ladder programming into a more
powerful instruction set. New functions have been added to the basic relay, timing, and
counting operations. The term function is used to describe instructions that, as the name
implies, perform a function on data i.e. handle and transfer data within the programmable
controller.

New additions to the basic ladder logic also include function blocks, which use a set of
instructions to operate on a block of data. The use of function blocks increases the power of
the basic ladder language, forming what is known as enhanced ladder language.

The format representation of an enhanced ladder function depends on the programmable

controller manufacturer; however, regardless of their format, all similar enhanced and basic
ladder functions operate the same way.

Boolean language:-

Some PLC manufacturers use Boolean language, also called Boolean mnemonics, to
program a controller. The Boolean language uses Boolean algebra syntax to enter and
explain the control logic. That is, it uses the AND, OR, and NOT logic functions to implement
the control circuits in the control program. Figure below shows a basic Boolean program.

54
 Hardwired logic circuit and its Boolean expression

The Boolean language is just the another way of entering the control program in the PLC,
rather than an actual instruction-oriented language. When displayed on the programming
monitor, the Boolean language is usually viewed as a ladder circuit instead of as the Boolean
commands that define the instruction.

Grafcet:-

Grafcet(Graphe Fonctionnel de Commande Étape Transition) is a symbolic, graphic language,

which originated in France, that represents the control program as steps or stages in the
machine or process. In fact, the English translation of Grafcet means “step transition function
charts.” Grafcet is the foundation for the IEC 1131 standard’s sequential function charts
(SFCs), which allow several PLC languages to be used in one control program.

A simple circuit represented in Grafcet. Note that Grafcet charts provide a flowchart-like
representation of the events that take place in each stage of the control program. These
charts use three components— steps, transitions, and actions—to represent events. The IEC
1131 standard’s SFCs also use these components; however, the instructions inside the
actions can be programmed using one or more possible languages, including ladder
diagrams.

55
 Hardwired logic circuit and its grafcet representation

Once programmed in the PC, the Grafcet instructions can be transferred to a PLC via a
translator or driver that translates the Grafcet program into a ladder diagram or Boolean
language program. Using this method, a Grafcet software manufacturer can provide different
PLCs that use the same “language.”

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

1. Continuous bottle filling system:-

This is one of the important application of PLC in the bottle filling industry where we want our
bottles, which are moving on the conveyor belt, to be automatically detected at the appropriate
position and get it filled by any desired liquid and also after getting filled the queued bottle gets
chance to be filled. If this whole process is carried out manually it will really take a long time and
also the quantities will be quite lesser. So PLC becomes requisite controller for these types of
industry.

Objective:-

56
We will implement a control program that detects the position of a bottle via a limit switch then
waits for 0.5 secs, and then fills the bottle until a photo detector detects the filled condition of
the bottle. After the bottle is filled ,the buzzer sounds and the control program will again wait
for 0.7 secs. before moving to the next bottle .Until the limit switch signals ,the feed motor,M1
runs while

there are fixed rollers which carries the filled bottles. Motor,M2 keeps running after the process
has been started.

Bottle filling system

57
 ladder diagram for bottle filling system

2. Batch mixing system:-

This is another commonly applied application of PLC where two liquids are mixed in required
proportion to form a batch .Rate of the flow is already fixed. We only control the time of the
flow. Level of the liquids in the tank are sensed by the level sensor switches

Objective:-
We try a simple blending of water and acid in a container where we only have three level
sensors(L1,L2, and L3) and two liquids flowing in through two solenoid valves, solenoid
a(water control) and solenoid b(acid control)and draining out through solenoid c(blend
outflow).The batch is to be controlled by timer. After required level of blend is sensed (by
L1)the mixer runs for 3 mins. by the motor. They are mixed in ratio of 3:2. The process
initiates with the drain valve open, water and acid valves closed, mixer motor is off, and the
tank is empty.

58
 Batch mixing system

Ladder diagram:-

59
 Ladder diagram for batch mixing system

Observation:-
When start button is pressed water is filled upto L2 and it ends as L2 is closed. First of all as
start is pressed output O:0/15 turns ON and remains ON until tank is emptied. Rung 2 closes
normally open drain valve, before timer T:4 activates. Rung 3 energises solenoid a until L2
doesn’t signal, once it signals solenoid a gets de-energised.Then motor is turned ON and mix
it for 3 mins. Similarly acid is filled upto L3 by solenoid b.as level gets detected by L3 solenoid
b de-energises .And then mixer gets started and it runs for 3 minutes. After time delay of 3
mins solenoid c opens and the blend gets drained out .Once the blend gets out completely
,the process cycle restarts.The ladder diagram was successfully checked in the PLC simulator
and all the prescribed conditions were observed completely.

3. 3 -stage air conditioning system:-

A simple air conditioner consists of a single air compressor motor which gets switched off
when temperature of the space being controlled falls below the setting on the thermostat.
Thermostats are provided with a differential setting to avoid on and off of the compressor
motor.
The three stage air conditioning system helps in conservation of electrical power.

60
Objective:-

There are two motors compressors in the system. One is of low horsepower and other one is
of high horsepower rating. These motors are designated as C1 and C2 in the case. The system
is installed in a hall to maintain the temperature between 200C-240C depending on the
number of viewers in the hall and the atmospheric temperature.

The motors of C1 and C2 are run on three conditions of the thermostats. The three
conditions described below are also the control requirements of the air conditioning system:-

1.Compressor 1 and compressor 2 should turn on when the temp. of the hall is above
280C . 2.Only compressor 2 should turned on when the temp. of the hall is above 240C
and below 280C.
3.Only compressor 1 is turned on when the temp. is above 200C and below 240C.

A pre- condition for running any compressor is that chilling water flow switch FS1 should
be closed. Chilling water flow necessary to take away heat from the compressed cooling
water.

Three thermostat with different settings are used for the control of compressor motor
running In three different stages described above. The three thermostats T1, T2, T3, are set
at temp 200C, 240C and 280C respectively.

The control of three stages with three the thermostats and Flow switch (FS1) of air
conditioning system can be understood from the control circuit.

Working of the control circuit :-

1.When chilled water flow is maintained, flow switch FS1 will actuate and close its contacts.
Closing of contact FS1 causes application of high logic signal to terminal 2 of all gates.

61
 logic control circuit for 3 stage air conditioning system

2. When the temp. in the cinema hall will be above 280C the contacts of all the thermostat
will be closed. Closed contact of T1 will give a high input to terminal 1 of AND1 but closed
contact of T2 will give low logic to terminal 3 of AND1 as there is a not gate in series. The
output of AND1, therefore becomes low.

3. Closed contact of T3 will give a high input to terminal 1 of AND2 while the other terminal
2 is already high due to closure of FS1 AND2 thus gives a high output which is applied to
both OR1 and OR2,as each terminal of OR1andOR2 is now high, their output is also high.
Output from OR1 leads to energisation of contactor C1 and output from OR2 leads to
energisation of contactor C2 through their respective amplifiers.

4. When the hall temp. is below 280C and above 240C, contact of thermostat T3 will open,
While contacts of T 1andT 2 are closed. Due to open contact of T3 there is low signal at
terminal 1 of AND2 and therefore its output is low. Output of AND1 is also low as closed
Contact of T2 gives a low signal at terminal 3 due to a not gate in series, in this case AND3
Will have a high output as its input terminal1 has high signal from the closed contact of
Thermostat T2 ,it is to be noted that supply to terminal1 of AND3 is taken prior to the
NOT Gate. High output from AND3 goes to terminal 2 of OR2 which then gives a high
output. This output energises contactor C2 through the amplifier.

5. When the temp. falls below 240C contact of thermostat T2 opens and output of AND3 will
Go low due to a low signal in its input terminal the open contact of T2 will however give a
high signal to terminal 3 of AND 1 (due to not gate in series), It will get switched on as its
terminal 1 and2 are already high. The high output from and1 then goes to terminal 1 of
or1 which then gives a high output to energise contactor C1.

Ladder diagram:-

62
 Ladder diagram for 3 stage air conditioning system

Observation:-

The ladder diagram was satisfactorily realized in the lab and all the conditions were tested
.The outputs are same as expected

4.Control of Planar machine:-

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 Planar machine

In this machine, the work piece or the job placed on the table moves to and fro by rack and
pinion arrangement mounted on the shaft of the squirrel cage motor. Here the cutting tool is
fixed while the job placed on the table is worked upon by the movement of table. Movement
of the table is controlled between two limits left and right by switches 1LS and 2LS. When the
table moves left to right, tool works on the job while it remains ideal during right to left
motion of the table. At the end of right to left motion, tool gets feed for the next cut on the
job. Various control requirements for the job are as follows:-

(1) The motor is to be start manually by pressing start push-button. Once the motor
starts it reversed automatically at the end of right or left stroke by limit
switches2LSand1LS.
(2) There should be provision of jogging the motor by jog push button.
(3) If the machine table is lying in between extreme position, machine should fail to start.
Selection of initial direction of travel should be possible through right and left push
button, PBR and PBL.
(4) There should be delay in starting the motor in left to right stroke so as to allow the
tool To get the feed for the fresh cut on the job.
(5) The machine should stop on pressing the stop push –button or on over load tripping
of motor.
(6) Interlocking of coolant pump motor(running) should be provided as a precondition for
the starting of machine.

logic control circuit for planar machine

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Working of the circuit :-

1. When start-push button is pressed, input terminal 1 of AND1 becomes high,its output
also goes high as its input terminal2 is also high due to close contact of stop-push
button.
Output is fed back to terminal1 for holding the output high.
2. Output of AND1 appears at terminal 1 of OR1 making the output of OR1high which
appears at terminal I of AND2. If motor overload relay contact is CLOSED and
coolant pump motor is running, then terminals 2and 3 of AND2 also have a high
signal. Thus all the three input terminals of AND2, are high and so its output goes
high.

3. Output of AND2 appears at terminal 1 of AND3 and AND4 Depending upon the
condition of memory element whether it is in set mode or in reset, either AND3 or
AND4 output will go high and will energies their respective contactor R or L. Desired
direction
of travel may however be selected by pressing the right or left traverse push
buttonsPB3 or PB4before pressing the START-push button.

4. To understand the reversing action of circuit, it is assumed that initially the machine
table is in extreme left position so that the limit switch ILS is in actuated condition
and its normally open (NO) contact is closed. Thus, a high signal appears at terminal A
of the retentive memory through closed contact of ILS. Memory element gets set and
its output terminal X goes high.

5. High output from terminal X appears at terminal 2 of AND3 after some delay set by
the timer T while at terminal 2 of AND4 a low signal appears because of the NO T gate
being in series with the output from X.

6. As both the terminals I and 2 of AND3, arc now high, its output becomes high which
energize motor contactor R through the amplifier. Machine table thus moves in right
direction.

7. When extreme right position is reached, limit switch 2LS gets actuated. Is normally
Open (NO) contact closes and resets the memory element. Output at terminal X goes
low and thus terminal 2 and AND3 also becomes low. Output of AND3 therefore goes
low and contactor R is de-energized. At the same time when memory element gets
reset, terminal
2 of AND4goes high due to a NOT gate inverting the low output from X

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 8. Thus, due to actuation of limit switch 2LS terminal 2 and AND4 goes high while its
terminal 1 is already high. Hence, a high output appears which energize motor
contactor L through the amplifier. Motor now runs in reverse direction to move the
table from right to left.

9. when the table reaches extreme left position limit switches ILS gets actuated and
memory element is set thus terminal 2 of AND4 goes low and its output becomes
low. Contactor l is therefore is de-energized. After a delay set on timer Again
Contactor R is energized as output of AND3 becomes high. The to and fro motion, due
to setting and resetting of memory elements by actuation of limit switches.
Continues till the stop push Button is pressed or overloads trips to make the terminal1
of AND3 and AND4 low.

10. if the machine table is required to be moved slowly in steps for the adjustment of the
tool with respect to the job position then jog- push button.

5. Speed control of dc motor:-

Speed control of a motor means the intentional variation of speed according to the
requirement of the work-load connected with the motor. This can be done by mechanical
means ,such as by using stepped pulleys, a set of change gears,a friction clutch
mechanism,etc. However control of speed by electrical means has greater advantages over
mechanical speed controls.The dc motors offer easy speed control and that’s why dc motors
are preferred over other types of motors in many applications. Various speed control method
can be obtained from its expression which is:-

N=V - IaRa/Kϕ 1.
Where:-

N=speed of motor
Ia=armature current
Ra=armature resistance
Φ=field flux
So it can be concluded that speed of dc motor depends upon

a. The applied voltage

b. The field flux

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c. Drop in armature circuit resistance IaRa

And accordingly speed can be controlled by varying the above factors.

A.Speed control by varying the field flux:-

In shunt field winding motor ,variable resistor called field regulator is connected in series
while in series motor a resistor called diverter is connected in parallel with series field
winding. When field circuit resistance is varied ,the field current and so the flux varies.But by
introducing field regulator ,the field circuit resistance can only be increased i.e. the field flux
can only be decreased,and therby the speed of the motor can be increased.It is not possible
to decrease motor’s speed by this method.Similarly by increasing the diverter circuit
resistance, the field current can be reduced and thereby the speed of series motor cab be
increased.Reduction of speed is not possible by using diverter.

B.Speed control by connecting a resistance in series with armature:-

A reistance called the controller is connected in series with the armature .Here the speed of
the motor can be reduced as desired. Using desired value of the controller resistance, the
speed can be reduced or increased to a great extent. The field winding should be connected
across the supply terminals, otherwise the flux produced will be badly affected and sufficient
torque may not be produced to rotate the motor.
The disadvantages of this method are as follows:-

a. The overall efficiency of the system is low as much of the input energy is dissipated in
the controller as heat.
b. The controller has relatively high cost.
c. The speed may vary largely with variation of load.

C.Speed control by controlling the voltage applied across the armature terminals:-

In this method of speed control the armature is supplied with a variable voltage with the help
of a motor-generator set since the supply voltage available from the electricity authority
cannot be varied at will.This system of speed control is also known as the Ward-Leonard
system.If a reversing switch is incorporated,by changing the polarity of the armature supply
terminals,speed can be varied in the opposite direction also.This system is advantageous
over other system in following ways:-

a. it provides smooth control of speed over a wide range in both directions

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 b. The system is more efficient at low speeds as there are no resistors connected in series
with the armature circuit.

We apply this strategy only to control the motor speed as other methods are lossy and
inefficient. Here instead of adding extra motor- generator set we control speed by PLC. The
PLC supplies control signals to the MOSFET switches .These control signals have variable duty
cycle that depends on the speed required. Depending on the duty cycle the motor gets the
average voltage and accordingly speed varies.

Consider the circuit shown below .Here we have a dc voltage source V, a resistor R, inductor
L, diode D, and a semiconductor switch Q (shown here as an N-channel insulated gate
MOSFET). The signal applied to the gate of the switch Q is a pulse train with constant
frequency f (and constant period T), but with varying pulse width t. The amplitude of the
signal applied to the gate will cause the switch to transition between cutoff and saturation
with very short rise and fall times. The relative values of R and L are selected such that the
time constant = L/R is at least 10 times the period T of the pulse train applied to the gate of
Q. The long L/R time constant will have a low-pass filtering effect on the chopped output of
the switch Q, and will effectively smooth the current into dc with very little ac component.

simple dc switch voltage controller

For the switch Q, the ratio of the on-time t to the period T is defined as the duty cycle, and is
represented as a percentage between zero and 100%.For any duty cycle between 0% and
100%, the average resistor voltage will be a corresponding percentage of the voltage V and
also the power transferred to the motor. For example, if we adjust the applied gate pulses so
that the duty cycle is 35% (i.e., ON for 35% of the time, OFF for 65% of the time), then the
voltage on the resistor R will be 35% of the input voltage V. This is because, during the time
that the switch is ON, the inductor L will store energy; during the time the switch is OFF, the
inductor will give up some of its stored energy keeping current flowing in the circuit through

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inductor L, resistor R, and the forward biased diode D (in this application, the diode is called a
freewheeling diode or commutation diode).
As in the above figure we have resistance and inductor connected in series we can model dc
armature as lumped resistance and lumped inductance in series.

dc motor armature model

dc motor speed control

PLC implementation:-

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 ladder diagram for generation of pulses

For generation of pulses ,first whole time period is set in counter by any n-bit according to
resolution required. Now according to the percentage of rpm required with respected to
maximum rpm of the motor , the counter is also set at the same percentage(value with
respect to n-digit maximum value) as the voltage. We have comparator to check that value.
Till fixed value signals passes while it remains off for remaining period of the pulse. In this
way we generate signals of varying duty cycle pulses.

Matlab Simulink :-

We used matlab Simulink to study how the rpm of motor varied by changing the dc
average supply to the motor and this dc supply voltage was varied by supplying the
variable duty cycle signal through PLC.

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 Variation of rpm when dc supply is 2.5 volts and 1.5 volts

6. Automatic frequency control of induction heating:-

What is Induction heating?

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Induction heating is a non-contact heating process and it uses
high frequency electricity to heat materials that are electrically
conductive. Since it is non-contact, the heating process does not
contaminate the material being heated. It is also very efficient
since the heat is actually generated inside the workpiece. This
can be contrasted with other heating methods where heat is
generated in a flame or heating element, which is then applied to
the workpiece. For these reasons, Induction Heating lends itself
to some unique applications in industry. Let us take the case of
platinum and gold jewellery manufacturing industry where the Induction heating is an
important enabling technology . The first reason for using induction heating is that the high
melting point of platinum alloys dissolves the usual refractory materials, causing
contamination of the melt ,when process is carried by other heating method and results in
poor finished products. The second reason is the special mixture of oxy-gas and hydrogen
required for melting platinum is often expensive and requires skilled labour to operate.

How it is carried out?

Theoretically it can be said that only 3 things are essential to implement induction heating:
1. A source of High Frequency electrical power,
2. A work coil to generate the alternating magnetic field,
3. An electrically conductive workpiece to be heated,

Practically ,there are several other systems and circuits required like water cooling
system (to remove waste heat from work coil),impedance matching(for maximum power
transfer) and power and frequency control circuitry(to control deviated power and
resonance frequency)

For heating , source of high frequency electricity is used which drives a large alternating
current through the work coil and passage of this current through the coil generates a very
intense and rapidly changing magnetic field in the space within the work coil. The workpiece
to be heated is placed within this intense alternating magnetic field.

FACTORS AND PARAMETERS AFFECTING HEATING

1. Eddy currents:-

The arrangement of the work coil and the workpiece can be thought of as an electrical
transformer. The work coil is like the primary where electrical energy is fed in, and the
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workpiece is like a single turn secondary that is short-circuited. This causes tremendous
currents to flow through the workpiece. These are known as eddy currents.

The frequency of the induced Eddy currents in the work-piece is determined by the
frequency of the power source. These eddy currents are induced into a peripheral layer of
the work-piece known as the skin-depth (δ) or penetration depth which is characteristic of
current flow at high frequency and this skin- depth is related as:-
δ=(ρ/µπf)^0.5
2.

Where:-

δ = penetration depth ρ =
resistivity of work-piece
f=frequency of eddy
currents
µ = permeability of work-piece which in this case is the same as free space, since the work-
piece is non-magnetic.

The skin depth is roughly where the current density has fallen to about one third its surface
value. The current density falls off from the surface to the center of the workpiece and its
rate of decrease is higher at higher frequencies, thus to decrease the skin-depth(for
concentrated heating),high frequency is used. This skin depth is also dependent on two
properties of the material, i.e., resistivity and relative permeability and these two factors get
affected at high temperatures.

2. Skin effect:-

In addition to this, the high frequency used in induction heating applications gives rise
to a phenomenon called skin effect. This skin effect forces the alternating current to
flow in a thin layer towards the surface of the workpiece and this effect increases the
effective resistance of the metal to the passage of the large current. Therefore it
greatly increases the heating effect caused by the current induced in the workpiece.

3.Coupling Efficiency:-

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Coupling efficiency is a measure of the amount of power transferred between the coil and
workpiece. It is measure of how much the primary and secondary windings are closely
coupled to reduce the flux leakage between them.
The efficiency of coupling in this case is dependent on the resistivity of the coil
and that of the work-piece and is given by the equation below:-

η=1/1+( ρc/ ρwµw)^0.5 3

where:-

η = coupling efficiency between the coil and work-piece;

ρc = electrical resistivity of the heating coil (which is usually oof! copper
tubing) ρw = electrical resistivity of the work-piece µw = relative permeability
of the work-piece

Practical factors affecting coupling efficiency include:-

• Geometry of work-piece, which improves for a tightly packed, solid work-

piece and decreases for a loosely packed work-piece due to leakage flux.
• Geometry of the heating coil, which improves for a closely wound coil
around the work-piece. Other factors also concerned with geometry are the
length of the coil and the number of coil turns.
• The material used for the heating coil. The higher the coil conductivity, the
lower the I2R losses in the coil, hence the more power transferred to the work-
piece

4.Curie temperature:-

The heating of ferro-magnetic materials poses a special problem because of the Curie
point. Above the Curie temperature the relative permeability of the material reduces to
unity, which results in a large increase in skin depth.The equation regarding change in
the permeability is given as:-
4 ρθ= ρl*1+α2θ(θ-θl)
Where:

ρθ =The resistivity at any temperature e, α2θ = the temperature

coefficient of resistance at a temperature of 20DC, ρl = the
resistivity at temperature θl.
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5.Hysteresis loss:-
For ferrous metals like iron and some types of steel, there is an additional heating
mechanism that takes place at the same time as the eddy currents mentioned above. The
intense alternating magnetic field inside the work coil repeatedly magnetises and de-
magnetises the iron crystals. This rapid flipping of the magnetic domains causes considerable
friction and heating inside the material. Heating due to this mechanism is known as
Hysteresis loss, and is greatest for materials that have a large area inside their B-H curve. This
can be a large contributing factor to the heat generated during induction heating, but only
takes place inside ferrous materials. For this reason ferrous materials are mostly used for
heating through induction than non-ferrous materials.

POWER SOURCE

Induction heating power supplies are frequency changers that convert utility line
frequency (50Hz) power to the desired single-phase power at the frequency
required by the induction heating process. The rectifier portion of the power supply
converts the single-phase line frequency input to DC, and the inverter portion
changes the DC to single-phase high frequency (100kHz) AC.

This is illustrated in the blocks below

Rectifier Inverter Heating

AC 50Hz
load
AC-DC DC-AC

Blocks showing different components of power supply

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The load circuit:-

The induction-heating load forms part of a resonant tank circuit with a Q(varies from 3 to 18) .
The power source is used to drive this tank circuit at its resonant frequency. The metal which is
to be heated is situated inside a refractory crucible, which is placed inside the heating coil.
When the coil is loaded a resulting shift in the resonant frequency of the tank circuit occurs. This
shift in resonant frequency is directly related to the loading effect, which depends on the
resistivity of the work-piece and the efficiency of coupling between the work-piece and the coil
which had been discussed previously. This shift is compensated for by manually adjusting the
driving frequency of the power source to the new load resonant frequency. When dealing with
magnetic metals, frequency shifts also occurs during a heating cycle as in the ferromagnetic
material (eg. steel), the relative permeability of that metal decreases with an increase in
temperature, which causes a large shift in resonant frequency when the metal is heated through
its Curie point. All of the factors mentioned above should be considered when heating and
melting various metals by induction.

A problem thus exists when different metals are placed in the heating coil, because it would
require the operator of the induction furnace to manually tune the system for maximum
power and efficiency throughout the process. This situation is undesirable, because human
intervention is not always as accurate and reliable as automatic control. An example of this
situation occurs when heating a high melting point metal such as platinum. This process
requires continuous maximum power transfer at all times. Incorrect manual tuning of the
driving frequency could result in the freezing of the precious metal at the instant of pouring,
due to insufficient heating above the metals melting point. The system also becomes less
complicated to use, once automatic frequency control is implemented. Now this frequency
controlled circuit will automatically look for the resonance frequency all the time when work
piece is heated and will supply the maximum power.

PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC CONTROLLER PROGRAM

Siemens’s S7-200/CPU model PLC has been chosen for the hardware implementation. This
PLC has 14 inputs,10 outputs and, PWM and PTO generators. These generators cab be
directed to Q0.1 and Q0.2 outputs. It also has the input-output capability to perform certain
functions such as placing and removing the work piece, temperature ,pressure and position
control. The written program has two main components. The first part generates the
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necessary pulses for the inverter, while the second one is responsible for the control of the
induction furnace.

AC Rectifier Inverter
Heating load
Supply(50 Hz) AC-DC DC-AC

IGBT drive PLC/PWM

circuits generator

Blocks showing different power components along with PLC controller

The availability of solid state power sources enables us to make use of PLC more efficiently. It
has enabled conversion efficiencies of up to 93 % due to low switching losses and good high
frequency coupling • Solid state power sources used to drive induction-heating loads are
usually very efficient, provided that the load is driven at its natural resonant frequency. This
allows zero voltage (ZYS) and or zero current (ZCS) switching of the converter, resulting in
reduced power losses in the semiconductor switches.

Block diagram of induction steel heating furnace

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