POWER SUPPLY SYSTEMS

Safe, reliable, designed to last: the systems produced by ECM satisfy every demand of electrical power in the sector of railroad signaling, in ordinary situations and under the most extreme conditions. The new technologies used in a unique environment such as the railroad require power supply systems that ensure the maximum continuity and quality of the signals; ECM furnishes a prompt response with a range of equipment designed to satisfy every demand and, what is more, designed for connection with the integrated diagnostic and remote control system, making it possible to perform supervision of all the main operating parameters involved.

Static systems are the key element of ECM power systems. They receive energy from primary sources or, if necessary, from emergency power units, and supply power without interruption drawing from reserves consisting of accumulators which are kept constantly charged.

Particular attention is devoted to the quality of the waveform generated, which is exceptionally high in terms of static and dynamic stability of the voltage, low distortion, tolerance in the excursion of the power factor of the utilities.

The use of the most modern technologies applied to parts, such as IGBT, special magnetic parts, microprocessors, etc., has made it possible to obtain remarkable results in terms of versatility, efficiency and reliability. The range of powers covered goes from a few kVA to several dozen kVA in the version with single-phase output and several hundred kVA in the version with three-phase output.

All the static power units produced by ECM originate with the circuitry necessary to be used, if necessary in redundant configuration. The presence of sturdy galvanic insulation toward both power mains and utilities makes the static power units by ECM ideal for use in conditions of heavy exposure to power surges due to lightning and other causes.

Three-phase and single-phase, from a few hundred VA to hundreds of kVA, always operating in a harsh environment such as the railroad: the AC/AC stabilizers developed by ECM ensure the best quality of waveform output at all times. The availability of both electrodynamic and static technologies makes it possible to satisfy the widest variety of needs in terms of reliability, speed of action and precision of the stabilized voltage. A special feature of all the stabilizers produced by ECM is that even in case of malfunction of the stabilization function, there is no disconnection of the utilities from the power source. This prerogative is particularly useful when these devices are used to stabilize the emergency lines of continuity systems.

ECM’s production also includes a wide range of AC/DC converters which are indispensable to be able to dispose of power sources in direct current. These are devices of varying power, developed with different technologies and serving as needed for high frequency switching, three-phase and twelve-phase converters with low harmonic impact, Power Factor Correction, etc.

Where a high availability of energy for valuable railroad systems is needed, ECM makes available complete solutions that include static power units equipped with reserve accumulators, stabilizers for alternate current and converters for direct current, protection and monitoring panels with reserve accumulators, interconnection panels and power units that ensure a supply of reserve energy even for greatly extended periods. All ECM’s continuity systems ensure galvanic separation between the public power mains and the essential utilities for continuity.

The redundancy configurations with several branches of the hot stand-by or load sharing type guarantee fault-tolerant behavior for breakdowns of the individual modules so as to greatly raise the rate of availability of the system. In particular, the function monitoring system provides for the possibility of memorizing sequences of all the operating states that precede and follow an alarm state, thereby generating a readily decipherable ‘history’ for the purpose of understanding any unusual behavior of the system.

ECM’s production also includes a wide range of AC/DC converters which are indispensable to be able to dispose of power sources in direct current. These are devices of varying power, developed with different technologies and serving as needed for high frequency switching, three-phase and twelve-phase converters with low harmonic impact, Power Factor Correction, etc.

These instruments, which must be able to satisfy all the needs of electrical interconnection, provide an ideal interface between system power equipment and utilities.

ECM also provides automatic control logics and slave devices for remote system management.

A rack of removable functional units in 19” format, to form a modular structure, is the central element of the series of LV/LV power panels designed by ECM to furnish the various supply voltages used for railroad signaling devices.

To guarantee the constant control of integrity of the power lines, ECM has developed a system for checking the insulation of the wires: a instrument that can be interfaced directly with the devices for remote diagnostics and thus indispensable for remote supervision of the state of operation of the power systems.

These insulation indicators are distinguished for use on lines with AC or DC power and are equipped with a function that tests their integrity and can be managed also via remote control. 

The railroad environment is particularly exposed to direct and induced power surges due to natural and other causes. The range of surge suppressors produced by ECM, which come in various sizes depending on the requirements and load as well as the working voltage, solve the problem and guarantee effective protection of the railroad signaling utilities.

It is a well-known fact at this point that lightning follows the ionized channels of charges that develop between the clouds and the ground. In this case more or less vast areas are created in which the voltage gradients are very high and, in the railroad environment, these are distributed along the outlying zones, mainly through the network created by the tracks. 

It is therefore essential to use suitable methods to increase immunity to power surge on the signaling devices. The use of suppressors and the inclusion, where possible, of sturdy barriers of galvanic insulation, greatly reduce the cases of breakdowns attributable to these events.