Traction systems using power electronics for Shinkansen High-speed Electric Multiple Units

This paper presents advantageous features of the distributed traction systems, or Electric Multiple Units, and application of power electronics technology to the Shinkansen High-speed train. The EMUs have many advantages such as the energy saving by regenerative brake, high-speed running on steep gradient routes with high adhesive force, and others. Historically, the Japanese highspeed train system, Shinkansen, has employed the EMU system, and furthermore, it has adopted the AC regenerative braking system and the asynchronous motor driving system for the traction system since the Series 300 in 1990. The current flagship Series N700 Shinkansen train employs the train-draft-cooling power converter with the low-switching-loss IGBT. This contributes to realizing a quarter of weight/power ratio of the traction system and a half of energy consumption, compared with the Series 0, the first-generation Shinkansen. In this paper, as a future development of innovative lightweight technologies, a permanent magnet synchronous traction motor (PMSM) is also introduced.