Further developments in rail transport are focussing on lightweight construction, increased efficiency and noise reduction, while distributed drives are also increasingly being used.
Previous suspension systems were based on connecting the wheels via a wheelset shaft. This means that the wheels are rigidly connected to each other, which leads to increased wear and noise emissions, particularly when cornering. In contrast, DLR is pursuing the approach of individually driven wheels. This allows the wheels to be individually controlled in an optimum manner, which reduces wear on the wheel and rail as well as noise emissions when cornering
This concept results in special requirements for the NGT's drive motors in terms of installation space, power density, weight and dynamics. In order to meet these requirements, DLR is developing a highly optimised traction motor using the following methodology:.
- Design of the traction machine with the help of self-developed analytical tools as well as FEM and optimal magnetic circuit design
- Evaluation of the dynamic properties of the drive using a multi-physics simulation of the power electronics, electrical machine and mechanics of the drive
- Design, construction, measurement and validation of demonstrators on our own test benches
Further information on NGT-FuN: NGT bogie research infrastructure.