Studies in Design of High Torque Three-Phase Squirrel-Cage AC Traction Motor with Aluminium Alloy Rotor Bars and Parameter Optimization using Artificial Neural Networks

The most vital parameter of locomotive operation is based on enhancing the kW/kg ratio of traction motor. The change over to three-phase squirrel-cage AC traction motor in electric locomotives, on inverter supply, made the traction drive most economical with high kW/kg ratio, thereby also reducing the un-sprung mass on the axle. In AC traction motor, alternative aluminium alloy rotor bars have been proposed to achieve better performance, light weight, cost reduction, and to meet the scarcity of copper to come in future. Design of rotor plays a vital role in development of torque on motor shaft. The important parameter in design of AC traction motor under inverter supply is the consideration of harmonics generated by it. In this paper, back propagation artificial neural network technique has been adopted to optimize the output design parameters of the AC traction motor rotor with aluminium alloy bars, keeping the stator design un changed. The comparison of AC traction motor with copper bars vis-vis aluminium alloy rotor bars in respect of torque developed and efficiency have been dealt in this study which present a good alternative approach in AC traction motor design.