Modeling of Electromagnetic Fields in Railway Engineering Structures

The article presents the method and results of modeling of electromagnetic safety conditions in traction networks on railway sections passing through engineering structures: galleries, bridges, tunnels. Metal structures of engineering structures significantly change spatial distribution of electromagnetic field strengths. This is explained by the presence of grounded conductive objects, transforming tunnels, galleries and bottom-road bridges into confined spaces, as well as with the remoteness of the ground surface on top-road bridges. The methods for modeling the modes of railway power supply systems, developed by Irkutsk State Transport University, allow the use up to several hundred wires in the models. Thus, it is possible to consider engineering structures (bridges, embankments, galleries and tunnels) with a set of grounded wires arranged in such way that the gaps between them are significantly less than the distance to the observation points. The results of electromagnetic field modeling in railway engineering structures show that the top-road bridge has field strengths higher than those in the open space at the height of 1.8 m from the railway track. Tunnel, a bottom-road bridge and a gallery are characterized by less strength and lower fluxes of electromagnetic energy. This is due to the proximity to the contact network of shielding metal elements of these engineering structures. The transfer of energy by the electromagnetic field in tunnels, galleries and bottom-road bridges occurs in a confined space between the contact network and nearby grounded structures.