ABSTRACT
Chuo Sinkansen with Superconducting Maglev and Semiconductor Power Conversion
Central Japan Railway Company, Japan
The Chuo Shinkansen is a high-speed mass transport system that will connect Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka in about one hour at a speed of 500 km per hour. Construction is currently underway between Shinagawa and Nagoya as a successor to the Tokaido Shinkansen.
The superconducting maglev levitates 10cm without control due to the dynamic electromagnetic induction between the superconducting magnets mounted on the vehicle and the levitation and guidance coils on the ground, and travels at ultra-high speeds of 500km/h inside a U-shaped concrete guideway. The key to the levitation and travel of the superconducting maglev is the strong magnetic force of the superconducting magnets and linear motor technology. The superconducting magnets are used in common with the field magnets of the linear synchronous motors, and each side of the vehicle constitutes a different motor.
The 16-car train has a capacity of approximately 1,000 passengers and is a large-capacity transportation system that can run more than eight trains per hour. Compared to general railways that use steel wheels and run on rails, there is no restriction of friction (adhesion) between wheel and rail, which allows for ultra-high speeds and high acceleration and deceleration, so there is a high utilization rate of the vehicles and the advantage that mass transportation can be achieved with a small number of trains.
Ten mainline substations will be installed between Shinagawa and Nagoya. Each substation will have six 60MVA inverters on double tracks, and installation of converters is already underway at some substations.
Thus, semiconductor power conversion is a key technology for superconducting maglev, and since the emergence of large-capacity thyristors, it has grown together with new semiconductor power devices such as light-triggered thyristors, GTOs, IGBTs, GCTs, and IEGTs.
Also, Dynamic WPT is used to supply around 1MW of auxiliary power to vehicles that levitate without contact, and here too high-frequency semiconductor power conversion technology is important. The advent of SiC semiconductors has made it possible to build efficient systems.
Innovative superconducting maglev technology is not unique to Japan. We hope that this new transportation system, which will connect Tokyo and Osaka in just one hour, will bring new possibilities to the world.