Power Transmission Performance Verification of a Non-contact Power Supply System for Railway Vehicles

The development of a Non-contact Power Supply system (NPS) in various devices is in progress. When applying the NPS to railway vehicles, an increase in loss is anticipated because A.C. magnetic flux causes eddy currents in the rails with magnetism and conductivity. A figure-of-eight coil configuration was proposed whereby the eddy current loss can be reduced. Using this coil configuration, an NPS for railway vehicles was designed. A prototype NPS was made for trials on the test line at the Railway Technical Research Institute on the basis of this design. Results of power-transmission tests conducted on the vehicles both when stopped and when running, confirmed that the NPS was a suitable power source for railway vehicles.