This book has evolved from the lecture series “Elektrische
Bahnen” (“Electric railways”) which has been held at
Ruhr-Universität Bochum since 1996. Its primary audience are students
of electrical energy technologies, control engineering and mechanical
engineering as well as young engineers of electrical engineering,
especially in the fields of power electronics, in railway industry and
in railway-operating companies.



The book intends to convey mechanical fundamentals of electric
railway propulsion, which includes rail-bound guidance, transmission of
traction effort from wheel to rail under the influence of non-constant
levels of adhesion and the transmission of motor torque to a
springmounted and thus sliding drive set. The focal point of the book
will be the disposition of electric traction units powered by
three-phase induction motors. We shall discuss the stationary and
dynamical behaviour of the squirrel-cage induction motor and the
principle and construction features of pulse-controlled inverters, as
well as scalar and field-oriented control systems and four-quadrant
power converters, feeding the DC link of the inverters.