Microclimate conditioning for saloons and onboard service spaces

A concept has been developed for the microclimate system of passenger saloons and service spaces of a high-speed EMU, including a software-and-hardware complex for managing microclimate equipment that maintains comfortable conditions with optimised energy consumption.

Creation of a control system for microclimate equipment in passenger saloons and service spaces that ensures system operation, regulation of temperature and other microclimate parameters, and provision of internal diagnostics.

The saloon microclimate control unit is a complex comprising hardware and software that provides:

• processing of signals from system measurement devices,
• processing of signals from system protective devices;
• output of signals to actuators responsible for switching microclimate equipment on and off;
• exchange of signals with the higher-level control system;
• collection, storage, and transmission of equipment condition data;
• automatic monitoring of air temperature in EMU spaces (saloon, vestibules, compartments, toilets), software determination of required supply air temperature, and the operating modes of system equipment required for this (air-conditioning unit, air dampers, valves, additional duct and local heaters);
• automatic air flow control;
• energy consumption optimisation based on collected operating data and selection of the most energy-efficient operating mode corresponding to external and internal air parameters;
• maintenance of a safe carbon dioxide level in the space based on readings from the relevant space sensors and algorithmic solutions that ensure delivery of an optimal amount of fresh air;
• protection against abnormal equipment operation.

The built-in diagnostic system implements:

• mathematical analysis of diagnostic parameters and generation of diagnostic events;
• transmission of diagnostic information to the EMU control system;
• transmission of information to enable preventive maintenance and repair measures based on the current technical condition of monitored nodes of the microclimate system.

1. Temperature measurement is performed using temperature sensors connected to intelligent processing units that convert the measured signal into a digital code with the capability to:

• transmit the resulting digital code over data transmission networks;
• perform local processing of the digital code, analyse system condition, and generate required output parameters (discrete and analogue) that place system equipment in the required state with the power needed to achieve the required air temperature parameters;
• generate discrete and analogue signals that ensure operation of devices maintaining the required air flow;
• select the optimal energy-saving operating mode, taking into account external and internal temperature factors as well as data collected over the operating period.

2. Accumulation and storage of system parameter values and equipment states using a relational database optimised for real-time systems, with heightened requirements for data reliability and security.

3. Creation of digital twins — hybrid models of the microclimate system for prescriptive condition diagnostics and prediction of faults and failures.

4. Software is developed using:

• programming languages: C, C++, Python;
• development tools: Visual Studio, Eclipse, NetBeans;
• source code management tools: SVN, Git;
• requirements management tools: T-FLEX RM.

5. Digital twins are developed using mathematical computation and dynamic modelling environments Engee and SimInTech.