The modal analysis, which decouples the contact wire and rail track conductors, is used to develop an integrated model of single rail track and contact wire. The characteristic impedance and propagation constant matrices of integrated model have been computed. The authors have studied effects of various parameters of interest on characteristic impedance and propagation constant using sensitivit...

A new suite of traction power system simulator tools has been developed to meet the engineering and design requirements of railroad and rail transit projects. The simulator has been designed to deal with both dc and ac systems and to track closely with the latest technological developments and trends in the industry. For the dc applications, features include emulation of wayside energy storage ...

Traction therapy is one of the most common conservative treatments for low back pain. However, the effects of traction therapy on lumbar spine biomechanics are not well known. We investigated biomechanical effects of two-step traction therapy, which consists of global axial traction and local decompression, on the lumbar spine using a validated three-dimensional finite element model of the lumb...

Continuous cell movement requires the coordination of protrusive forces at the leading edge with contractile forces at the rear of the cell. Myosin II is required to generate the necessary contractile force to facilitate retraction; however, Dictyostelium cells that lack myosin II (mhcA-) are still motile. To directly investigate the role of myosin II in contractility we used a gelatin traction...

In this study we used transmural multipolar electrodes, sonomicrometers implanted within the left ventricular wall, and cardiac electrical stimulation techniques to examine the effect of transient mechanical posterior papillary muscle traction on local myocardial electrophysiologic characteristics. Nine open-chest dogs were atrially paced (cycle length 400 msec) followed by insertion of timed p...

This paper proposes a novel torque and speed control structure for low-cost induction motor variable-speed drives with a single dc-link current sensor. The controller is based on reconstruction of the active and instantaneous reactive power from the dc-link current without the use of a shaft sensor. An effective way of achieving tracking of set values of motor torque and flux is to base the est...

This paper presents the traction motor sizing for optimal urban fuel economy in two mild and three strong hybridization propulsion on front-wheel-drive vehicles. The traction motor sizes, by means of motor rated torque and speed, are optimized for maximum urban fuel economy. The two mild hybrids are Belt-Integrated-Starter-Generator (BISG) and Crankshaft-Integrated-Starter-Generator (C-ISG) sys...

Though much research has been conducted regarding traction of tires in soft granular terrain, little empirical data exist on the motion of soil particles beneath a tire. A novel experimentation and analysis technique has been developed to enable detailed investigation of robot interactions with granular soil. This technique, the Shear Interface Imaging Analysis method, provides visualization an...

In terms of preventing global warming and conserving natural resources, automobiles are playing an increasingly critical role. To reduce the CO2 produced by automotive vehicles, fuel efficiency must be improved while cleaning exhaust gases as well as ensuring safety. At Toyota Motor Corporation, solving environmental issues has been being one of our most important tasks, and this focus enabled ...