Failure is not an option: what's designed to be more robust than the electronics on the Space Shuttle? The control systems that manage engine performance and other functions oil today's locomotives

Railway Age,  Sept, 2003  by William C. Vantuono

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Failure is not an option." The declaration by legendary NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970 has special meaning for locomotive OEMs and aftermarket suppliers whose goal is to produce microprocessor-based control platforms that can deliver very high levels of reliability and availability.

Want to test the ability of an industrial-grade microprocessor to withstand temperature and vibration extremes? If your first thought would be to send it into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle, think again. You'd probably be better off incorporating it into Electro-Motive Division's FIRE (Functionally Integrated Railroad Electronics), GE Transportation Systems' CCA (Consolidated Control Architecture), or Wabtec Railway Electronics' ETMS (Electronic Train Management) systems.

These and numerous other types of locomotive and engine control systems from such suppliers as EMD, GETS, Wabtec, ZTR Control Systems, and Kim Hotstart are changing the way locomotives are operated, maintained, and repaired. Such technologies control everything from electronic fuel injection tinning, a.c. traction current, wheelslip control, and engine cooling to LCD cab displays and onboard health monitoring and diagnostics. Regular maintenance cycles of 180 days? Prime-movers that emit significantly less NOx and particulate matter? Locomotives that produce dispatch adhesion factors 25'% greater than older models and are available better than 90% of the time? It's mostly in the electronics.

"The Space Shuttle is behind in architecture compared to what we're doing here," says GETS Evolution Series Project Manager Pete Lawson. By this, he's referring to the CCA's dual-redundant, ARCNET-based (an industry standard) onboard network. It uses three 233-MHz Pentium III microprocessors running a UNIX-based operating system. The processors, which he says are "very rugged," can withstand temperatures ranging from -40 degrees C to +55 degrees C, such as those encountered in extreme cold climates and long tunnels where heat tends to get trapped. Pentium IVs running at 1 GHz are not yet available for heavy industrial applications, but when they are developed, "we'll be able to offer more functionality and efficiency," says Lawson. CCA memory is stored in flash cards--"no more hard drive."

For external communications, the CCA is able to interface through a variety of networking methods--RS232, Ethernet, etc.--for talking with end-of-train devices, train control, distributed power, event recorders, GPS, and other devices.

Communications are hilly integrated through a system called LOCOCOMM[R] CMU (communications management unit) that serves as the basis for GETS's information-based services. It can host many GETS or third-party applications on its industry-standard "Wintel" platform, interfacing in real time with locomotive control and trainline systems. It's capable of processing such data as location, fuel level, and health information for wireless transmissions. A multi-mode antenna package can transmit data through a wide variety of communications systems. The remote services include Expert-on-Alert[TM], PinPoint[TM], LocoCAM[TM], and Smart Fueling[TM].

"The network is where different functions connect, and for real-time capability, data must arrive at the right time and react to operating changes at the right time," says Lawson. "Point-to-point type connections won't cut it."

The CCA controls all locomotive functions: traction system (including adhesion and wheelslip), diesel engine fuel injection, ventilation (cooling) system blowers, engine coolant, compressed air, dynamic brake grids, alerters, contactors/relays/sensors, cab LCD displays. For Tier 2 compliance on the Evolution locomotive, the CCA optimizes fuel efficiency with emissions and manages the air-to-air heat exchangers.

Currently, five Evolution locomotives are being evaluated by Union Pacific in revenue service. Their performance is being compared to the AC4400 on the basis of megawatt-hours, miles, and hours at "Notch 8" (full throttle). These units are equipped with GETS's new 12-cylinder GEVO-12 prime-mover; there have been no control-system related issues after more than 80 locomotive-weeks of service. BNSF will be taking delivery of 30 for similar evaluation. In development is a high-compression 16-cylinder GEVO-16 that puts out 6,250 hp.

EMD's GEN II FIRE system has been in use since fourth-quarter 2002. Used on the new SD70ACe (RA, July, p. 31), the GEN II FIRE computer "uses less power than a 75-watt light bulb," says Director-Market Development and Communications Curt Swenson. "No special cooling system is required, and there's less noise in the cab. Previous power consumption was double that. It's smaller so it works better in a retrofit market, and it can be applied across the board, even in other locomotive brands. We've gone beyond military and automotive specs by using hardware with an operating temperature range of -40 degrees C to +65 degrees C and that can also withstand extreme vibration."