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-: Air Conditioning :-
 Introduction :-

Most of the express or mail trains consist of multiple no of air conditioned coaches along with other general
coaches. These air conditioned coaches as it name suggests contains other special devices for the purpose of air
conditioning, which are not present in other general coaches. Besides having those special devices such as compressor,
condenser etc, the electrical system also differs from that of a general coach. The components of an air conditioned coach
are as follows :-

 Components/Devices of an AC coach :-

SL Name of the Component/Device Specification No

no
1 Alternator 3 phase, 97 Volt, 25 KW, Field supply= 24 Volt 2
2 RRU/ERRU (Rectifier cum Regulator Unit) 129.5 Volt DC, 200 A 2
3 Battery 1100 AH, 2.2 V per Cell, 56 cells 1
4 Battery Charging Unit Input : 415 V 3 phase supply 1
Output : 129.5 V DC
5 Main Gear Rotary Switch, 400 A 1
6 Plant Gear Rotary Switch, 400 A 1
7 Inverter Input : 110-130 V DC 2
Output : 415 V 3 phase AC
8 Pump 0.5 H.P, 415 V 3 phase, 50 Hz 1
9 Compressor 3 phase 415 V SQIM, 10 A, p.f : 0.85 2
10 Condenser 3 phase 415 V SQIM, 1.7 A, p.f : 0.85 2
11 Blower Motor 3 phase 415 V SQIM, 2.2 A, p.f : 0.85 2
12 Liquid Receiver 2
13 Expansion Valve 2
14 Evaporator 2

 Expansion principle: When a gas expands without external heat exchange it temperature falls and when it is
compressed without external heat exchange its temperature decreases.
The air-conditioning system adopted in air-conditioned coaches work on mechanical compression system
and consists of the following,

 Evaporator unit consisting of cooling coil(heat exchanger), heater and motor-driven blower unit.
 Thermostatic expansion valve.
 Motor-driven compressor.
 Air cooled condenser (with cooling fan driven by motor)
 Liquid receiver and dehydrator.
 Refrigerant piping for conveying the refrigerant(R-134A).

 The Refrigeration Cycle: A typical refrigeration cycle in an air-conditioned coach can be represented also in a
pressure enthalpy diagram as in figure. The refrigerant gas at low pressure (represented by point C) is
compressed to point D. The compression process elevates the pressure from 37 psi(maximum 46 psi) to 150
psi(maximum 180 psi). The compression of the gas also heats up the gas to a superheat condition. The gas at the
compressor outlet is superheat and latent heat are removed at constant pressure , the refrigerant reaching the
point A at the end of this part of the cycle. The line A-B represents the expansion that takes place in the
expansion valve while the line B-C represents the refrigeration effect that is obtained in evaporator.
Apart from cooling, the air conditioning equipment is also required to provide heating when the outside
temperature varies from 400 C to 200 C .The cooling and heating will nave be necessarily automatic by means of
thermostatic controls incorporated in the unit. RDSO specification also lays down that the equipment shall admit

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fresh air at the rate of 0.35 metro cube per minute per passenger in the non-smoking area and 0.7 meter cube per
minute per passenger in the case of compartments where smoking is permitted.

 Description of various components of Air -Conditioning Coach:

 Alternator :- It is the main electrical source of any electrical system. It produces 3 phase alternating current and
feeds the electrical devices. In a air conditioned coach there are two such alternator of 25 KW each which
produces 97 volt A.C and can feed other electrical appliances of upto 190 A. It is situated under the coach and is
coupled with the moving axle with 12 belts. It is a brushless alternator which has its field and armature winding
both on the stator. Whenever the train therefore the axle gathers speed of 30 kmph or more, the alternator starts
generating electricity. The field winding is fed by 24 volt D.C supply from the RRU/ERRU unit. When the train
gathers enough speed as mentioned earlier, the alternator can efficiently feed the devices such as fans, lights,
motors etc.

 RRU/ERRU(Rectifier cum Regulator Unit) :-

Although the modern coaches are being
manufactured with devices such as lights, fan, motors etc which operates on A.C supply, the previous generation
coaches used D.C fans, motors. Hence the generated three phase A.C is to be rectified for the operation of fans
and motors. This task is performed by the RRU unit situated under the coach. It not just only converts A.C to
D.C but also regulates the voltage level to a certain level of about 129.5 Volt. There are two RRU units each for
one alternator. It consist of power diodes and ERRU specially consist of microcontroller unit. The output of
ERRU is connected to two bus bars(+Ve and –Ve), to which other devices are connected.

 Battery :- It is an auxiliary source of electric power which is mostly needed when the alternators are unable to
feed power. Such condition occurs when the train is in standstill condition. During such time, the battery can
feed power to the devices as needed. As it itself is a D.C source, it does not require any RRU unit. The battery
consists of 56 cells of 2.2 volt each connected in series with each other. It is also placed under the coach. The
capacity of a battery unit is 1100 AH which is sufficient enough to feed other electrical devices for few hours
without being charged by the alternators.

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 Battery charging Unit :- It is the last source of supply. It is used only when the coach is under maintenance in
the maintenance depot. The input to the unit is 415 Volt 3 phases which is available from the maintenance
depot. The output is 129.5 volt D.C which is connected to the power bus bars. It is useful as it is uneconomical
to use battery power during maintenance. For that time being, the devices are directly fed by the external supply
using this unit.

 Inverter :- This is also a fundamental unit in the

supply system of air conditioned coach as the
supply required for pumps, compressor and
condenser motors are 3 phase A.C. Though
E.M.F induced by the alternator is alternating in nature but the magnitude being 97 volt approximately, we can’t
use it directly for the above mentioned devices. Hence the inverter unit is required to convert 110-130 Volt D.C
to 415 Volt 3 phase A.C. And then those devices are connected to the output of the inverter.

 Pumps :- This is needed to keep circulation of water from the water reservoir placed under the coach to the tank
placed over the bathroom section. The process is so designed that the pump continuously runs throughout the
journey. Hence it requires a continuous power supply of 3 phase 415 Volt A.C which is supplied by the inverter
as mentioned earlier. It has a Squirrel cage Induction Motor of power rating of 0.5 HP. There are two pump
units, one is kept as a stand-by unit. Both of them can be connected from any of the two inverters with the help
of a rotary switch called gear.

 Evaporator unit: The evaporator unit consists of a thermostatic expansion valve, a heat exchanger, a
resistance- heating unit and a centrifugal blower driven by a motor. The function of the thermostatic expansion
valve is to allow the compressed refrigerant liquid to expand to a lower pressure corresponding to the load
demand. The expanded refrigerant passes through a heat exchanger; the heat in the air is transferred to the
refrigerant causing the cooling of the air and the evaporation of the refrigerant inside the tubes. The cooled air is
led through the ducting to the various compartments and diffused by means of air diffusers. Fresh air is drawn
through filters to eliminate dust and is mixed with the return air in the plenum on the inlet side of the evaporator.
Similarly, the return air filters so that the dust contained air in the return air is extracted. When the outside
ambient is very low and when the refrigeration is not required, the heater is switched on according to the setting
of thermostat.

 Expansion valve: The primary function of the expansion value is to control the quantity of liquid refrigerant
admitted into the cooling coils of the evaporator.. The expansion valve admits more refrigerant when the air

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conditioning load is high, and reduces it to the minimum when the load is low.If the airconditioning load varies
greatly the superheat may be set between 101 O F to 150O F.

 Compressor: The refrigerants vapour drawn from the evaporator is compressed by means of a multi cylinder
reciprocating compressor. The work done due to compression raises the temperature of the refrigerant vapour.
The motor used here is a 3 phase SQIM which is fed 415 volt 3 phase supply by the inverter. There are 2
compressor unit in a coach. It takes about 10 A current at nearly 0.85 P.F at long running condition.

 Condenser: The condenser serves the function of extracting the heat absorbed by the refrigerant vapour in the
evaporator and the heat absorbed during the compression process. The condenser consists of a heat exchanger,
which is force-cooled by means of two or three axial flow blower fans. The refrigerant vapour is cooled at
constant pressure by means of the air blown over the finned tubes and liquefied. The refrigerant liquid leaving
the condenser is led into the liquid receiver from where it proceeds to the expansion valve on the evaporator.
The liquid receiver is a cylindrical container which contains a reserve of the refrigerant liquid. A dehydrator and
filter are also provided to ensure that the refrigerant is free from moisture and dust particles.
The motor used is also fed 415 Volt 3 phase supply by the inverter. It takes about 1.7 A current at 0.85 P.F. Like
other air conditioning devices, there are 2 condenser unit in the coach.

 High Pressure cut-out: The high pressure cut-out is essentially a safety device against build up of excessive
delivery pressure and protects the compressor and piping system from damage. I t is a pressure operative switch
which switches off the compressor drive motor when the pressure exceeds a preset valve.

 Low Pressure cut-out: This is also a pressure operated switch similar to the high pressure cut-out switch, but
is shuts down the compressor if the suction pressure drops down below 10 psi gauge. It protects the system
against unduly low evaporator temperatures and formation of frost on the evaporator.

 Dehydrator and Filter: Water vapor or moisture will cause trouble in any refrigeration system. The moisture
may freeze and block the expansion valve orifice, and. also cause corrosion in working parts. This is best
achieved by subjecting the system of vacuum for 2 or 3 days. The dehydrator is another drying device
containing
Silica gel or other similar drying agent inserted in the refrigerant load for removing moisture from the
refrigerant while in operation. It should be provided atleast temperature when the installation is brought into
operation to remove any moisture in the piping system.

 Refrigeration piping: The refrigerant piping consist of the suction line(from the evaporator outlet to the
compressor inlet) and the discharge line(from the compressor outlet to the condenser inlet), and liquid line(from
the liquid receiver to the inlet side of the expansion valve). Connections to the gauge panel from the compressor
delivery side(high pressure side), low pressure side and from the compressor crankcase, the lubricating oil
connections, are also part of the piping system, only copper pipes are used for refrigerant piping.

 AC Control Panel: The control of the airconditiong system is achieved by means of Air conditioning Control
Panel.

 AC Control Panel Components and their functions:

 Evaporator Fan Motor Proving Relay: The prevents energisation of the compressor motor and condenser motor
or Heater till trio evaporator motor (16) comes ’ON’ and blows air into the duct through the evaporator coil.
This relay works in conjunction with a “Vone Switch” provided in trio air circuit. If the evaporator blower
motor supply fails or the motor does not run, the compressor motor and the condenser motors/Heater will get
switched ‘OFF’ by this relay.

 Low Voltage Relay: This will trip to stop the compressor motor and
condenser motors/heater, and prevent them from starting by cutting off the supply to their control circuit if the
voltage of the battery is below 100 and reset when battery voltage rises to 102 V. The relay is provides with a
build-in time delay f 5 seconds, to avoid nuisance – tripping.

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 Cooling Pilot Relay: Acts as an electrical link between the cooling thermostats and the control circuit of the
compressor and condenser. This is energized by electronic triggering set off by heat thermostat.

 Heating Pilot Relay: Acts as an electrical link between the heating thermostats and the control circuit of heater.
This is energized by electronic triggering set off by thermostats.

 Main Control Switch: This is the control switch for starting or shutting down the plant. This has got provision
to select blower only, LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH temperature setting.

 Oil pressure Cut-out Switch: This protect the compressor against lubrication failure either due to lesser oil oil
pump failure or blocking of oil piping, and acts in conjuction with thermal cut-out to shut down the compressor
only if the low oil pressure persists.

 Low pressure cut out: A pressure switch to protect against working of compressor with low suction pressure
due to loss of Freon gas or other reasons. This switch has been connected by means of copper piping to the
suction header of the compressor.

 High pressure cut out: A pressure switch to shut down the compressor when compressor discharge pressure is
too high. The switch has been connected to the compressor discharge header by means of copper piping.

 Pilot lights: These lights indicate respectively normalcy oh the mains , blower fan motor, compressor motor,
heater and normal voltage. Indications are now by LEDs.

 Schematic Diagram of Electrical system of an AC Coach :-

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