Projektinformation

Study on heating up railway switches in winter with geothermal energy

Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan

2021-200717

P2021-00333

2022-09-01

2023-08-31

År	Beviljat
2022	104 200 kr
2023	195 400 kr
Total:	299 600 kr

Hållbar affärsutveckling

Energisystem och energi allmänt

Railway switch guides the train to move from one track to another. In winter, snow and ice can block the movement of the switch. To keep the railways safe and reliable, a heating system is used to melt down the snow and ice. The switch is a large and metal component exposed to the open air. In winter, each switch would consume about 1 000 000 to 2 000 000 kWh of electricity for heating. In this project, we plan to reduce the heat loss and check the possibility to use geothermal sources to provide sufficient energy supply for the switch heating. This study will model the heat transfer and calculate the energy demand for ice melting of some typical switches in Sweden. Then, the study will check the possibility to use geothermal energy to power the heating system. If the geothermal sources can support the heating system according to the climatic condition and relevant safety standards. The Swedish railway transport can therefore be more energy-efficient and environmental-friendly.

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