Discovering a Sustainable Power Solution for Next Generation 5G Railway Communication

探索下一代 5G 铁路通信的可持续电源解决方案

• 批准号: EP/X016498/1
• 负责人: Meiling Zhu
• 金额: $ 25.79万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FX016498%2F1
• 关键词: Discovering; Sustainable; Power; Solution; Next

Passenger numbers have doubled in the last 20 years and are set to double again in the next 25 years. Rail industry can't rely on more track to cater for this growth. In order to unlock the challenge and increase rail capability, the railway industry and governments worldwide are preparing 5G communication infrastructure for the next generation and beyond, aiming to provide ultra-high performance connection with millisecond latency, gigabit per second transmission rate, and dense coverage to enable more connected devices, operations, passengers and interventions for safety, controllability, reliability and availability. 5G requires massive small cell base stations spread along large geographical railway lines, which complement high tower base station capability, bringing signals closer to the trains and passengers and enabling ultra-high-speed coverage and dense passenger connections. However, 5G rollout has lagged in installing small cell base stations within infrastructure due to the required high density of base stations (one base station is needed approximately every tens of meters) and the associated power supply. Running cables alongside the railway lines to wayside power sources or powering the base stations using batteries are not viable options for such scenarios. Installations of new equipment such as transformers to power the low voltage small cell base stations from the existing high voltage 25/50 kV rail electrification systems are not economically justifiable. Greater connectivity and coverage along such large geographical railway lines is critical for 5G rollout, but must have a solution that requires no power cables, no batteries and is easy to install. One powerful approach to solving such an issue is discovering a sustainable power solution using a novel energy harvesting (EH) technology. The engineering research idea proposed here is to discover a sustainable, self-powered solution by harvesting high electromagnetic field flux energy generated by currents of electrified railway systems around masts to power small cell base stations for the next generation of 5G railway communication. The speculative idea and hypothesis proposed here are to enable every electrified railway mast along the widely distributed railway lines to become a sustainable power source, harvesting high electromagnetic flux energy when the trains operate around and pass by, converting it into sufficient usable electrical power and powering small cell base stations. This research is the first time exploration of such an energy source around the railway masts for EH, enabling the supply of sufficient usable power to power small cell base stations. It is expected that once successful, the proposed technology will radically revolutionise how the next generation of 5G railway communication will be powered in an energy autonomous and sustainable way.The project is to test the proposed speculative idea and the hypothesis through 4 work packages. WP1 is to thoroughly understand electrical currents in electrified railway systems and perform initial designs of energy harvesters. WPs 2 & 3 focus on understanding electromagnetic flux EH capability via modelling, design, implementation and testing of energy harvesters. WP4 is a demonstration study.The project industrial partners are: Network Rail's Telecoms (UK), Railway Industry Association (UK) and COMSA Corporation (Spain), all from Railway industry.

过去 20 年，乘客数量翻了一番，未来 25 年还将再翻一番。铁路行业不能依靠更多的轨道来满足这种增长。为了应对挑战并提高铁路能力，世界各地的铁路行业和政府正在为下一代及更高版本准备5G通信基础设施，旨在提供具有毫秒级延迟、每秒千兆传输速率和密集覆盖的超高性能连接，以实现更多连接的设备、操作、乘客和干预，从而实现安全性、可控性、可靠性和可用性。 5G需要沿大型地理铁路线分布的大规模小型蜂窝基站，以补充高塔基站的能力，使信号更接近火车和乘客，并实现超高速覆盖和密集的乘客连接。然而，由于需要高密度的基站（大约每几十米需要一个基站）和相关的电源，5G 的推出在基础设施内安装小型蜂窝基站方面滞后。对于这种情况，沿铁路线铺设电缆连接至路边电源或使用电池为基站供电并不是可行的选择。安装变压器等新设备，通过现有高压 25/50 kV 铁路电气化系统为低压小型基站供电，在经济上是不合理的。如此大的地理铁路线沿线的更大连接性和覆盖范围对于 5G 的推出至关重要，但必须拥有一种无需电源线、无需电池且易于安装的解决方案。解决此类问题的一个有效方法是使用新型能量收集 (EH) 技术寻找可持续电力解决方案。这里提出的工程研究想法是通过收集桅杆周围电气化铁路系统电流产生的高电磁场通量能量，为下一代 5G 铁路通信的小型蜂窝基站供电，从而发现一种可持续的自供电解决方案。这里提出的推测想法和假设是使广泛分布的铁路线上的每个电气化铁路桅杆成为可持续的电源，在火车运行和经过时收集高电磁通量能量，将其转化为足够的可用电力并为小型蜂窝基站供电。这项研究是首次探索 EH 铁路桅杆周围的这种能源，从而能够为小型蜂窝基站提供足够的可用电力。预计一旦成功，所提出的技术将从根本上彻底改变下一代 5G 铁路通信如何以能源自主和可持续的方式供电。该项目将通过 4 个工作包来测试所提出的推测想法和假设。 WP1 旨在彻底了解电气化铁路系统中的电流并进行能量收集器的初步设计。 WP 2 和 3 侧重于通过能量收集器的建模、设计、实施和测试来了解电磁通量 EH 能力。 WP4是一项示范研究。该项目的行业合作伙伴有：Network Rail's Telecoms（英国）、铁路行业协会（英国）和COMSA Corporation（西班牙），均来自铁路行业。