Adhesion control system and method
A system for controlling a consist of rail vehicles or other vehicles includes a control unit electrically coupled to a first rail vehicle in the consist, the control unit having a processor and being configured to receive signals representing a presence and position of one or more tractive effort systems on-board the first vehicle and other rail vehicles in the consist, and a set of instructions stored in a non-transient medium accessible by the processor, the instructions configured to control the processor to create a optimization schedule that manages the use of the one or more tractive effort systems based on the presence and position of the tractive effort systems within the consist.
1. A control system comprising:
a control unit electrically coupled to a first vehicle in a consist that includes the first vehicle and one or more other vehicles, the control unit having a processor and being configured to receive signals representing a respective presence and position of one or more tractive effort systems on-board the first vehicle and the other vehicles in the consist; and
a set of instructions stored in a non-transient medium accessible by the processor, the instructions configured to control the processor: to create a schedule that manages the use of the one or more tractive effort systems based on the presence and position of the tractive effort systems within the consist; and to control the one or more tractive effort systems based on the schedule that is created.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to maximize a supply of air to a lead-most tractive effort system.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to determine the presence of the one or more tractive effort systems on-board the vehicles in dependence upon at least one of air compressor speed and load state, reservoir pressure derivatives, and a respective status of each of one or more other loads within the vehicles.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to detect the presence of the one or more tractive effort systems within the consist by estimating an air flow within a main reservoir equalizing pneumatic line.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to receive the signals representing the presence and position of one or more tractive effort systems on-board the vehicles via a communication link between the first vehicle and the other vehicles, wherein the communication link is a high-bandwidth communications link.
6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a compressed air reservoir fluidly coupled to one of the tractive effort systems for supplying compressed air; and
wherein the control unit is configured to adjust the flow of compressed air from the reservoir to said one of the tractive effort systems to maintain a pressure within the reservoir above a lower threshold.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein said one of the tractive effort systems includes a nozzle fluidly coupled to the compressed air reservoir and configured to direct an air jet to a contact surface of a route on which the consist travels.
8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a compressed air reservoir fluidly coupled to one of the tractive effort systems for supplying compressed air; and
wherein the control unit is configured to disable one or more of the tractive effort systems until a pressure within the reservoir reaches a lower threshold pressure.
9. A control system comprising:
a control unit electrically coupled to a first vehicle configured to be connected in a consist that includes the first vehicle and one or more other vehicles, the control unit having a processor and being configured to receive signals representing a respective presence and position of plural tractive effort systems respectively on-board the first vehicle and the other vehicles in the consist; and
a set of instructions stored in a non-transient medium accessible by the processor, the instructions configured to control the processor: to create a schedule that manages the use of the plural tractive effort systems based on the presence and position of the tractive effort systems within the consist; and to control the tractive effort systems based on the schedule that is created;
wherein each of the first vehicle and the one or more other vehicles includes a respective compressed air reservoir fluidly coupled to a respective one of the plural traction effort systems, each of the plural traction effort systems respectively including a nozzle fluidly coupled to the compressed air reservoir and configured to direct an air jet to a contact surface of a route on which the consist travels.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to maximize a supply of air to a lead-most tractive effort system of the plural tractive effort systems.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to determine the presence of the tractive effort systems on-board the vehicles in dependence upon at least one of air compressor speed and load state, reservoir pressure derivatives, or a respective status of each of one or more other loads within the vehicles.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to detect the presence of the tractive effort systems within the consist by estimating an air flow within a main reservoir equalizing pneumatic line.
13. The system of claim 9 , wherein:
the control unit is configured to receive the signals representing the presence and position of the tractive effort systems on-board the vehicles via a communication link between the first vehicle and the other vehicles, wherein the communication link is a high-bandwidth communications link.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control unit is configured to adjust respective flows of compressed air from the reservoirs to the tractive effort systems to maintain a respective pressure within each of the reservoirs above a lower threshold.
15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the control unit is configured to disable each tractive effort system until a respective pressure within the reservoir fluidly coupled to the tractive effort system reaches a lower threshold pressure.