Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed "rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid resistors, and "regenerative" if the power is returned to the supply line. Dynamic braking reduces wear on friction-based braking components, and regeneration lowers net energy consumption. Dynamic braking may also be used on railcars
Principle of operation
When braking, the motor fields are connected across either the main traction generator (diesel-electric locomotive) or the supply (electric locomotive) and the motor armatures are connected across either the brake grids or supply line. The rolling locomotive wheels turn the motor armatures, and if the motor fields are now excited, the motors will act as generators.
During dynamic braking, the traction motors, which are now acting as generators, are connected to the braking grids (large resistors), which put a large load on the electrical circuit. When a generator circuit is loaded down with resistance, it causes the generators to slow their rotation. By varying the amount of excitation in the traction motor fields and the amount of resistance imposed on the circuit by the resistor grids, the traction motors can be slowed down to a virtual stop (approximately 3-5 MPH).
For permanent magnet motors, dynamic braking is easily achieved by shorting the motor terminals, thus bringing the motor to a fast abrupt stop. This method, however, dissipates all the energy as heat in the motor itself, and so cannot be used in anything other than low-power intermittent applications due to cooling limitations. It is not suitable for traction applications.
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