Unit-4

Tractive Effort
• On a locomotive, the linear output force (how hard it pulls) is
called tractive effort.
• Tractive effort is defined as the force at the rims or the outer edges
of the driving wheels of moving trains.
• The maximum allowable tractive effort that can be applied without
wheel slip is Fm = 9.810 µ Md Newton
• Where μ is the coefficient of adhesion and Md the adhesive weight
or weight on the driving wheel.
 Functions of the Tractive effort:

1. Tractive effort required to accelerate the train mass

horizontally.
2. The tractive effort required to accelerate the rotating parts:
The rotating parts consist of wheels, gears, axles and rotor of
the motor.
3. The tractive effort required to overcome the force due to
gravity: When moving up in the slope the drive has to
produce tractive effort to overcome the force due to gravity.
4. The tractive effort required to overcome train
resistance: The resistance of the train is mainly due to
various kinds of friction.
 Adhesive weight:

• The total weight to be carried out on the drive in wheels of a

locomotive is known as adhesive weight.

Coefficient of Adhesion :
• The coefficient of adhesion is defined as the ratio of tractive
effort to slip the wheels and adhesive weight.

Tractive Effort to Slip the Wheels

Coefficien t of Adhesion =
Adhesive Weight
 Specific Energy Consumption

• The amount of energy input to the traction motors is known

as energy consumption of the train.
• It is the energy consumed for the propelling the train.
• This amount of energy consumed by the various parts of the
train per ton per kilometre is termed as specific energy
consumption and is expressed in watt-hours per ton per km.
Total energy consumptio n in Wh
specific energy consumptio n 
Weight of the train in ton  Dis tan ce cov ered by the train in km

• The specific energy consumption is equal to the specific

energy output divided by the overall efficiency of the
locomotive, hence the specific energy consumption depends
upon the overall efficiency of the electric train.
Factors Affecting Specific Energy Consumption of Electric Train

• The specific energy consumption of an electric train operating

at a given schedule speed is affected by the following factors −
 Distance between stops
 Acceleration
 Retardation
 Maximum speed
 Specific resistance of train
 Gradient or slope
 Distance travelled by the train while power is on
 Nature of route
 Type of train equipment
 Braking retardation

• Retarders serve to slow vehicles, or maintain a steady speed

while travelling down a hill.
 Effect of Acceleration and Braking Retardation:

• For a given run and with fixed crest speed the increase in
acceleration will result in decrease in actual time of run and,
therefore, increase in schedule speed.
• Similarly increase in braking retardation will affect the
schedule speed.
• Variation in acceleration and retardation will have more effect
on schedule speed in case of shorter distance run in
comparison to longer distance run.