ABB LT8978bV1 HIEE320639R1 communication exchange unit
lectrical converters on-board trains 
can be separated into two groups: 
Main converters as drives for the elec trical (traction) motors and auxiliary 
converters for other electrical needs 
on-board the train, such as heating, 
cooling and lighting.
The topic of this section is the latter, 
auxiliary converters. These auxiliary 
converters are produced according to 
the needs and demands of the end customers as customized products in 
batch-sizes that can be as low as only 
a few pieces. Therefore, the most im portant requirement on the control 
platform is:
Easy adaptation and rapid deployment
This requirement is met by the auto matic code-generation feature for fast 
real-time applications using MATLAB/
Simulink: With a few changes in the 
graphical user-interface of Simulink, 
the software can be adapted to incor porate customer-specific wishes. 
Whereas in a normal control system in 
such a situation, changes would have 
to be implemented in the code and 
system tests made to guarantee the 
proper functioning; in the AC 800PEC

platform the code is automatically 
generated from the graphical user inter face.
Another demand stems from the fact 
that such auxiliary converters are typi cally located on the roof or below the 
carriage. This placement within the 
train imposes some additional require ments on the control system: The 
hardware must be industrial grade and 
must be contained within limited 
space.
Traction is the most important appli cation of AC 800PEC, 
and since trac tion has particularly harsh environ mental conditions, the requirement for
industrial grade hardware is met by all 
devices belonging to the AC 800PEC 
platform. Besides conformal coating, 
which is typically used in areas where 
clean air cannot be guaranteed, the 
devices have an extended temperature 
range of – 40 to + 75 °C, and must be 
resilient to vibration according to the 
traction standard IEC 61373 (Railway 
applications – Rolling stock equip ment – Shock and vibration tests).