Reducing carbon dioxide emissions in metallurgical production and conserving energy consumption during train operation

This paper presents a solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in metallurgical production and conserving train energy consumption by lowering the mass of railcars. The study simultaneously focuses on reducing traction energy consumption in rail transport and lowering CO2 emissions from steel production, demonstrating an interdisciplinary engineering–environmental approach. A theoretical model for train energy consumption during movement across various track sections is developed, incorporating Newton's second law and accounting for forces such as traction, resistance, incline, and braking. The model simulates energy consumption for different speeds, gradients, section lengths, and travel times. Results indicate that energy consumption increases with higher speeds and steeper gradients, but decreases on descending sections, aligning with expected train dynamics. These findings are validated through experiments, showing a margin of error between 2.6% and 4.5%, confirming the model's accuracy. At a speed of 60 km/h, experimental and theoretical energy consumption for a straight section were nearly identical. Even on inclined and descending sections, discrepancies were minimal, supporting the model's reliability. Numerical simulations for a 40 km route at speeds between 60 and 160 km/h showed traction energy savings of 425.69–1199.65 kWh per train, while the railcar mass was reduced by 7.24% through design optimization. The forecast for railcar production to 2030 suggests an increase of 13.7%, which requires further structure optimization measures to minimize the environmental impact. According to the study, reducing the mass of railcars will reduce the need for steel by 1520.95–2465.24 tons per year, which will lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 3041.91-4930.48 tons per year.