Rheostatic & Regenerative Brake/hi

Rheostatic and regenerative braking are alternative ways of slowing down a motorized rail vehicle , without wearing and overheating the brake shoes . They are a type of dynamic braking on electric vehicles, including diesel-electric .

For the rheostatic or regenerative brakes to be operational, throttle should be disengaged and reverser set to the direction the vehicle is moving. The brake is usually operated by a lever that causes electrical circuits in the vehicle to reconfigure, such that they turn traction motors into generators. Motion of the vehicle is then converted into electricity.

The way rheostatic and regenerative systems differ, is that rheostatic braking passes the generated electricity through powerful resistors (rheostats), which slows down the vehicle at the cost of creating heat, dissipated into the atmosphere by powerful fans. Regenerative braking, instead of turning electricity into heat, slows down the vehicle by feeding the electricity back to the grid , or recharges onboard batteries .

Rheostatic and regenerative braking, both featured only on some motorized vehicles, do not provide a very powerful braking force for large trains, but can slow them down over time if used tactfully. The effect of this braking type is the highest at high speeds. The lower the speed, the weaker the braking force. At low enough speeds it practically has no effect. To bring a vehicle to a complete stop, the driver must use braking methods that rely on brake shoes.

To operate the throttle and reverser again, disengage the rheostatic or regenerative brake.