Our Mission
Reduce locomotive operating cost & emissions
Company
ThermaDynamics Rail LLC (TDR) was founded in 2010 by Claudio Filippone, Ph.D. to develop waste heat recovery and conversion technologies for rail applications.
TDR core team is formed by highly skilled engineers from various disciplines, supported by in-house CNC machinists, welders and technicians fully dedicated to transform complex engineering projects into affordable, safe and reliable products. TDR core team is trained to drive TDR high-power turbo-jet heat source forming a test-rig that enables reliability and endurance testing of ThermaRail products as well as products developed for non-rail applications. In this manner, TDR-designed and manufactured components, as well as operational power conversion enclosures, are tested at power rating equivalent to locomotive maximum power (notch 8 setting) prior to installation on locomotive.
TDR operates through three distinct facilities in northern Virginia, dedicated to high-precision manufacturing, assembly and high-power testing.
TDR team is proud of applying cutting edge aerospace technologies and modern electronic power and control systems to relatively old and new locomotive designs to improve their efficiency, lower pollutant emissions and decrease their operating cost.
Across all of TDR activities, TDR team is committed to maximize efficiency, capture and convert waste thermal energy into useful pollution-free electricity.
Awards
2010 - High-Pressure Heat Exchangers to Recover and Convert Locomotive Engine Waste Heat Energy
Phase I: Technical and Economic Feasibility of Retrofitting Locomotive Engines with High-Pressure Heat Exchangers
2012 - Diesel-Electric Locomotive Energy Recovery and Conversion
Development of thermodynamics and economic computer models to assess technical and economic performance of a waste heat energy recovery and conversion technology as a retrofitting technology for commuter rail locomotive applications. Access Final Report here.
2012 - Reliability and Endurance Testing of High Pressure Heat Exchangers to Recover and Convert Locomotive Engine Waste Energy
Phase II: Reliability and endurance testing of a locomotive retrofitted with full-scale “sixteen-out-of-sixteen” (all cylinders) High Pressure Heat Exchangers (HiPHEXs) and ancillary equipment for thermal-hydraulic coupling to components forming integral Power Conversion Units (PCUs), to recover and convert locomotive engine waste hear, thereby improving engine efficiency.
2015 - Advanced Locomotive Exhaust Gas Simulator to Fine-Tune Energy Recovery and Conversion Systems
Design and manufacture of an advanced locomotive simulator to further test and validate the findings obtained in the technical and economic performance analysis of a waste heat energy recovery system applied to locomotive engine. Access Final Report here.
2015 - Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis of High Pressure Heat Exchanger System
Perform Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) for High Pressure Heat Exchanger (HiP-HEX) Waste Heat Recovery System as a retrofitting technology configured for possible improvements to locomotive engine energy efficiency and emissions.
2017 - Locomotive Waste Heat Recovery System Integration, Safety, and Field Demonstration
Phase III: Validation of safety and reliability performance of the locomotive waste heat recovery system retrofitted onto a locomotive and analyzed during commercial operations.