Assessment of Railway Train Energy Efficiency and Safety Using Real-time Track Condition Information

This paper presents the use of track condition data from the virtual remote wireless sensor network within a simulation model of a battery-hybrid diesel-electric locomotive-driven freight train for a realistic mountain railway route simulation scenario. Simulation model includes the point-mass model of freight train longitudinal motion dynamics subject to wheel-to-track adhesion and head wind variations, the model of hybrid diesel-electric locomotive energy efficiency, and the model of real-time information provide to the virtual train driver about railway track conditions based on a narrow-band wireless remote sensor network. Simulation results are used to assess the possible benefits remote wireless sensor data for freight train energy-optimal control and to increase the transportation safety, including prediction of possible delays due to changed weather conditions en route

On the design of an intelligent battery charge controller for PV panels

The electricity generations of photo voltaic (PV) panels are strongly related with insolation and temperature. The insolation and temperature are not stable, since the electricity generations of the PV panels are not stable. In PV systems, insolation and temperature continuous vary. Therefore, the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) techniques are used to give the highest power to the loads/batteries. The MPPT process is performed with a power electronic circuit and it overcomes the problem of voltage mismatch between the PV panels and the batteries/loads. In this study, a microcontroller is employed to develop battery charge control system for PV panels. The system is composed of a microcontroller (Microchip PIC18F2550), a buck-boost type DC-DC converter, a resistive load, and lead acid battery. In the system, MPPT, charge control, and discharge algorithms are executed by a program embedded within the microcontroller. The program also has ability to perform some data acquisition process and acquired data are sent to the personal computer (PC) through the USB communication port. In addition the system has able to be followed and controlled by the graphical user interface (GUI)

A coordinated control of offshore wind power and bess to provide power system flexibility

Article number 4650The massive integration of variable renewable energy (VRE) in modern power systems is imposing several challenges; one of them is the increased need for balancing services. Coping with the high variability of the future generation mix with incredible high shares of VER, the power system requires developing and enabling sources of flexibility. This paper proposes and demonstrates a single layer control system for coordinating the steady‐state operation of battery energy storage system (BESS) and wind power plants via multi‐terminal high voltage direct current (HVDC). The proposed coordinated controller is a single layer controller on the top of the power converter‐based technologies. Specifically, the coordinated controller uses the capabilities of the distributed battery energy storage systems (BESS) to store electricity when a logic function is fulfilled. The proposed approach has been implemented considering a control logic based on the power flow in the DC undersea cables and coordinated to charging distributed‐BESS assets. The implemented coordinated controller has been tested using numerical simulations in a modified version of the classical IEEE 14‐bus test system, including tree‐HVDC converter stations. A 24‐h (1‐min resolution) quasi-dynamic simulation was used to demonstrate the suitability of the proposed coordinated control. The controller demonstrated the capacity of fulfilling the defined control logic. Finally, the instan-taneous flexibility power was calculated, demonstrating the suitability of the proposed coordinated controller to provide flexibility and decreased requirements for balancing power

Development and test of an intra-vehicular network based on bluetooth low energy

This paper presents the development and test of an intra-vehicular system, based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), designed to present to the driver, in real-time, information collected from multiple sensors distributed inside of the car, using an Android smartphone. The architecture of the implemented BLE network is composed by the smartphone, which has the role of central station, and two BLE modules (peripheral stations) based on the CC2540 system-on-chip, which collect relevant sensor information from the battery system and the traction system of an electric car. Results based on an experimental performance evaluation of the wireless network show that the network is able to satisfy the application requirements, as long as the network parameters are properly configured taking into account the peculiarities of the BLE data transfer modes and the limitations of the BLE platform.This work is supported by FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) with the reference project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance of Automotive SLI Battery under Constant Current Constant Voltage Charge Algorithm in Solar PV Application

The high initial cost of deep-cycle PV battery and its high replacement cost constitute an important barrier to the deployment of solar PV technology, particularly in poor rural settings. Battery lifetime depends on effective charge control and load management. In this project, a cost-effective 12V battery charge controller was developed to implement constant current constant voltage charge algorithm in small-sized stand-alone solar PV systems. The algorithm was tested on automotive SLI battery instead of deep-cycle PV battery to further reduce overall system cost. The battery state of charge (indicated by specific gravity), which is an indicator of algorithm performance, was monitored over 200 daily charge/discharge cycles. The value of the specific gravity ranged from 1.250 to 1.260, demonstrating the effectiveness of the control algorithm. Keywords: Battery charge control, Solar PV lighting, Renewable energy technology, Rural electrification Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 28 (2) 2008: pp. 85-9

An intra-vehicular wireless sensor network based on Android mobile devices and bluetooth low energy

This chapter presents the development and test of an intra-vehicular wireless sensor network (IVWSN), based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), designed to present to the driver, in real-time, information collected from multiple sensors distributed inside of the car, using a human-machine interface (HMI) implemented on an Android smartphone. The architecture of the implemented BLE network is composed by the smartphone, which has the role of central station, and two BLE modules (peripheral stations) based on the CC2540 system-on-chip (SoC), which collect relevant sensor information from the battery system and the traction system of a plug-in electric car. Results based on an experimental performance evaluation of the wireless network show that the network is able to satisfy the application requirements, as long as the network parameters are properly configured taking into account the peculiarities of the BLE data transfer modes and the observed limitations of the BLE platform used in the implementation of the IVWSN.This work is supported by FCT with the reference project UID/EEA/04436/2013, COMPETE 2020 with the code POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006941

Sliding-mode controller for a step up-down battery charger with a single current sensor

This paper proposes a battery charger solution based on the Zeta DC/DC converter to provide a general interface between batteries and microgrid direct current (DC) buses. This solution enables to interface batteries and DC buses with voltage conversion ratios lower, equal, and higher than one using the same components and without redesigning the control system, thus ensuring global stability. The converter controller is designed to require only the measurement of a single inductor current, instead of both inductors currents, without reducing the system flexibility and stability. The controller stability is demonstrated using the sliding-mode theory, and a design procedure for the parameters is developed to ensure a desired bus performance. Finally, simulations and experiments validate the performance of the proposed solution under realistic operation conditions

Optimiranje upravljačkog sustava električnog vozila s produljenim dometom

U ovom se radu opisuje upravljačka struktura električnog vozila s produljenim dometom te se predlažu unaprjeđenja regulatora stanja napunjenosti baterije. Optimiraju se parametri postojećeg proporcionalnog regulatora stanja napunjenosti s mrtvom zonom te se implementira proporcionalno integralni regulator čiji se parametri također optimiraju. Rezultati optimiranja se uspoređuju s prvotnim rezultatima regulatora stanja napunjenosti baterije te se na osnovi toga daje završni zaključak