On-Board Energy Storage Devices with Supercapacitors for Metro Trains—Case Study Analysis of Application Effectiveness

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis on using an on-board energy storage device (ESD) for enhancing braking energy re-use in electrified railway transportation. A simulation model was developed in the programming language C++ to help with the sizing of the ESD. The simulation model based on the mathematical description has been proposed for a train equipped with on-board ESD for analysis of effectiveness of its application. A case study was carried out for a metro line taking into consideration train characteristics, track alignment, line velocity limits and a running time table. This case study was used to assess the energy savings and perform a cost-benefit analysis for different sizes of the on-board ESD by applying the proposed approach. It was shown that when additional environmental benefits (reduction of CO2 emissions) are considered, this may significantly improve effectiveness of the investments due to CO2 European Emission allowances.

Review of Energy Storage Systems in Regenerative Braking Energy Recovery in DC Electrified Urban Railway Systems: Converter Topologies, Control Methods & Future Prospects

“…Finally, it allows the vehicle to have catenary -free driving [62], [157] Some research studies on onboard ESSs found that an energy saving about 14% to 34% could be achieved when onboard ESSs are deployed in urban railway applications [158], [159].…”

Route Profile Dependent Tram Regenerative Braking Algorithm with Reduced Impact on the Supply Network

“…The ESS can be located outside the vehicle (wayside energy storage) or inside the vehicle as a mobile energy storage system (onboard energy storage). The work, [6], deals with the optimal positioning and sizing of a stationary ESS, while the studies in [7] analyze the economic and energetic viability of installing an ESS into a rail vehicle. The ESS usually consists of battery or supercapacitor modules; in rare cases, flywheels are also used [8].…”

Energy management strategy to optimise regenerative braking in a hybrid dual‐mode locomotive

“…Supercapacitors (SCs) and batteries offer high efficiency and a high speed of access to electrical energy. They are, therefore, an ideal complement to the FC in hybrid electric locomotives [10–13].…”

“…Compared with other approaches, these strategies are intuitive and easier to implement. Many research studies propose rule‐based methodologies to determine the power distribution in hybrid trains [13, 28–30].…”