Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)

Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

Inductive charging of ultracapacitor buses

Jayesh Kodwani Sumit Sonar Roshan Undarkar

Project Guide: Prof. Sachin Datey

DEPARTMENT OF ELCTRICAL ENGIREEING SKN SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

KUSGAON(BK)
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Abstract - Many public transit agencies are exploring ways in which alternative fuels can be utilized to
reduce our nation’s dependency on imported oil and to avoid the environmental impacts associated with
the combustion of petroleum products. Of all the alternative fuel options, electricity is among the most
desirable in terms of affordability, availability, security, and sustainability. Unfortunately, limitations in
battery technology result in electric vehicle operating ranges that are much lower than those of internal
combustion-powered vehicles. Although opportunity charging is one strategy for increasing the driving
range of electric buses by means of a series of brief recharges during normally scheduled midday layovers,
it has yet to be embraced by the transit industry, in part because of the difficulties involved in having
drivers connect and disconnect the bus from the charger at regular intervals throughout the day. Roadway-
mounted inductively-coupled power transfer systems effectively remove this constraint by automating the
charge process, thereby obviating the need for driver intervention. Ultracapacitor energy storage systems
offer advantages over battery systems for such applications.

Key Words: Ultracapacitor, Opportunity Charging, Inductive Charging, Transit, Electric Bus.

BACKGROUND:
Battery-electric buses are widely recognized as the most environmentally benign of all the alternativelyfueled
public transportation options, even when emissions from the power plants that provide the electricity to
recharge the batteries. This is true of both regulated (“criteria”) emissions and greenhouse gas emissions.
Electric propulsion is also the only vehicle propulsion technology that can directly utilize.
clean and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Battery electric buses have additional
benefits such as quiet operation and zero tailpipe emissions, highly desirable attributes for urban, campus, and
medical center applications involving substantial pedestrian activity and/or noiseand emission-sensitive
populations.
In addition to the well-documented environmental benefits, battery electric buses also have lower fuel costs
and offer the potential for favorable maintenance costs as compared with diesel and other fuels. A recent
Federal Transit Administration report to Congress indicates that battery electric buses require only about one-
third the fuel cost per mile than the next cheapest propulsion strategy (catenary electricity for trolley buses),
and only about one-quarter the fuel cost as diesel propulsion; even greater fuel cost savings accrue when
compared with other alternative fuels.
Given a battery electric bus’s favorable environmental benefits, low noise, zero local emissions, low fuel
cost, and potential for low maintenance costs, it is somewhat surprising that they have not enjoyed
widespread .commercializaton. Battery electric buses have not been successfully deployed in most
applications because the various shortcomings of the battery-electric bus are significant. Virtually all of the
associated problems, however, are directly related to deficiencies in battery technology.

INTRODUCTION TO ULTRACAPACITORS

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 Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)
Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

Ultracapacitors (also referred to as supercapacitors) are electrochemical capacitors that have unusually high
energy densities when compared with common capacitors; they are of particular interest in automotive
applications for hybrid vehicles and as supplementary storage for battery electric vehicles. Although they
exhibit numerous advantages as compared with traction batteries, their gravimetric energy density is only
about 10% that of lead-acid batteries, heretofore rendering them unsuitable as a primary energy storage
element in electric vehicles.

Areas of advantage for ultracapacitors as compared with battery systems include the following:

1. Very high rates of charge and discharge resulting in fast recharge times, adequate acceleration power in
relatively low energy systems, and excellent acceptance of regenerative braking;

2. Little degradation over hundreds of thousands of cycles resulting in exceptional cycle life;

3. Essentially maintenance-free operation;

4. Excellent reliability over a wide temperature spectrum and harsh environments;

5. Low toxicity of materials used;

6. High cycle efficiency (95% or higher).

As a result, ultracapacitors would be an excellent substitute for batteries in pure electric vehicles if not for
their relatively poor energy density. This sole shortcoming could be circumvented, however, in an application
that entailed high frequency, short duration, automated recharging. Certain public transit applications
demonstrate favorable operational characteristics, particularly those involving low-speed shuttle operations in
which the bus traverses a relatively short loop, returning to the same stops on a frequent, recurring basis. The
installation at one of those stops of a roadway-mounted, automatic, inductively-coupled charging station
(which does not require driver intervention to accomplish recharge) would complete the essential attributes of
a pure electric vehicle system that might effectively utilize ultracapacitors in lieu of batteries for its sole energy
storage medium.

ULTRACAPACITORS VS. BATTERIES:

Energy storage characteristics of interest to the electric bus industry include specific energy (the energy
capacity of a battery per unit weight), cost, and cycle life.although ultracapacitors have a high acquisition
kWh of rated capacity as compared with batteries, their extremely long cycle life more than compensates,
resulting in relatively low life-cycle costs. Coupled with their high reliability and virtually.avoid exceeding
the 1C charge rate. (Fast charging tends to result in accelerated heating of batteries, a condition that should
be minimized because elevated battery temperature can result in accelerated internal corrosion and
decreased battery longevity.) A representative 60-kWh lead-acid battery system has a power rating of
approximately 300 kW. By comparison, a 2.6-kWh rated ultracapacitor system has a power rating of
approximately 2,700 kW. The nearly ten-fold improvement in power rating attendant to the ultracapacitor
system means that frequent recharges can occur without excessive heat generation and that total recovery of
regenerative braking energy is possible, unlike with a typical battery system which is estimated to accept
only about 50% of the available regenerative braking energy.

INDUCTIVE CHARGING SYSTEM

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 Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)
Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

Although opportunity charging is one strategy for increasing the driving range of pure electric buses by means
of a series of brief recharges during normally scheduled midday layovers, it has yet to be embraced by the
transit industry, in part because of the difficulties involved in having drivers connect and disconnect the bus
from the charger at regular intervals throughout the day.

1. An inductively-coupled charging system effectively removes this constraint by automating the charge process,
thereby obviating the need for driver intervention. An inductive charge system contactlesspower transfer system
that allows electrical energy to be supplied to buses without any electrical or mechanical contact. Each system
consists of two parts (a primary and secondary) that are magnetically coupled similar
2. to a conventional transformer. The primary (stationary) side of a 60-kW system consists of a 70-kW track supply
and two 30-kW primary coils imbedded in the street at the opportunity charge station (typically a bus stop at or
near the end of the line). The secondary (vehicle) side consists of two 30-kW pickups and rectifiers installed
onboard the vehicle.
3. Unlike a conventional transformer, where primary and secondary coils are tightly coupled, the inductive charge
system is a loosely coupled system. Power can be transferred across air gaps of several centimeters. Having no
physical contact, operation in harsh environments becomes possible. Power transfer is not affected by concrete,
asphalt, or other nonpermeable materials.
4. Major components for a typical 30-kW system are depicted in Figures 1 and 2. A 60-kW system contemplated for bus
applications involves the use of two stationary primary coils and two vehicle-mounted secondary pickups per bus. When
an electric bus pulls into the charging station, the positioning system checks whether the bus is correctly positioned over
the charging platform. If proper positioning is confirmed, a signal is sent to the track supply to automatically start the
charging process. If the bus is not correctly positioned, the track supply will not switch on. Other objects, such as people,
animals, cars, trucks, or other buses cannot cause the activation of the charging station. Termination of the charging
process can be executed after a preprogrammed time (e.g., 2 minutes), by the bus driver, or automatically before the bus
leaves the charging platform
5. CANDIDTE APPLICATION:

Four candidate electric bus configurations of varying lengths were evaluated for potential deployment on four candidate
routes at a major US university campus with respect to the prospects for successful utilization of inductive charge
technology [8]. The smaller buses have the lowest energy use requirements and therefore require the least time connected
to the charge system to replenish the energy expended during each loop. Although the most promising route has a high
energy consumption rate per mile driven because of its high stop-start frequency, its short loop length results in relatively
short recharge times required at the end of each loop (less than two minutes for a 22-ft bus operating without air-
conditioning). The operating parameters for a 22-ft. electric bus running without airconditioning on the most favorable
route are presented in Table 1.

When an electric bus pulls into the charging station, the positioning system checks whether the bus is correctly
positioned over the charging platform. If proper positioning is confirmed, a signal is sent to the track supply
to automatically start the charging process. If the bus is not correctly positioned, the track supply will not
switch on. Other objects, such as people, animals, cars, trucks, or other buses cannot cause the activation of
the charging station. Termination of the charging process can be executed after a preprogrammed time (e.g.,
2 minutes), by the bus driver, or automatically before the bus leaves the charging platform.

6.

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 Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)
Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

Figure 1. Major Components for Typical 30-kW Inductive Charge System, Block Diagram

Figure 2. Major Components for Typical 30-kW Inductive Charge System, Insta

CANDIDATE ULTRACAPACITOR SYSTEM

Critical to the success of the contemplated project is the identification of a well-integrated ultracapacitor
system. One candidate system would appear to be the Heavy-duty Transportation Module (“HTM”)
manufactured by Maxwell Technologies. Maxwell’s 390V HTM module is depicted in Figure 3 and is
summarized in Table 2.

In order to achieve the 1.93-kWh deliverable energy requirement identified in the previous section, seven
Maxwell 390V HTM modules would be required (7 x 282 Wh = 1.97 kWh). These seven modules would yield
a system mass of 1,155 kg (2,541 lbs.), or about one-half the weight of a lead-acid battery system of
appropriate capacity to accept a 60-kW recurring charge.

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 Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)
Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

Assuming six recharge events per hour (one every ten minutes), ten hours of bus service per day, five days
per week, and 50 weeks per year, the ultracapacitor system would experience a total of 15,000 cycles per year.
This amounts to approximately 200,000 cycles of the ultracapacitor over a 12-year bus life expectancy, well
short of the 1,000,000 projected cycle life and suggestive that ultracapacitor reliability would be extremely
high during the operational life of the bus.

Figure 3. Maxwell 390V HTM Module

Table 2. Maxwell 390V HTM Module

CONCLUSION:

Battery electric buses are widely regarded as the most environmentally benign of all the alternatively-fueled
public transportation options, and offer additional benefits such as quiet operation, zero-tailpipe emissions,
low fuel costs, and the potential for favorable maintenance costs. They have not, however, enjoyed widespread
commercialization because of a number of operational and maintenance shortcomings that are the result of
battery technology deficiencies. Although recent battery developments have produced incremental
improvements in energy density, high costs and persistent maintenance issues associated with these
technologies continue to limit the successful deployment of battery electric buses. The use of ultracapacitors
in lieu of batteries in a pure electric bus would appear to circumvent most of the shortcomings associated with
electric buses, namely battery system reliability and battery maintenance requirements. Furthermore,
ultracapacitors are more effective at capturing regenerative braking energy, thereby improving the efficiency
of the system. The only relative disadvantage of ultracapacitors is their lower energy density which results in
reduced vehicle range between recharges; this can be mitigated, however, by the use of an automated inductive
charging system installed in the roadway at one or more bus stops. If travel to storage or maintenance facilities
cannot be accomplished with the ultracapacitor system, a trailermounted battery system could be utilized. In
addition to improved vehicle reliability, an ultracapacitor electric bus would have considerably lower life cycle
costs than its battery-powered counterpart as a result of reduced maintenance costs and lower energy storage
system costs.

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 Journal Publication of International Research for Engineering and Management (JOIREM)
Volume: 05 Issue: 09 | Sept-2021

REFERENCE:

[1] P.
Griffith. Status of U.S. Battery-Electric Bus Operations. Proceedings of Electric Vehicle
Symposium22, Advanced Transportation Technology Institute (ATTI), December 2006.

[2] U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration. Alternative Fuels Study: A Report to
Congress on Policy Options for Increasing the Use of Alternative Fuels in Transit Vehicles. December 2006.

[3] Ibid.

[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor

[5] Ibid.

[6] Griffith, op. cit.

[7] Approximately five times the overnight rate.

8] P. Griffith. Preliminary Technical Assessment of Inductively Charged Electric Bus for Application at
University Campus. Advanced Transportation Technology Institute (ATTI), January 26, 2007.

[9] Maxwell Technologies, Doc. # 1011285 Rev.2

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