Energy Consumption Optimization of Powertrain of Electric Underground Load-Haul-Dump Mining Loader

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

URL

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Date

2019-05-06

Department

Major/Subject

Electrical Power and Energy Engineering

Mcode

ELEC3024

Degree programme

AEE - Master’s Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering (TS2013)

Language

en

Pages

59+13

Series

Abstract

The emissions of heavy-duty underground machinery endanger the health of human workers and increase the overall maintenance cost of the underground mine due to ventilation expenses. In addition, tightening emission standards for non-road vehicles are pushing towards greener solutions, hence, fully electric powertrains are becoming a viable alternative for many applications. An electric powertrain is not only local emission-free, but also provides a better controllably and a superior energy efficiency compared to the conventional diesel operated machines. The nature of such vehicles and their periodic duty cycles enable energy optimization and a prospect of an improved efficiency. The aim of the thesis was to reduce the energy consumption of an underground load-haul dump mining loader. As most of the energy is consumed by the powertrain of the vehicle, the traction motors are the focus of the optimization. An optimal speed profile was generated by means of Bellman’s dynamic programming algorithm in MATLAB environment. The simulation utilized dynamic asynchronous motor, battery and vehicle models built according to a real-size experimental prototype. The algorithm had been designed to solve discrete time problems; therefore, the model was discretized with adjustable dynamic accuracy where the intermediate points were obtained by linear interpolation. The optimal speed profile demonstrated a 9.1% decrease in energy consumption for a generic duty cycle. Additionally, the asynchronous motors were operated at a higher efficiency area generating less heat and in theory prolonging the lifetime of the powertrain components.

Description

Supervisor

Belahcen, Anouar

Thesis advisor

Minav, Tatiana
Calonius, Olof

Keywords

dynamic programming, load-haul-dump mining loader, electric powertrain, energy consumption

Other note

Citation