Energy-optimization design and management strategy for hybrid electric non-road mobile machinery: A case study of snowblower

Abstract

Reduced reliance on fossil fuels is a critical issue, and electrification of agricultural machinery is a solution for lowering greenhouse gas emissions in non-road transportation. By separating the load and drive from the engine, electrification the implement allows the engine to operate at higher efficiency. This study suggests a series hybrid design that combines a snow blower with battery support and a tractor with a reduced engine size to meet the fuel consumption reduction target while maintaining its performance. Accordingly, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to size the battery that meets the constraints. Additionally, the motors of actuators are designed based on efficiency maps. Moreover, the rule-based energy management strategy is also proposed to assess the solution. This suggestion is analyzed using simulation and compared to a traditional tractor as a benchmark. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the strategy in lowering emissions from non-road machinery. Furthermore, this approach can be applied to various different types of implements attached to the tractor.