Utilization of dynamic wireless power transfer technology in multi-depot, multi-product delivery supply chain

Abstract

Dynamic wireless charging technology (DWC) is considered an innovative contactless way to charge the battery of electric vehicles (EV) in the modern transportation system. By installing charging infrastructure beneath the road, this technology can overcome the obstacles of conventional charging topology, including high battery cost, restricted driving range, limited availability of charging stations, and long recharging downtime. This paper proposes a long-term mathematical model for locating-routing electric freight trucks (EFTs), which belongs to the Multi-Depot Multi-product delivery supply chain. In the proposed framework, the placement of DWC infrastructure and routing of EFTs has been accomplished by considering the battery capacity of trucks, charging facilities installation cost, electrical energy losses, and the voltage deviation in the power distribution system (PDS). Finally, two comparative case studies have been performed on the interconnected network IEEE 13 node test feeder and Nguyen–Dupius traffic network to validate the proposed approach. We also conduct a sensitivity analysis to understand the model’s system behavior and confirm it with insight.