On-board Energy Sources Research Articles

Calculation of the main operational characteristics of a tethered high-altitude ship-based system

Objectives. Currently, UAVs are actively used in many military and civilian fields such as object surveillance, telecommunications, radar, photography, video recording, and mapping, etc. The main disadvantage of autonomous UAVs is their limited operating time. The long-term operation of UAVs on ships can be ensured by tethered high-altitude systems in which the power supply of engines and equipment is provided from the onboard energy source through a thin cable tether. This paper aims to select and justify the appearance of such system, as well as to calculate the required performance characteristics.Methods. The study used methods of systemic and functional analysis of tethered system parameters, as well as methods and models of the theory of relations and measurement.Results. The issues of design and implementation of new generation tethered high-altitude ship-based systems were considered. A rational type of aerodynamic design for unmanned aerial vehicles was determined based on existing tethered platforms. The optimal architecture of the tethered system was defined and justified. The paper presents the appearance and solution for placement onboard the ship, and describes its operation. The main initial parameters for designing high-altitude systems such as take-off weight, optimal lift altitude, maximum power required for operation, structure of the energy transfer system, as well as deployment and lift time to the design altitude were selected and calculated.Conclusions. The methodology for calculating the necessary characteristics described in the paper can be used for developing and evaluating tethered high-altitude systems. These systems are capable of performing a wide range of tasks, without requiring a separate storage and launch location, which is especially important in the ship environment. The system presented herein possesses significant advantages over well-known analogues.

Optical Vivaldi Antenna Array for Solar Energy Harvesting

In this paper, we try to find the best solution for our energy harvesting application by designing an efficient optical antenna which receives the solar radiation and converts it from AC to DC by integrating a rectifier. This work consists of designing a Vivaldi optical antenna with a maximum electric field captured in its gap. We also examine the use the optical array(double, four and eight) in order to increase the captured electric field concentrated in the common gap, compared to the single structure . Feeding lines are used to ride the captured electric field from the gap of each single antenna to a common gap. These innovative systems are small electronic devices often consisting of a low-power computer, wireless sensors, an antenna and capable of communicate with their environment. These devices also have an on-board energy source in the form of cells or batteries that require maintenance operations. periodic replacement or recharging, which can hinder the mobility and deployment of these communicating systems for the greatest number. This is the reason why we Today, we also note the very strong interest in improving energy autonomy and even the complete independence of these systems with respect to on-board sources.

Development of operation algorithm of electric drive of an electric vehicle in urban cycle

BACKGROUND: Increasing energy efficiency of an electric vehicle is one of the most relevant issues at the current state of transport development. It is known that chemical current sources used in traction electric drive of vehicles have low specific power, low efficiency and high cost that makes the electric transport development difficult.
 AIMS: Making the choice of strategy of manufacturing of electric vehicle with batteries.
 METHODS: The mathematical models of various vehicle driving cycles, such as: the UNECE Regulation 83 urban cycle, NEDC, WLTC, JC08, EPA HWEET were used in the study that made possible to confirm adequacy of the developed structural model of the electric drive.
 RESULTS: The structural layout of the traction electric drive of an electric vehicle with combined energy source has been developed; the algorithm of its operation in the urban driving cycle has been defined. Electric transport efficiency was assessed during the study. The analysis showed that vehicles with solely chemical on-board energy sources do not have any prospects due to unsatisfactory technical properties and consumer attributes. Review of capacitors was performed in order to define the possibility of using them as energy source for next-generation vehicles. The study revealed sufficient advantages of capacitors in many respects. Analysis of vehicle motion in urban cycle was performed in order to develop the optimal design. The electric drive layout with a lithium-ion traction battery as the main energy source and a capacitor as the additional energy source was chosen.
 CONCLUSIONS: This solution makes it possible to develop the electric drive with optimal mass and dimensional parameters, to increase service life of energy storage and mileage without recharging of a vehicle. In addition, the combination of two electric energy accumulators and the developed algorithm of their operation makes it possible to achieve high efficiency of energy transferring.

Health-aware energy management strategy for fuel cell hybrid bus considering air-conditioning control based on TD3 algorithm

The air-conditioning system (ACS), as a high-power component on the fuel cell hybrid electric bus (FCHEB), has a significant impact on the whole vehicle economy while maintaining comfortable temperature. Achieving cabin comfort in a way that reduces the whole vehicle operating cost is a great challenge. This task requires excellent coordination between the ACS and the on-board energy sources. Given that, this paper proposes an energy management strategy (EMS) with on-board energy sources health awareness considering air-conditioning control. Specifically, firstly, cabin comfort is combined with fuel cell/battery durability control to minimize total vehicle operating cost while satisfying cabin comfort. Secondly, the state-of-the-art twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm is adopted to improve the training efficiency and optimization capability of the EMS to achieve the best power allocation. Finally, comparative analysis is performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed EMS, and the results show that the proposed strategy can enhance training efficiency by 56.7% and decrease total operating cost by 8.58% compared to the benchmark strategy based on deep deterministic policy gradient.

Takeoff of a 2.1 g Fully Untethered Tailless Flapping-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicle With Integrated Battery

Insect-scale micro-aerial vehicles (MAV) are becoming increasingly important for sensing and mapping spatially constrained environments. However, achieving untethered flight powered by a small and lightweight on-board energy source remains a challenge. In this study, we successfully demonstrated the untethered takeoff of a flapping-wing MAV powered by a commercially available LiPo battery for a short duration without stability control. By incorporating a high-efficiency direct-drive piezoelectric actuator, and an optimized control circuit for high-impedance-width modulation and charge recovery, this electronics configuration realizes over 5 min of practical operation with a thrust of 1.5 times its own weight, while offering wireless communication capability and sensors for attitude estimation. Our MAV has a total mass of 2.1 g, which is an eight-fold reduction compared to the lightest battery-powered tailless flapping-wing MAV currently available, making this the first report of a battery-powered tailless flapping-wing MAV with insect-scale weight.

Soft robotics towards sustainable development goals and climate actions.

Soft robotics technology can aid in achieving United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement through development of autonomous, environmentally responsible machines powered by renewable energy. By utilizing soft robotics, we can mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on human society and the natural world through fostering adaptation, restoration, and remediation. Moreover, the implementation of soft robotics can lead to groundbreaking discoveries in material science, biology, control systems, energy efficiency, and sustainable manufacturing processes. However, to achieve these goals, we need further improvements in understanding biological principles at the basis of embodied and physical intelligence, environment-friendly materials, and energy-saving strategies to design and manufacture self-piloting and field-ready soft robots. This paper provides insights on how soft robotics can address the pressing issue of environmental sustainability. Sustainable manufacturing of soft robots at a large scale, exploring the potential of biodegradable and bioinspired materials, and integrating onboard renewable energy sources to promote autonomy and intelligence are some of the urgent challenges of this field that we discuss in this paper. Specifically, we will present field-ready soft robots that address targeted productive applications in urban farming, healthcare, land and ocean preservation, disaster remediation, and clean and affordable energy, thus supporting some of the SDGs. By embracing soft robotics as a solution, we can concretely support economic growth and sustainable industry, drive solutions for environment protection and clean energy, and improve overall health and well-being.

A Coverage Sampling Path Planning Method Suitable for UAV 3D Space Atmospheric Environment Detection

Air pollution affects people’s life and health, and controlling air pollution requires the collection of polluting gas information. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used for environmental detection due to their characteristics. However, the limitation of onboard energy sources of UAVs will limit the coverage of the detection area and the number of gas samples collected, which will affect the assessment of pollution levels. In addition, to truly and completely reflect the distribution of atmospheric pollutants, it is necessary to sample the entire three-dimensional space. This paper proposes a three-dimensional space path planning method suitable for UAV atmospheric environment detection, which can generate a full-coverage path with optimal coverage density under energy constraints. Simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively improve the coverage density compared with other path generation methods. Field experiments show that the proposed method is reliable and accurate in the application of UAV atmospheric environment space detection.

A novel vibration energy harvesting system integrated with an inertial pendulum for zero-energy sensor applications in freight trains

With the development of the global economy, the demand for freight trains continues to rise, and the safety and maintenance of freight trains are essential. Therefore, sensors used for onboard monitoring of freight trains are vital components. However, the lack of onboard energy sources on freight trains makes the self-powering of sensors an urgent problem. In this paper, a novel renewable vibration energy harvesting system (VEHS) has been designed to provide electricity to sensors in freight train monitoring systems. The proposed VEHS mainly consists of three components: an energy input module, a motion transformation module, and an energy conversion module. The energy input module is composed of an inertial pendulum and a mass block. The movement transformation module integrates a novel and compact mechanical rectifier mechanism. The energy conversion module includes generators and energy storage devices. The wheel-rail coupled vibration is transformed into mechanical reciprocating rotation via the energy input module, and then into unidirectional mechanical rotation via the motion transformation module. Finally, the energy conversion module converts that mechanical energy of unidirectional rotation into electrical energy, and stores this micro-energy in a capacitor after rectification and boosting. Based on multi-body dynamics software and Simulink, a dynamic model was established to evaluate the vibration response of the system under different axle load and speed. Experiments revealed that the peak output power and energy harvesting efficiency of the VEHS were 1.04 W and 68.29 %, respectively. The RMS value of output power reaches 102.4 mW. In addition, this paper studies the application of the proposed VEHS to the China-Europe Express train. The results show that the system can be used to self-supply energy for freight train monitoring systems.

Acoustic Impact of Hybrid-Electric DEP Aircraft Configuration at Airport Level

The Italian research project PROSIB (PROpulsione e Sistemi IBridi per velivoli ad ala fissa e rotante), is a 30-month initiative funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research (MIUR) and coordinated by the Leonardo company. The project is aimed to investigate configurations for regional aircraft and rotary wing platforms and architectures for propulsion systems, and is dedicated to the identification of the best strategy for their use, given different on-board energy sources. The reduced environmental impact is the key for the success of the new hybrid/electric aircraft configurations. This not only considers the chemical pollution introduced in the atmosphere, but also the noise produced on the surrounding area of airports. The present paper describes the acoustic impact assessment resulting from the inclusion of new propulsion technologies and new configurations of regional aircraft (ATR42 pax) in a reference airport area.

Energetic Performances Booster for Electric Vehicle Applications Using Transient Power Control and Supercapacitors-Batteries/Fuel Cell

In this paper, a hybrid electric power supply system for an electric vehicle (EV) is investigated. The study aims to reduce electric stress on the main energy source (fuel cell) and boost energetic performances using energy sources with high specific power (supercapacitors, batteries) for rapid traction chain solicitations such as accelerations, decelerations, and braking operations. The multisource EV power supply system contains a fuel cell stack, a lithium batteries module, and a supercapacitors (Sc) pack. In order to emulate the EV energy demand (wheels, weight, external forces, etc.), a bidirectional load based on a reversible current DC-DC converter was used. Fuel cell (Fc) stack was interfaced by an interleaved boost converter. Batteries and the Sc pack were coupled to the DC point of coupling via buck/boost converters. Paper contribution was firstly concentrated on the distribution of energy and power between onboard energy sources in consonance with their dynamic characteristics (time response). Second contribution was based on a new Sc model, which takes into consideration the temperature and the DC current ripples frequency until 1000 Hz. Energy management strategy (EMS) was evaluated by simulations and reduced scale experimental tests. The used driving cycle was the US Federal Test Procedure known as FTP-75.

A Comprehensive Review on Energy Management Strategies for Electric Vehicles Considering Degradation Using Aging Models

Electrification in the transportation industry is becoming more important to face global warming and replace fossil fuels in the future. Among the available energy sources Li-ion battery and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are the most promising energy sources. Therefore, employing them in fuel cell hybrid electric vehicles (FCHEVs) to combine their advantages is one of the favorable solutions. However, they still face a major challenge residing in their aging that cause the drop of system performance. On one hand, the degradation is the result of the interaction between several aging mechanisms that react differently with various operating conditions. On the other hand, a hybrid system requires an essential energy management strategy (EMS) for fuel economy and optimal power share. At the end, this EMS has an important impact on the lifetime of sources in term of reducing or favorizing the degradation. Therefore, it is important to consider the degradation in the objectives of the designed EMS. Since the degradation is usually neglected when designing an EMS, this paper tends to review the possible methods for designing a health-conscious EMS. Hence, this paper presents a summary of the main fuel cell (FC) and Li-ion battery aging mechanisms as well as the useful degradation models for state of health estimation. In addition, the existing works that consider the degradation of on-board energy sources in their approaches for increasing their durability are classified and analysed. Remaining challenges are detailed along with a discussion and outlooks about current and future trends of health-conscious EMS.

Scenario forecasting for the choice of energy source type in civil aviation

Subject. Aviation is one of promising transport sectors for the use of hydrogen. However, the level of readiness of aircraft technologies for electric traction and fuel cells as on-board energy sources is too low to accurately predict their economic parameters. Objectives. The aim is to forecast scenarios for technological development of the ‘aircraft and civil aviation’ system, based on its endogenous properties; to build a set of threshold values for external development parameters of the system under study, separating the areas of preference for alternative fuel and energy technologies. Methods. We employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The paper shows the boundaries of prices for aviation kerosene and methane, for aviation kerosene and hydrogen, and for methane and hydrogen, enabling to determine conditions, under which the transition to a particular fuel and energy technology will be economically justified, considering the necessary cost of changing the design of the aircraft. Conclusions. The presented maps of technological forks demonstrate that the transition to hydrogen in aviation will occur only after the price for methane passes its minimum (which is determined by the future level of perfection of its extraction and production technologies), and then exceeds the price for hydrogen, due to the limited easily accessible resources of natural gas. However, this conclusion rests on the assumption that there are no strict measures to discourage hydrocarbon energy in the aviation sector, and that there is no economy of scale.

Fuzzy Energy Management Scheme for a Hybrid Power Sources of High-Altitude Pseudosatellite

HAPS (high-altitude pseudosatellites) are flight machines, airplane type, generally without pilot which fly in a definite zone at 18-22 km altitude, providing communication and surveillance services. These flight machines do not leave the atmosphere, and their purpose is to maintain a constant flight level for as long time as possible in the interest zone (e.g., five years) to fulfill their mission. HAPS energetic system proposed in this paper has to feed the electric propulsion system of HAPS (12.5 kW) and also to feed on-board equipment (navigation, data links, scientific equipment, etc.). On-board energy sources have to maintain HAPS in the interest zone for long periods. For this reason, it is used in the present solar power sources. A part of the generated energy is consumed on board; the rest is stored daytime and consumed nighttime. So, the system is provided with energy generation systems and also with storage and management systems. HAPS energetic system is a hybrid type, with two or more power sources. In this case, power sources are photovoltaic panels are used daytime and fuel cell are used nighttime, and also, a battery and/or a supercapacitor is used in transition periods from day to night and in peak load periods. In this paper, an electric power system used nighttime is designed and analysed. In this situation, the primary power source is the fuel cell and the secondary power sources are battery and/or supercapacitor. There are used numerical simulations models, developed in Matlab/Simulink, for all hybrid power source components: fuel cell stack, battery system, supercapacitors, conversion system, and fuzzy logic power management system. For a part of these components, there are used existing simulation models in Matlab/Simulink, adapted to these simulation requirements, and for others, there are designed and implemented simulation schemes according to these simulation requirements. An important component of the hybrid power source is the power conversion system which adapts the power sources parameters to consumer input requirements. A fuzzy logic power management system is designed.

Wavelet-transform Algorithm Application in Hybrid Power System Optimization of Electric Vehicles

In order to reduce the changing times of battery’s output power loads and currents, a novel energy management strategy was developed for hybrid power system including a battery pack and an ultracapacitor (UC) pack. The strategy is utilizing wavelet-transform algorithm to allocate power components with different frequency contents among the on-board energy sources. The models of hybrid power system were developed and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. Simulation results show that: Compared with the logic threshold strategy, the wavelet control method can avoid battery to receive chaotic high-frequency components more effectively. Meantime, the utilization of ultra-capacitor can be improved. Thus battery can be protected and the efficiency of electric vehicles can be increased.

Model predictive maneuvering control and energy management for all-electric autonomous ships

Over the last few years, autonomous shipping has been under extensive investigation by the scientific community where the main focus has been on ship maneuvering control and not on the optimal use of energy sources. In this paper, the purpose is to bridge the gap between maneuvering control, energy management, and the control of the Power and Propulsion System (PPS) to improve fuel efficiency and the performance of the vessel. Maneuvering control, energy management, and the control of the PPS are in the literature typically studied independently from one another, while they are closely connected. A generic control methodology based on receding horizon control techniques is proposed for the ship maneuvering control as well as energy management. In the context of this research, Direct Current (DC) all-electric architectures are considered for the PPS where the relationship between the produced power by energy sources and vessel propellers is established by a DC microgrid. The objective of the proposed approach is to ensure the ship mission objectives by guaranteeing efficient power availability, decreasing the trajectory tracking error, and increasing the fuel efficiency. In this regard, for the ship motion control, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm is proposed which is based on Input–Output Feedback Linearization (IOFL). Through this algorithm, the required power for the ship mission is predicted and then, transferred to the proposed Predictive Energy Management (PEM) algorithm which decides on the optimal split between different on-board energy sources during the mission. As a result, the fuel efficiency and the power system stability can be increased. Several simulations are carried out for the evaluation of the proposed approach. The results suggest that by adopting the proposed approach, the trajectory tracking error decreases and the Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) efficiency is significantly improved.

Steam balloon concept for lifting rockets to launch altitude

ABSTRACTLaunching orbital and suborbital rockets from a high altitude is beneficial because of e.g. nozzle optimisation and reduced drag. Aircraft and gas balloons have been used for the purpose. Here we present a concept where a balloon is filled with pure water vapour on ground so that it rises to the launch altitude. The system resembles a gas balloon because no onboard energy source is carried, and no hard objects fall down. We simulate the ascent behaviour of the balloon. In the baseline simulation, we consider a 10 tonne rocket lifted to an altitude of 18 km.We model the trajectory of the balloon by taking into account steam adiabatic cooling, surface cooling, water condensation and balloon aerodynamic drag. The required steam mass proves to be only 1.4 times the mass of the rocket stage, and the ascent time is around 10 minutes. For small payloads, surface cooling increases the relative amount of steam needed, unless insulation is applied to the balloon skin. The ground-filled steam balloon seems to be an attractive and sustainable method of lifting payloads such as rockets into high altitude.

Control of Hydraulic Manipulator with Consideration of Power Limitations On-Board Energy Source

In the paper we present results of theoretical and experimental research of properties of manipulators with electro hydraulic servo drives with energy sources of limited power. The danger of overloading the power sources and associated functional failures of the drive system are discussed. In order to solve the problem we propose a new structure of the control system and algorithms. This allows to effectively distribute available power between hydraulic drives. These control algorithms are based on a system with variable structure with actual fluid flow feedback. This paper presents analysis of the amplitude of the first harmonic and of oscillation frequency of the total flow in the steady state. This allows to give recommendations how to improve dynamic properties of a hydraulic manipulator. The proposed control laws solve the problem of coordination of motion of links of the manipulator for automatic distribution of power resources. Besides this, it creates favorable conditions for functioning of biotechnical system "human operator - hydraulic manipulator" with limited energy source.

A process modelling approach to the evaluation of ship machinery configuration alternatives of LNG carriers

The increasing seaborne transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the current volatile global market and energy supply environment puts a pressure on LNG vessels to be more efficient, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective. Modern LNG carriers feature complex and tightly integrated machinery systems to convert the onboard primary energy sources to useful energy demands for propulsion, electricity and heat. Therefore, process modelling and simulation techniques combined with an integrated systems approach is required for the evaluation of different configuration alternatives of LNG carriers. In this paper, we used our in-house process modelling framework DNVGL COSSMOS to develop a generic model of an LNG carrier integrated machinery system encompassing various propulsion and energy recovery technologies. The resulting system model was then coupled with a generic operational profile description accounting for various operating modes and intended trading routes of the vessel. The integrated LNG carrier machinery process model was subsequently used for the evaluation of different technology alternatives and machinery configurations. Namely, the model was used to size the gas-fuel compression trains; assess the introduction and optimal size of an LNG reliquefaction plant; compare electric and mechanical propulsion technologies; and, assess the introduction of energy recovery technologies such as shaft generators and exhaust gas economisers. The model-based studies resulted in an improved insight of this complex integrated machinery arrangement, revealing important performance trade-offs and interrelations between the vessel’s sub-systems. The results revealed high energy savings potential between 5 to 8% depending on the energy recovery options implemented, operating profile and trading route.

Energy-Efficient Monitor Deployment in Collaborative Distributed Setting

Monitoring large supply networks can be efficiently performed by employing active radio-frequency identification (a-RFID) sensors. Relay nodes collect and process workflow information from the sensors. The knowledge derived from the collected information is periodically communicated to monitors using onboard energy sources. Energy can be saved by communicating with closer monitors. In this setup, multiple decision makers with their own deployment budget collaborate to deploy monitors for minimizing energy consumption of the relay nodes. The contribution of this paper is threefold. It elaborates a mathematical model for distributed monitor deployment in budget-constrained supply-chain networks, it proposes a heuristic technique to find near-optimal allocation of monitors in tractable manner, and it illustrates a collaborative procedure to jointly minimize energy consumption along with a fair sharing of total deployment cost among multiple decision makers. The approach is presented through a case study. In addition, benchmark results are provided for a number of problem instances.

Mission Feasibility Assessment for Mobile Robotic Systems Operating in Stochastic Environments

This paper presents a hierarchical approach for estimating the mission feasibility, i.e., the probability of mission completion (PoMC), for mobile robotic systems operating in stochastic environments. Mobile robotic systems rely on onboard energy sources that are expended due to stochastic interactions with the environment. Resultantly, a bivariate distribution comprised of energy source (e.g., battery) run-time and mission time marginal distributions can be shown to represent a mission process that characterizes the distribution of all possible missions. Existing methodologies make independent stochastic predictions for battery run-time and mission time. The approach presented makes use of the marginal predictions, as prediction pairs, to allow for Bayesian correlation estimation and improved process characterization. To demonstrate both prediction accuracy and mission classification gains, the proposed methodology is validated using a novel experimental testbed that enables repeated battery discharge studies to be conducted as a small robotic ground vehicle traverses stochastic laboratory terrains.