Comparison of energy management control strategy based on wayside ESS for LRV application

The paper focuses on an innovative energy management control strategy of a wayside supercapacitor (SC) applied in DC electrified light transit networks. In order to achieve minimum energy demand from the electric feeding substations, the target of the control is the optimal tracking of the storage device voltage subject to the minimization of the mean square of the supply currents and, consequently, the reduction of power losses along the line. Hence, optimization theory has been used for the analytical determination and implementation of real time control strategy. Therefore the proposed strategy has been verified and validated via numerical simulations with reference to realistic LRV operation and different headway among the operating vehicles. A comparison with a classical energy storage system (ESS) state of charge control has been also carried out, as well as the energy saving improvement has been highlighted and the energy storage system integration and challenges are addressed. The results validate the theoretical approach and prove that the suggested control strategy is quite effective, putting in evidence its potentiality and the possibility of an actual implementation.