Analysis of the Electric Bus Autonomy Depending on the Atmospheric Conditions

Abstract

The public-transport sector represents, on a global level, a major ecological and economic concern. Improving air quality and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) production in the urban environment can be achieved by using electric buses instead of those operating with internal combustion engines (ICE). In this paper, the energy consumption for a fleet of electric buses Solaris Urbino 12e type is analyzed, based on the experimental data taken from a number of 22 buses, which operate on a number of eight urban lines, on a route of approximately 100 km from the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania; consumption was monitored for 12 consecutive months (July 2018–June 2019). The energy efficiency of the model for the studied electric buses depends largely on the management of the energy stored on the electric bus battery system, in relation to the characteristics of the route traveled, respectively to the atmospheric conditions during the monitored period. Based on the collected experimental data and on the technical characteristics of the electric buses, the influence of the atmospheric conditions on their energy balance was highlighted, considering the interdependence relations between the considered atmospheric conditions.

Comparing Power Supply Technologies for Public Transport Buses through the AHP and the Fuzzy DEMATEL Method

“…Temperature and climate need to be considered when selecting bus power supply technologies, as they can directly impact operations and, thus, affect the range of possible vehicle typologies to choose from. This relationship is well demonstrated in [21], in which the authors discussed the dependence of the autonomy of electric buses on atmospheric conditions.…”

“…In this regard, the integration of the AHP method with other appraisal techniques, like, for example, the DEMATEL method in the methodology proposed here, contributes to overlook such drawback, relieving the fatigue experienced by respondents and facilitating the resolution of decision-making problems. Indeed, the AHP is one of the evaluation techniques that is most commonly used in combination with the DEMATEL method [21,41,42], whose effectiveness has been proved in many scientific contributions with applications to various economic sectors [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. This method represents a valid approach for obtaining a visual structural model of the casual relationships among factors when solving complex real-world decision-making problems, like choosing the solution for power supply technology for buses.…”

“…In this study, the main factors affecting the selection of bus power supply technolog were identified based on a literature review [3,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] in the field and on the personal ex perience of the experts involved in the study in the fields of transport planning, opera tions, and technology. The considered factors were collected according to the categorie described below.…”

Comparative analysis of fuel cell and electric public for transport busses

“…Following the simulation, an average consumption of 185.6 kWh/100km was obtained. This translates into 1.8 kWh/km, a value situated in the interval of 1-2 kWh/km declared by the manufacturer [10]. The evolution of energy consumption over the test cycle can be seen in figure 4.…”

Energy Efficiency Analysis of a Fuel Cell Bus Model Using Real Scenarios Generated by Data Collection

“…The functions utilized for the implementation of the test cycle are likewise encompassed inside this subsystem. The fuel cell model incorporates the Ballard HD60 fuel cell together with a specialized mechanism responsible for regulating the energy transfer between the battery and the fuel cell [12]. The model can be observed in Figure 1.…”