Due to the upcoming lack of oil and the environmental problems that conventional internal combustion engines are causing, electric vehicles have gained a growing interest during recent years. One solution to improve the efficiency of the existing road network is to make use of electric roads equipped with an overhead power system, thereby allowing also long-distance truck and bus transports to be powered by electricity without the need of heavy, bulky and expansive batteries.
Providing electric power using an overhead power system has primarily been used in railway applications and only to some extent in road applications, for example in the case of trolley buses in urban areas. In this study, an overhead catenary system providing electric power to a long-distance truck by means of a pantograph mechanism that collects power through sliding contact with the overhead wire is analysed through simulation.
A model of a truck equipped with a pantograph is developed and its interaction with an overhead catenary system model is simulated using the finite element method. The current collection quality is evaluated by analysing the pantograph-catenary contact force variation during the influence of different disturbances such as road irregularities and contact wire vibrations due to multiple pantographs.
The study is an assessment of the possibility of using a conventional overhead power system developed for trains in a new context by providing power to long-distance road transports. The results show that the investigated disturbances influence the dynamics of the studied truck-pantograph-catenary system, nevertheless the contact force variation is within the allowed range according to the technical specifications for interoperability (TSI) for trains. It can be concluded that an overhead power system is a promising solution for a more environmentally friendly energy supply for trucks and buses at specific road sections.
QC 20130619. QC 20220308