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Power Electronic Interface With an Adaptive MPPT Technique for Train Suspension Energy Harvesters


Abstract:

An electronic interface for the maximization of the power extraction from train suspension energy harvesters is presented in this article. It is made up of a passive rect...Show More

Abstract:

An electronic interface for the maximization of the power extraction from train suspension energy harvesters is presented in this article. It is made up of a passive rectifier and a dc-dc converter equipped with a digital control unit that implements a novel maximum power point tracking technique. It can settle the voltage at the rectifier output to its optimal value, despite the time-varying train suspension vibrations. By exploiting the measurement of the generator speed, the proposed technique is able to almost instantaneously reach the maximum power point, allowing a power extraction higher than the widely used perturb and observe algorithm. Moreover, the proposed technique is equipped with an adaptive control for ensuring the power maximization despite the tolerances and time-variability of the system parameters. Experimental results validate the theoretical analysis and confirm the superior performance of the proposed interface.
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics ( Volume: 68, Issue: 9, September 2021)
Page(s): 8219 - 8230
Date of Publication: 21 July 2020

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I. Introduction

The transportation safety and efficiency of freight wagons can be significantly improved by equipping them with on board sensors for continuous monitoring and tracking. The lack of electricity in freight cars, needed for powering on board sensors, can be overcome by resorting to the harvesting of otherwise wasted energy [1]–[3]. As a significant amount of energy is usually dissipated in railcar suspensions through oil shock absorbers or frictional dampers, a large variety of train suspension energy harvesters (TSEHs) have been proposed in the literature [3]. Examples are linear electromagnetic harvesters, where magnets move linearly with the train suspension inside coils [4], [5], or rotary electromagnetic harvesters, which are able to convert the linear motion of the suspension into a bidirectional [6] or a unidirectional rotation [7] of an electromagnetic generator. The last ones are based on mechanical motion rectifier (MMR) systems that increase the efficiency by allowing the generator to always rotate in the same direction [7]–[17].

References

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