engleski

Optimized Heavy-Duty Hybrid Powertrain Intended for a Future Articulated Forestry Tractor

Forestry vehicles have been increasingly equipped with hybrid electric power-trains in order to provide significant gains in fuel economy, and also to facilitate reductions in greenhouse gases emissions. Due to the fact that hybrid power-trains consist of two or more different energy sources, many questions in terms of power-train components sizing and energy management control are opened, and all of them have influence on the power-train purchase cost and operating efficiency. Therefore, this paper propose an combined optimization approach of powertrain components size along with energy management rules. The hybrid skidder powertrain components are optimized by parametric optimization algorithm with the aim to minimize their size while maintain comparable traction characteristics as conventional forestry vehicle. Optimal control rules are also optimized by recently introduced cascade optimization algorithm with the aim to reduce powertrain fuel consumption. The obtained optimization results are verified by a comprehensive computer simulations, and are also used to gain insights about the possible advantages of optimized powertrain in terms of fuel consumption reduction and related CO2 emissions. The optimization results are also used to provide recommendations for design of a realistic (online) control strategy.

forestry tractor ; skidder ; component sizing ; optimization ; fuel consumption

This research has been supported by the European Regional Development Fund under the grant KK.01.1.1.04.0010 (HiSkid)