Design of the energy management system of a fuel cell-battery multiple unit

A technical article by Lars Schnieder and Marco Brey was published in the 1+2 2023 issue of “Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau”.

Alternative drive technology in rail vehicles is associated with the hope that problems with conventional drives, such as environmental pollution or the foreseeable depletion of fossil fuel sources, can be solved. A successful switch to alternative drive systems as the cornerstone of the energy transition in transportation requires forward-looking energy management systems on the vehicles.

In their current technical article, PD Dr.-Ing. habil. Lars Schnieder and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Math. Marco Brey describe basic considerations for the design of energy management systems for alternatively powered rail vehicles. To this end, the key operating principles are presented in a control engineering structure. Furthermore, boundary conditions and disturbance variables acting on the controlled system are described.

In order to explain how the energy management system works in principle, an example architecture of the drive system of a fuel cell-battery multiple unit is outlined. The orchestration of the various constituents of the drive system is explained using a fictitious driving game on the route between Frankfurt-Höchst and Königstein (Taunus).

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