Supercapacitor and accelerating contact lines hybrid tram system

Attributed to supercapacitors having high power density but low energy density, a supercapacitor tram system often has charging infrastructure at every stopping station. Characterized by high inertial and low rolling friction, a tram consumes high energy during acceleration but, low energy thereafter. To leverage charging infrastructure and minimize supercapacitor bank size and cost, a supercapacitor and accelerating contact line hybrid tram system is proposed. The proposed system uses accelerating contact lines (short contact lines extended from stopping stations) to supply tram energy demand during acceleration. Both conventional and proposed tram systems are simulated using MATLAB. The proposed system reduces supercapacitor bank size by 44%. Taking only one tram, the reduced capacitor bank cost is more than three times the cost of accelerating contact lines. The more the number of trams on a route, the more significant are accelerating contact lines.

Automated summary

A hybrid tram system with supercapacitors and accelerating contact lines is proposed to reduce supercapacitor bank size and cost. Using accelerating contact lines to supply tram energy demand during acceleration, the proposed system can reduce capacitor bank size by 44%. The significance of accelerating contact lines increases with the number of trams on a route.