Design and Optimisation of Wireless Charging Systems for Public Transit Buses

Abstract

To reduce the electric buses emission of particulate matter, as electric buses are being rapidly adopted in public transit, solutions for efficient charging systems are required. From this angle, this paper proposes a design and optimisation model for Wireless Charging Systems (WCS) of public transit buses, aimed at reducing system costs and improving operational efficiency. Five variables of the design, consisting of battery size, number of mobile WPT pads, stationary charging rate, service headways and stop densities, are utilised in the optimisation model. These design variables were data-normalised and scaled to standardise their effects on the optimisation process. Using the Finite Element Method (FEM) in ANSYS Maxwell, an electromagnetic field simulation was performed to find the optimised positions of WPT pads so that effective energy transfer can occur. Key performance metrics such as energy efficiency and system costs were used for classification using a Decision Tree Classifier and the most cost-effective designs based on these metrics were classified. Results reveal that optimised WCS are more advantageous than statically charged systems with respect to reduction of both costs to both transit agencies and passengers, as well as improvement of service quality.