Control System And Method For A Vehicle System

a vehicle system and control system technology, applied in the direction of locomotives, battery/fuel cell control arrangement, transportation and packaging, etc., can solve the problems of not achieving the goals of a desired trip plan, affecting the operation of the other, and the amount of charge provided, so as to reduce the thermal characteristics of the on-board energy storage devi

US20210197873A1Active Publication Date: 2021-07-01GE GLOBAL SOURCING LLC
0 Cites 1 Cited by

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
US · United States
Patent Type
Applications(United States)
Current Assignee / Owner
Publication Date
2021-07-01
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

A system and method generate a trip plan for a trip of a vehicle system along a route. The usage of an engine during the trip is determined based on engine operational parameters, energy storage device operational parameters, and one or more objectives of the trip desired to be achieved. The usage of the energy storage device during the trip is also determined based on the engine operational parameters, the energy storage device operational parameters, and the one or more objective, including when to charge or discharge the energy storage device during the trip.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

BACKGROUNDTechnical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate to controlling movement of a vehicle system.Discussion of Art

[0002] Vehicle systems that travel on routes may travel according to defined trips from starting or departure locations to destination or arrival locations. Each trip may extend along the route for long distances, and the trip may include one or more designated stops along the trip prior to reaching the arrival location. These designated stops may be for a crew change, refueling, picking up or dropping off passengers and / or cargo, and the like. Some vehicle systems travel according to trip plans that provide instructions for the vehicle system to implement during movement of the vehicle system such that the vehicle system meets or achieves certain objectives during the trip. The objectives for the trip may include reaching the arrival location at or before a predefined arrival time, increasing fuel efficiency (relative to the fuel effic...

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0017]Embodiments of the subject matter described herein relate to a hybrid propulsion-generating vehicle that includes a control system that manages the power flows between an engine and energy storage device of the vehicle. The control system enhances fuel savings of the engine by managing the flow, while alleviating degradation of the battery by operating the battery under determined charge / discharge conditions. In one example, the energy management of the control system may leverage railroad specific features such as the availability of track and trip plan information. The control system also solves a multi objective optimization problem that reduces a weighted sum of fuel and battery degradation over the trip to determine the engine and battery power forecasts for a given trip. To do so, a battery life model along with reduced order battery thermal model may be utilized to predict the battery degradation. This enables making optimal decisions that can simultaneously or concurre...