System Analysis of a Braking Energy Recovery Axle of Truck Trailer

The aim of this paper is reducing the emissions of refrigeration units used in the trucking industry. To lower the consumption of diesel fuel, an energy braking recovery (recuperation) axle is used to generate energy. To supply power to different refrigeration units, a synchronous reluctance generator is used together with a gearbox, inverter, and batteries of different sizes. A Simulink model is developed, using these components, which calculates how much energy is needed in a given drive cycle and how much of it can be generated through braking. The Vehicle Energy Consumption calculation Tool, developed by the European Commission, is used to generate driving scenarios for the truck. These provide the necessary information about power and energy availability, which differ between driving cycles. The generated results are then interpreted to find connections between the components and how they influence each other. Moreover, the results are evaluated using a target function chosen to represent the goals of the paper. Aspects regarding the pollution and costs of ownership are rated for every combination and compared. A preliminary best combination, can then be selected for each driving cycle and refrigeration unit.