Effectiveness evaluation of a Supercapacitor-battery parallel combination for Hybrid Heavy Lift Trucks

In many hybrid configurations batteries continue to be the weakest component because they have a
shorter lifespan than the vehicle. Large power demands in particular have a detrimental effect to a
battery pack's lifespan. This paper investigates the effect of the use of a EDLC (Electrical Double
Layer Capacitors) as a power buffer to smooth rapid power fluctuations in and out of the batteries of
a hybrid electric heavy truck.
The study considers a simple configuration where the supercapacitors are directly connected in
parallel with the batteries. A simple parallel connection is the easiest to arrange for trial purposes
but depending on the specific application, it might not always be the most efficient. Such design of
hybrid energy storage system is expected to result in substantial benefits to the well being of the
battery system. The work has been carried out on computer simulations. Finally the simulations
results are validated on a test bench.

Publication year:2009

Keywords:Battery model, EDLC, Simulations