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Publications
commissioned or sponsored by the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute:
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"Analysis
of Fuelcell Hybrid Locomotives" by A. R. Miller. Journal
of Power Sources, February 2006 (paper presented by A. R.
Miller at the Ninth Grove Fuel Cell Symposium, London, England,
5 October 2005). |
Abstract:
Led by Vehicle Projects LLC, an international industry-government
consortium is developing a 109 t, 1.2 MW road-switcher
locomotive for commercial and military railway applications.
As part of the feasibility and conceptual-design analysis,
a study has been made of the potential benefits of a hybrid
power plant in which fuel cells comprise the prime mover
and a battery or flywheel provides auxiliary power. The
potential benefits of a hybrid power plant are: (i) enhancement
of transient power and hence tractive effort; (ii) regenerative
braking; (iii) reduction of capital cost.
Generally, the tractive effort of a locomotive at low
speed is limited by wheel adhesion and not by available
power. Enhanced transient power is therefore unlikely
to benefit a switcher locomotive, but could assist applications
that require high acceleration, e.g. subway trains with
all axles powered. In most cases, the value of regeneration
in locomotives is minimal. For low-speed applications
such as switchers, the available kinetic energy and the
effectiveness of traction motors as generators are both
minimal. For high-speed heavy applications such as freight,
the ability of the auxiliary power device to absorb a
significant portion of the available kinetic energy is
low. Moreover, the hybrid power plant suffers a double
efficiency penalty, namely, losses occur in both absorbing
and then releasing energy from the auxiliary device, which
result in a net storage efficiency of no more than 50%
for present battery technology.
Capital cost in some applications may be reduced. Based
on an observed locomotive duty cycle, a cost model shows
that a hybrid power plant for a switcher may indeed reduce
capital cost. Offsetting this potential benefit are the
increased complexity, weight and volume of the power plant,
as well as 20 - 40% increased fuel consumption resulting
from lower efficiency. Based on this analysis, the consortium
has decided to develop a pure fuel cell road-switcher
locomotive, that is, not a hybrid.
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“Fuelcell
Locomotives” by A. R. Miller and D. L. Barnes. Fuelcell
Propulsion Institute, Denver, CO, 21 May 2002 (paper presented
by A. R. Miller to the European Fuelcell Forum "Fuelcells
2002," Lucerne, Switzerland, 4 July 2002). |
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"Least-Cost
Hybridity Analysis of Industrial Fuel Cell Vehicles" by
A. R. Miller. European Fuel Cell News, Volume 7, January
2001. |
Abstract:
Because fuelcells cost more than batteries, intuitively
it would seem that the least-cost configuration of a fuelcell-battery
hybrid would have the fuelcell operate continuously at the
mean power of the duty cycle. This generally, however, is
not correct. While batteries are less expensive on a per
kW basis, an acceptable cycle life for an industrial vehicle
requires a shallow depth of discharge and therefore a battery
oversized by as much as a factor of 20. When fuelcell capital
cost, oversized battery capital cost, and battery cycle
life are simultaneously optimized, the least-cost configuration
has the fuelcell operate above the mean power.
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"Commercialization
of Fuelcell Underground Locomotives" by A. R. Miller.
Proceedings of the Intertech Conference Commercializing
Fuel Cell Vehicles 2000, Berlin, Germany, 12 - 14 April
2000. |
Abstract: Provision
of traction power in the enclosed, highly regulated workplaces
of underground mining and tunneling is a difficult challenge,
and the inadequacies of conventional power are the basis
of economic stress in the industries. Clean, safe, and
productive fuelcell underground vehicles, while higher
in capital cost, offer cost offsets that will make them
the first commercially successful products.
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"Tunneling
and Mining Applications of Fuel Cell Vehicles" by
A. R. Miller. Fuel Cells Bulletin, July 2000, pp. 5 - 9. |
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"Underground
Fuelcell Locomotives and their Applications" by A.
R. Miller, H. A. Bursey, G. C. Story, M. C. Bétournay,
and G. J. Thomas. Proceedings of the conference "Fuel
Cells 2000," Lucerne, Switzerland, 10 - 14 July 2000. |
Abstract: The
Locomotive Project of the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute is
developing and testing the world's first fuelcell-powered
underground vehicle, a mine locomotive. Using a proton-exchange
membrane (PEM) fuelcell system coupled to metal-hydride storage,
the vehicle is equivalent to the corresponding battery vehicle
in power and tractive effort and has at least twice the volumetric
energy density. The locomotive will be exhaustively tested
for safety, performance, and productivity, the latter in
underground metal mines.
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“Cost
Model for Fuelcell Mine Vehicles: Conservative Analysis
of Recurring and Capital Costs” by D. W. Gaibler and
A. R. Miller. Fuelcell Propulsion Institute, Denver, CO,
7 December 1998. |
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"The
Fuel Cell as a Replacement for the Diesel Engine in Underground
Mining" by A. R. Miller. Proceedings of the Canadian
Mining Diesel Conference, Toronto, ON, 21 - 22 October
1998. |
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“Preliminary
Safety Evaluation for Hydrogen-fueled Underground Mining
Equipment” by D. A. Coutts and J. K. Thomas. Westinghouse
Safety Management Solutions, Aiken, SC, 28 September 1998
(commissioned by the Fuelcell Propulsion Institute). |
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