Optimal design and control of stationary electrochemical double-layer capacitors for light railways

The optimisation algorithm has been further investigated to understand the influence of the weight coefficients that affect the solution of all the optimisation problems and it is very often overlooked in the traditional approach. In fact, the choice of weight coefficients leading to the optimum among different optimal solutions also presents a challenge and this specific problem does not give any a priori indications. This challenge has been tackled using both genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimisations, which are the best methods when there are multiple local optima and the number of parameters is large. The results show that, when the optimal set of coefficients are used and the optimal positions and capacitances of EDLCs are selected, the energy savings can be up to 42%. The second problem of the control of the storage has been tackled with a linear state of charge control based on a piece-wise linear characteristic between the current and the voltage deviation from the nominal voltage of the supply at the point of connection of the storage. The simulations show that, regardless of the initial state of charge, the control maintain the state of charge of EDLCs within the prescribed range with no need of using the on-board braking resistor and, hence, dissipating braking energy. The robustness of the control algorithm has been verified by changing the characteristics of the train loading and friction force, with an energy saving between 26 - 27%