A Control System for Battery Charging in Buses

Abstract: A common configuration in buses is that the engine is placed in the rear of the bus and that the batteries are placed in thefront of the bus due to optimization of the distribution of the weight. The long wires running between the engine and the batteries together with large power consuming units, such as fans and air condition units, result in voltage drops. The voltage drops contribute to the battery charging voltage level being lower than desired. The aim with this thesis work is to implement a control system that increases the battery voltage level when the voltage drops occur. Measurements are performed on an articulated bus that is in focus throughout the whole thesis work. A model for the electrical circuit of the bus is created and used when investigating the stability of the control system. The control system isimplemented in the bus, where also verification tests are performed. The verification tests confirm that the control system raises the battery charging voltage to the desired level. The increased voltage level makes the batteries reach a higher state of charge in shorter time since the control system provides the batteries with more charge.