Sustainability, Vol. 12, Pages 2920: Efficient Deployment Design of Wireless Charging Electric Tram System with Battery Management Policy (Sustainability)

As an alternative to the environmental pollution problem of transportation means, the application of electric tram is considered in urban areas. However, due to the aesthetic problems occurs by the electric supply line for an electric tram, the wireless charging electric tram may be regarded as an alternative. It can be supplied electricity wirelessly from the wireless charging infrastructure installed on the railways even while moving. For a successful application, it is important to install and operate the overall systems with minimum investment cost. In this study, a mathematical model-based optimization technique, one of the methods of operations research, is adopted to derive the decision-making elements such as capacity and management of battery and allocation of the wireless charging infrastructure. Numerical example shows the optimal capacity and management of battery for a wireless charging electric tram and the ideal installation locations of the wireless charging infrastructures.