ENERGY MODEL FOR DIESEL HYDRAULIC CANE HAUL LOCOMOTIVES

WILMAR SUGAR Australia operates eight sugar mills in North Queensland where cane is primarily transported from field to mill by diesel hydraulic locomotive. In a bid to reduce carbon emissions and take advantage of the electricity produced in the mills through cogeneration, Wilmar set out to study the potential of hybrid locomotives, to serve as direct replacements for the current diesel hydraulic fleet. An investigation was performed as the first step in the development of hybrid locomotives and this paper is a summary of the thesis. In this study, a model was developed which can be used to determine the energy consumed by the current diesel hydraulic locomotives. With this understanding of the energy requirements for the current locomotives, sizing can be performed for the electric motors, batteries and diesel generator to ensure that hybrid locomotives with equivalent performance are designed. The model developed in this investigation predicts the energy requirement through first principles force analysis. Rolling resistance relations for the current train components have been suggested after re-analysis of data collected by McWhinney and Santarossa in 2003 and fresh relations have emerged. GIS track data provided by Wilmar internal sources at 50 m intervals have been used in the model to determine the tractive force, drawbar force, and braking force at 50 m intervals along the track, as well as cumulative energy graphs for the track. It has been shown that the internal Wilmar track curvature data show an outdated description of the Dalbeg track and should be audited and updated.