Dimensionamento de um sistema híbrido de armazenamento de energia para caminhões de mineração considerando as características energéticas da mina

Abstract

The growing demand for reducing operational costs and emissions in the mining sector has driven the development of off-highway trucks with electrified architectures. In this context, this work proposes a structured methodology for the optimal sizing of hybrid energy storage systems (HESS), composed of batteries and supercapacitors, applied to mining trucks. The methodology is based on the use of real mine power profiles and formulates the sizing problem as an optimization task subject to electrical, operational, and economic constraints. The proposed approach integrates the energy modeling of the vehicle using real operating cycles with a techno-economic evaluation that considers investment costs, diesel price, minimum attractive rate of return, and market-related parameters. In addition, a hierarchical control architecture is proposed, with explicit separation of responsibilities across multiple control levels. The sizing problem is solved using an optimization algorithm based on a genetic algorithm, which determines the optimal configuration of the battery and supercapacitor banks as well as the power threshold used in the energy management strategy. Results obtained for different mine profiles demonstrate that the inclusion of the HESS enables significant energy recovery during braking events, leading to substantial fuel savings and high economic returns. The results also indicate a predominance of battery usage in the hybrid system, while supercapacitors play a complementary role mainly associated with absorbing transient power peaks. Sensitivity analyses show that the problem is more sensitive to parameters directly related to cash flow, such as diesel price and battery C-rate, while exhibiting lower sensitivity to variations in component investment costs. Furthermore, the results highlight that sizing based on the specific operational profile of each mine is essential to avoid over- or undersizing, ensuring a more efficient balance between initial investment and economic return. Therefore, the proposed methodology represents a technically feasible and economically attractive alternative for the partial electrification of mining trucks.