Towards a comparative assessment of articulated buses with different power plants

Abstract

Articulated buses of a particularly large class with a total length of 16.5 to 18.5 m, a capacity of 150 to 200 people and a total weight of 28-30 tons occupy a prominent place in the city bus fleet of large cities.

The concept of creating buses of a particularly large class is based on hybrid technologies. Along with buses with hybrid power plants, buses with diesel engines and, less often, electric buses are widely used in urban passenger transportation. Therefore, it is appropriate and relevant to compare large-class buses with a hybrid power plant, diesel and electric drive when they work on the same route. Based on the analysis of traction and speed properties of articulated buses with different power plants, in particular MAZ-215. M69, Otocar DRIVE 18 and NS_18diesel_ANG_ok.cdr with diesels, URBAN WAY Iveco BUS and Urbino 18 Metro Style with a hybrid power plant and Otocar Citea KENT C and Citea SLFA-187 electric buses, it was established that the best bus is the Otocar Citea KENT C electric bus, the sum of relative the traction-speed properties indicators of which was 11.794, to which it is slightly inferior the bus with a hybrid power plant Urbino 18 Metro Style, the sum of the relative traction-speed properties indicators was 11.367. However, when making the final choice of a particular bus for specific operating conditions, it is necessary to proceed not only from traction and speed properties, but also take into account energy costs, the presence of an extensive network of gas stations for diesel engines and electrical installations, the cost of maintenance, etc.

Key words: bus, power plant, comparative analysis, equations of motion, traction-speed properties, relative index