📋 Case Study
Australian Limestone Mine Regenerative Braking Energy Recovery
Excessive brake wear, energy waste, and thermal stress on friction brakes during repeated descents
🏗️ Project Overview
Retrofit of 22 electric haul trucks on 12% downhill haul route at Mount Gunson
🎯 Challenge
Excessive brake wear, energy waste, and thermal stress on friction brakes during repeated descents
🔧 Design Approach
Dual-mode regen braking with dynamic resistor bank for excess energy dissipation; onboard supercapacitor buffer for instantaneous power capture; grid feedback inverter for export during daylight hours
📐 Design Diagram
AI-generated project design illustration
📐 Key Calculations
Regen Energy Capture Potential
Truck Mass × g × Grade × Distance × Efficiency
Result: 2.18 kWh/ton-km
Represents 64% of descent kinetic energy
Resistor Bank Thermal Duty Cycle
Avg Power × Duty Cycle × Time
Result: 142 kW avg, 18% duty
Determines forced-air cooling spec
📊 Results
Brake pad life extended from 3,200 to 14,500 km; 19% net fleet energy reduction; 2.3 MW peak regen export to site microgrid💡 Lessons Learned
- •Supercapacitors outperformed Li-ion for burst capture but required thermal derating above 45°C
- •Resistor bank noise required acoustic enclosure to meet WA WorkSafe limits
- •CAN bus latency caused 3% regen inconsistency—resolved with edge-compute gateway
✅ Key Takeaways
- 1Supercapacitors outperformed Li-ion for burst capture but required thermal derating above 45°C
- 2Resistor bank noise required acoustic enclosure to meet WA WorkSafe limits
- 3CAN bus latency caused 3% regen inconsistency—resolved with edge-compute gateway