Modeling, Analysis and Experimental Validation of Tractor Architectures for Rural Electrification 2013-01-2784

The acute power shortage in rural India results in significant trade-offs on the living style of people residing there. As high as 10-15 hrs of load shedding, drives people to plan the work as per availability, limit the night time activities and depend on diesel generators for special events. The present work evaluates tractor, which has a high penetration in rural India (20 tractors per 1000 hectares) as a techno-commercially feasible alternative for rural electrification. The “Tractor-Electric Power” architecture has been redesigned, by adding inverter to the tractor battery and evaluating alternate architecture and applications. A mathematical model has been developed and simulations have been made by considering operating constraints, to evaluate the efficiency of this solution among various solutions. Some of the alternative solutions considered in this work are, (a) Online battery charging during the operation of a tractor, (b) PTO driven generator, with throttle control, for mobile workshop and irrigation motor applications, (c) Optimization of tractor running points (charging cycles) based on load, usage pattern and operating cycles, to have maximum fuel efficiency, (d) Mobile hospitals with Operation Theater power supply. The present paper would elaborate the modification of tractor architecture, for power supply to rural India and describe the mathematical model for the new architecture and model simulations under appropriate constraints to evaluate the efficiency of the various solutions. In addition, the challenges in building a proto-type and techno-commercial feasibility of this solution would be presented.