The objective of this project is to create a cost-effective and carbon emissions-free way to power the Catenary system seed idea provided by Wabtec.
Team Members
Ben Karver Bryant Ruhf Colin Lathrop Jayson Archer
Instructor: Dr. Nico Soria
Project Poster
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Project Summary
The mining industry today is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions, mainly due to the current diesel-powered mining trucks used in mines throughout the world. Wabtec Corporation has provided E-design students of the spring semester here at Penn State with this problem and they are looking for a solution to combat the large carbon footprint of these mining trucks. The goal is to create an emissions-free system while also minimizing costs and maintenance and maximizing profit, cycle time, and efficiency. Wabtec presented us with an idea they are currently researching of a catenary system to power the trucks electrically. Our group started by coming up with ideas of our own to possibly solve this problem. We devised solutions like a train tunnel for transport, a truck escalator for faster and more efficient cycle time, hydrogen-powered trucks for zero emissions, and a conveyor belt to eliminate the need for mining trucks. However, after further thought, we all realized none of these ideas would be reasonable and justifiable. This is when the GTC was born. GTC is short for Geothermal Catenary system. For this solution, we planned on optimizing the catenary system so that it could charge the truck batteries during the trip, and that way the trucks can run 24/7. However, using a catenary system and powering it off the electrical grid would be more expensive in the long run than it would be to just stay with diesel fuel. This is where we plan on building a Binary Cycle geothermal power plant to supplement and power the catenary system idea given by Wabtec. Using this, we found that the geothermal plant would decrease the cost of energy by 92.5%. The small price to power the trucks would pay back the price of the geothermal plant, catenary system, and other costs in the power lines and more. The GTC will save Rio Tinto money in the future at the Bingham Copper mine due to the low electricity and maintenance costs for the geothermal plant. The GTC is the best possible 100% emissions-free solution that minimizes costs in the long run.