Abstract
Cooling trailers need a substantial amount of power to drive the cooling compressor. This power is produced by linking the compressor to the engine power take-off or by a reefer unit. An interesting option is to design an autonomous cooling trailer that powers the compressor from brake energy, solar power and from the grid. This paper describes the design and test of such a system, which also comprised a lead acid type for storing electric energy. The objective of this study was to design and realize a fully functional prototype trailer and also to design an energy management strategy for this system. The paper presents some preliminary test results, showing its feasibility.
KEYWORDS – cooling trailer, energy management, solar power, brake energy recuperation.