Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Hailin Li

Committee Co-Chair

Bhaskaran Gopalakrishnan

Committee Member

Derek Johnson

Committee Member

V'yacheslav Akkerman

Abstract

The Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system at West Virginia University (WVU) has operated since the 1970s and serves more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff through five stations connected by an 8.7-mile dedicated guideway. Although the system has been in operation for more than 50 years, the operational energy consumption characteristics of an individual PRT vehicle have not been extensively reported. This study investigates the energy consumption characteristics of a WVU PRT vehicle using measured operational data collected between September 2025 and May 2026. Three-phase electrical current, Global Positioning System (GPS) data, passenger loading, route elevation, subsystem measurements, and operating records were integrated to evaluate vehicle energy consumption under actual operating conditions.

During the nine-month monitoring period, the vehicle traveled a total of approximately 8,197.5 miles and consumed 16,745 kWh of electrical energy, corresponding to an overall energy intensity of approximately 2.04 kWh/mile. Average daily travel distance varied from 42.6 to 59.8 miles/day. Daily mileage remained approximately 42.6–44.5 miles/day during September through November and increased during winter, reaching a maximum of 59.8 miles/day in February. This increase indicates greater winter vehicle utilization and was consistent with increased passenger demand and more frequent vehicle dispatch during colder weather.

The monitored vehicle generally consumed approximately 70–90 kWh/day during fall and spring operation, while winter average daily energy consumption increased to approximately 126–156 kWh/day. Monthly energy intensity averaged 2.03 kWh/mile and showed a clear seasonal variation. The distance-weighted average energy intensity was approximately 1.92 kWh/mile in fall, 2.31 kWh/mile in winter, and 1.83 kWh/mile in spring. Monthly energy intensity ranged from a minimum of 1.68 kWh/mile in April to a maximum of 2.44 kWh/mile in December. The maximum December value was associated with increased cold-weather ECU heating demand and the distribution of the monthly energy consumption over fewer traveled miles than during January and February. These results indicate that the winter increase resulted from both greater vehicle utilization and higher electrical energy demand per mile.

A representative Walnut–Engineering trip covered 1.80 miles in approximately 10 minutes and consumed 4.04 kWh of electrical energy. The corresponding average and peak electrical power demands were 24.31 and 95.11 kW respectively. The Distance-Specific Energy Consumption (DSEC) and Passenger-Specific Energy Consumption (PSEC) were 2.24 kWh/mile and 0.37 kWh/passenger-mile, respectively. Five repeated Walnut–Engineering trips exhibited similar speed profiles under centralized automatic control, with an average trip energy consumption of 4.15 kWh and a coefficient of variation of 2.89%. Among these trips, the 15-passenger trip consumed 7.7% more energy than the six-passenger trip, while passenger-specific energy consumption decreased from 0.37 to 0.16 kWh/passenger-mile.

The Environmental Control Unit (ECU) was the largest directly measured auxiliary electrical load, consuming 19.92 kWh, or 13.54%, during the representative 13-hour winter operating period. The hydraulic system and passenger-compartment lighting consumed 6.06 kWh (4.12%) and 1.30 kWh (0.88%), respectively, while the pneumatic compressor represented an average of 2.53% of daily vehicle energy during the separate May monitoring period. The higher winter ECU demand demonstrated that auxiliary thermal loads substantially influenced whole-vehicle energy consumption during cold-weather operation.

Route-level analysis showed that vehicle energy consumption was influenced by route distance, guideway elevation, passenger loading, vehicle utilization, ambient temperature, and operating conditions. Elevation-normalized analysis demonstrated that guideway topography was a major contributor to directional differences in route energy consumption. The results provide a long-term, subsystem-level assessment of the operational energy consumption characteristics of a WVU PRT vehicle using measured field data. The methodology developed in this study provides a practical framework for evaluating automated electric transit systems and establishes a quantitative basis for future vehicle energy modeling, subsystem optimization, operational energy management, and fleet-level planning.

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