Robust design and optimization for autonomous PV-wind hybrid power systems

This study presents a robust design method for autonomous photovoltaic (PV)-wind hybrid power systems to obtain an optimum system configuration insensitive to design variable variations. This issue has been formulated as a constraint multi-objective optimization problem, which is solved by a multi-objective genetic algorithm, NSGA-II. Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) method, combined with Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS), is applied to evaluate the stochastic system performance. The potential of the proposed method has been demonstrated by a conceptual system design. A comparative study between the proposed robust method and the deterministic method presented in literature has been conducted. The results indicate that the proposed method can find a large mount of Pareto optimal system configurations with better compromising performance than the deterministic method. The trade-off information may be derived by a systematical comparison of these configurations. The proposed robust design method should be useful for hybrid power systems that require both optimality and robustness.

Hybrid intelligent PID control design for PEMFC anode system

Control design is important for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) generator. This work researched the anode system of a 60-kW PEMFC generator. Both anode pressure and humidity must be maintained at ideal levels during steady operation. In view of characteristics and requirements of the system, a hybrid intelligent PID controller is designed specifically based on dynamic simulation. A single neuron PI controller is used for anode humidity by adjusting the water injection to the hydrogen cell. Another incremental PID controller, based on the diagonal recurrent neural network (DRNN) dynamic identification, is used to control anode pressure to be more stable and exact by adjusting the hydrogen flow rate. This control strategy can avoid the coupling problem of the PEMFC and achieve a more adaptive ability. Simulation results showed that the control strategy can maintain both anode humidity and pressure at ideal levels regardless of variable load, nonlinear dynamic and coupling characteristics of the system. This work will give some guides for further control design and applications of the total PEMFC generator.

SOFC temperature evaluation based on an adaptive fuzzy controller

The operating temperature of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack is a very important parameter to be controlled, which impacts the performance of the SOFC due to thermal cycling. In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy control method based on an affine nonlinear temperature model is developed to control the temperature of the SOFC within a specified range. Fuzzy logic systems are used to approximate nonlinear functions in the SOFC system and an adaptive technique is employed to construct the controller. Compared with the traditional fuzzy and proportion-integral-derivative (PID) control, the simulation results show that the designed adaptive fuzzy control method performed much better. So it is feasible to build an adaptive fuzzy controller for temperature control of the SOFC.

Numerical simulation of a direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell using computational fluid dynamics method

A detailed mathematical model of a direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell(DIR-SOFC) incorporating with simulation of chemical and physical processes in the fuel cell is presented. The model is developed based on the reforming and electrochemical reaction mechanisms,mass and energy conservation,and heat transfer. A computational fluid dynamics(CFD) method is used for solving the complicated multiple partial differential equations(PDEs) to obtain the numerical approximations. The resulting distributions of chemical species concentrations,temperature and current density in a cross-flow DIR-SOFC are given and analyzed in detail. Further,the influence between distributions of chemical species concentrations,temperature and current density during the simulation is illustrated and discussed. The heat and mass transfer,and the kinetics of reforming and electrochemical reactions have significant effects on the parameter distributions within the cell. The results show the particular characteristics of the DIR-SOFC among fuel cells,and can aid in stack design and control.

A maximum power point tracker for photovoltaic energy systems based on fuzzy neural networks

To extract the maximum power from a photovoltaic （PV） energy system, the real-time maximum power point （MPP） of the PV array must be tracked closely. The non-linear and time-variant characteristics of the PV array and the non-linear and non-minimum phase characteristics of a boost converter make it difficult to track the MPP for traditional control strategies. We propose a fuzzy neural network controller （FNNC）, which combines the reasoning capability of fuzzy logical systems and the learning capability of neural networks, to track the MPP. With a derived learning algorithm, the parameters of the FNNC are updated adaptively. A gradient estimator based on a radial basis function neural network is developed to provide the reference information to the FNNC. Simulation results show that the proposed control algorithm provides much better tracking performance compared with the filzzy logic control algorithm.

Predictive control of a direct internal reforming SOFC using a self recurrent wavelet network model

In this paper,an application of a nonlinear predictive controller based on a self recurrent wavelet network (SRWN) model for a direct internal reforming solid oxide fuel cell (DIR-SOFC) is presented. As operating temperature and fuel utilization are two important parameters,the SOFC is identified using an SRWN with inlet fuel flow rate,inlet air flow rate and current as inputs,and temperature and fuel utilization as outputs. To improve the operating performance of the DIR-SOFC and guarantee proper operating conditions,the nonlinear predictive control is implemented using the off-line trained and on-line modified SRWN model,to manipulate the inlet flow rates to keep the temperature and the fuel utilization at desired levels. Simulation results show satisfactory predictive accuracy of the SRWN model,and demonstrate the excellence of the SRWN-based predictive controller for the DIR-SOFC.

Control design of 60kW PEMFC generation system for residential applications

This paper presented a control design methodology for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) generation system for residential applications. The dynamic behavior of the generation system is complex in such applications. A comprehensive control design is very important for achieving a steady system operation and efficiency. The control strategy for a 60 kW generation system was proposed and tested based on the system dynamic model. A two-variable single neuron proportional-integral (PI) decoupling controller was developed for anode pressure and humidity by adjusting the hydrogen flow and water injection. A similar controller was developed for cathode pressure and humidity by adjusting the exhaust flow and water injection. The desired oxygen excess ratio was kept by a feedback controller based on the load current. An optimal seeking controller was used to trace the unique optimal power point. Two negative feedback controllers were used to provide AC power and a suitable voltage for residential loads by a power conditioning unit. Control simulation tests showed that 60 kW PEMFC generation system responded well for computer-simulated step changes in the load power demand. This control methodology for a 60 kW PEMFC generation system would be a competitive solution for system level designs such as parameter design, performance analysis, and online optimization.