Output Tracking Control of a Hydrogen-air PEM Fuel Cell

Hydrogen-air proton exchange membrane U+0028 PEM U+0029 fuel cell is a promising clean energy. However, the stack output tracking control is still a challenging problem due to the soft characteristic of the stack. Both over- and less-control will cause the stack flooding or oxygen lacking which dramatically decreases the life of stacks. Traditional control methods rely on the accurate model of the fuel cell system, which is a high-order nonlinear system, and involve a complex controller design process. This paper combines the data-based fuzzy cluster modeling technology with the sliding mode control and the integral actions. The sliding mode controller tracks the dynamic changes of the fuel cell system and the integral controller eliminates the steady-state errors. Simulation results demonstrate good performance of the proposed control method. © 2017 Chinese Association of Automation.

Dynamic Thermal Model and Temperature Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

A dynamic thermal transfer model of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is developed based on energy conservation in order to reach better temperature control of PEMFC stack. Considering its uncertain parameters and disturbance, we propose a robust adaptive controller based on backstepping algorithm of Lyaponov function. Numerical simulations indicate the validity of the proposed controller.

Intelligent Control for Improvements in PEM Fuel Cell Flow Performance

The performance of fuel cells and the vehicle applications they are embedded into depends on a delicate balance of the correct temperature, humidity, reactant pressure, purity and flow rate. This paper successfully investigates the problem related to flow control with implementation on a single cell membrane electrode assembly （MEA）. This paper presents a systematic approach for performing system identification using recursive least squares identification to account for the non-linear parameters of the fuel cell. Then, it presents a fuzzy controller with a simplified rule base validated against real time results with the existing flow controller which calculates the flow required from the stoichiometry value.

Particle Swarm Optimization based predictive control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are the main focus of their current development as power sources because they are capable of higher power density and faster start-up than other fuel cells. The humidification system and output performance of PEMFC stack are briefly analyzed. Predictive control of PEMFC based on Support Vector Regression Machine (SVRM) is presented and the SVRM is constructed. The processing plant is modelled on SVRM and the predictive control law is obtained by using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The simulation and the results showed that the SVRM and the PSO re-ceding optimization applied to the PEMFC predictive control yielded good performance.

Performance analysis and fuzzy neural networks modeling of direct methanol fuel cell

This paper introduces the effects of cell operating temperature, methanol concentration and airflow rate, respectively, on the performance of direct methanol fuel cell （DMFC）. A novel method based on fuzzy neural networks identification technique is proposed to establish the performance model of DMFC. Three dynamic performance models of DMFC under the influences of cell operating temperature, methanol concentration, and airflow rate are identified and established separately. Simulation results show that modeling using fuzzy neural networks identification is satisfactory with high accuracy. It is applicable to DMFC control systems.

Study on an environmental-friendly and high-efficient fuel cell energy conversion system

The kinds and the distribution of the coal in China are investigated. The results indicated that the 80% coal in China is used by the method of the coal gasification. The possibility of utilization and development of the fuel cell power plant in China is analyzed. A combined cycle generation system is designed. Its net electrical efficiency is about 55%(LHV), which is higher than that of the fire power plant. So it is environmental friendly and high efficient generation mode.

Adaptive inverse control of air supply flow for proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems

To prevent the oxygen starvation and improve the system output performance, an adaptive inverse control （AIC） strategy is developed to regulate the air supply flow of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell （PEMFC） system in this paper. The PEMFC stack and the air supply system including a compressor and a supply manifold are modeled for the purpose of performance analysis and controller design. A recurrent fuzzy neural network （RFNN） is utilized to identify the inverse model of the controlled system and generates a suitable control input during the abrupt step change of external disturbances. Compared with the PI controller, numerical simulations are performed to validate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed AIC strategy.

Structure and Control Strategies of Fuel Cell Vehicle

The structure and kinds of the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) and the mathematical model of the fuel cell processor are discussed in detail. FCV includes many parts: the fuel cell thermal and water management, fuel supply, air supply and distribution, AC motor drive, main and auxiliary power management, and overall vehicle control system. So it requires different kinds of control strategies, such as the PID method, zero-pole method, optimal control method, fuzzy control and neural network control. Along with the progress of control method, the fuel cell vehicle's stability and reliability is up-and-up. Experiment results show FCV has high energy efficiency.

Development of fuzzy control of a fuel cell generation system using FPGA

Afuzzy controller based oni mproved Generalized-Membership-Function(GMF) algorithmfor afuel cell generationsys-tem wasintroduced.Under the demands on control in application of the converter,a Field Programmable Gate Array(FPGA) re-alization method to manage the power flow was given.This control systembased onthe proposed modified GMF was proved to bea universal approxi mation systemin theory.The fuzzy control technique was combined with Eletronic Design Automatic(EDA)technique and a paralleling fuzzy controller was i mplemented in FPGA.Paralleling fuzzy controller based oni mproved GMF algo-rithm wasi mplemented on a Cyclone FPGA.The result of si mulation based on QuartusII confirmed the validity of the proposed method.

Environmental Impact of High Altitudes on the Operation of PEM Fuel Cell Based UAS

Fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy in the reactants into the electrical energy after steps of sequential electrochemical processes with no significant impact on the environment. For high altitude long endurance (HALE) of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) where fuel cell operates as a prime source of power, the operation and performance of a PEM fuel cell at different level of altitudes is vitally important. In this paper, the impact of direct using extracted air from high altitudes atmosphere in order to feed the stack is investigated, and the governing equations of the supplied air and oxygen to the PEM fuel cell stack are developed. The impact of high altitudes upon the operation and the consumption of air are determined in order to maintain certain level of delivered power to the load. Also the implications associated with operating the PEM fuel cell stack at high altitudes and different technical solutions are proposed. Various modes of Integral, Proportional-Integral, and Proportional-Integral-Derivative controller are introduced and examined for different time setting responses in order to determine the most adequate trade-off choice between fast response and reactants consumption which provides the necessary optimization of the air consumption for the developed model of PEM fuel cell used for UAS operation.

A 10kW-scale Distributed Power Plant of Natural Gas-Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

A 10 kW-scale natural gas fueled proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC) distributed power plant is presented in this paper,which is designed for cogeneration of power and heat. With homemade catalysts for CO removal in a two-stage methanation process and integrated reactor in the fuel processing system,the reformed fuel with CO molar fraction less than 10-5 is obtained for the fuel cell stack. Based on Matlab/Simulink/Stateflow and xPC Target platform,a rapid control prototype(RCP) is developed for real-time condition management,signal tracking and parameter tuning,data storing,and man-machine interaction. In a typical running with 4.3 kW stack power,the hydrogen production efficiency,gross power generation efficiency and heat recovery efficiency approach to 76%,41% and 50%,respectively. The peak stack power reaches 7.3 kW. Though there is still considerable dis-tance to long-term operation at 10 kW-scale net power generation,it is a milestone for the PEMFC-based stationary application in China.

Control-oriented dynamic fuzzy model and predictive control for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack temperature and cathode stoichiometric oxygen are very important control parameters. The performance and lifespan of PEMFC stack are greatly dependent on the parameters. So, in order to improve the performance index, tight control of two parameters within a given range and reducing their fluctuation are indispensable. However, control-oriented models and control strategies are very weak junctures in the PEMFC development. A predictive control algorithm was presented based on their model established by input-output data and operating experiences. It adjusts the operating temperature to 80 ℃. At the same time, the optimized region of stoichiometric oxygen is kept between 1.8?2.2. Furthermore, the control algorithm adjusts the variants quickly to the destination value and makes the fluctuation of the variants the least. According to the test results, compared with traditional fuzzy and PID controllers, the designed controller shows much better performance.

Control system design of hybrid fuel cell city bus

This paper introduced the design of the hybrid powertrain of the Fuel Cell City Bus demonstrated in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The configuration of the hybrid fuel cell powertrain was introduced. The safety of hydrogen storage and delivery system, the hydrogen leakage alarm system were developed. The real-time distributed control and diagnosis system based on the Time Trigger Controller Area Network （TTCAN） with 10 ms basic control period was developed. The concept and implementation of processor （or controller） monitor and process （or task） monitor technique based on the TYCAN were applied in this paper. The fault tolerant control algorithm of the fuel cell engine and the battery man- agement system were considered. The demonstration experience verified that the fault tolerant control was very important for the fuel cell city bus.

Air flow control based on optimal oxygen excess ratio in fuel cells for vehicles

Air flow control is one of the most important control methods for maintaining the stability and reliability of a fuel cell system, which can avoid oxygen starvation or oxygen saturation. The oxygen excess ratio （OER） is often used to indicate the air flow condition. Based on a fuel cell system model for vehicles, OER performance was analyzed for different stack currents and temperatures in this paper, and the results show that the optimal OER was affected weakly by the stack temperature. In order to ensure the system working in optimal OER, a control scheme that includes an optimal OER regulator and a fuzzy control was proposed. According to the stack current, a reference value of air flow rate was obtained with the optimal OER regulator and then the air compressor motor voltage was controlled with the fuzzy controller to adjust the air flow rate provided by the air compressor. Simulation results show that the control method has good dynamic and static characteristics.

Efficiency Improvement of PEM Fuel Cells via Humidity Control

PEM （Proton Exchange Membrane） fuel cell is a promising renewable energy source to a wide range of applications for its clean products and high power density. However, controlling its humidity is a challenging problem due to the interdependence of several phenomena contributing in membrane＇s water content. This work deals with efficiency improvement of PEM fuel cells via humidity control. An innovative strategy of control based on the model of Ref. [1] is proposed. It consists on regulating gas humidification rates according to the power demand so that to minimize power losses. The proposed control takes into consideration constraints related to humidification in order to avoid dry out or flooding of the membrane. Simulations results show that time-phasing between hydrogen and oxygen humidification rates plays an important role in minimizing power losses. The proposed control shows significant improvement in the fuel cell＇s efficiency up to 20%.

Maximum Power Point Tracking With Fractional Order High Pass Filter for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is widely recognized as a potentially renewable and green energy source based on hydrogen. Maximum power point tracking (MPPT) is one of the most important working conditions to be considered. In order to improve the performance such as convergence and robustness under disturbance and uncertainty, a fractional order high pass filter (FOHPF) is applied for the MPPT controller design based on the traditional extremum seeking control (ESC). The controller is designed with integerorder integrator (IO-I) and low pass filter (IO-LPF) together with fractional order high pass filter (FOHPF), by substituting the normal HPF in the original ESC system. With this FOHPF ESC, better convergence and smoother performance are achieved while maintaining the robust specifications. First, tracking stability is discussed under the commensurate-order condition. Then, simulation results are included to validate the proposed new FOHPF ESC scheme under disturbance. Finally, comparison results between FOHPF ESC and the traditional ESC method are also provided. © 2014 Chinese Association of Automation.

Design and Control of a DC Boost Converter for Fuel-Cell-Powered Marine Vehicles

Economic factors along with legislation and policies to counter harmful pollution apply specifically to maritime drive research for improved power generation and energy storage.Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are considered among the most promising options for marine applications.Switching converters are the most common interfaces between fuel cells and all types of load in order to provide a stable regulated voltage.In this paper,a method using artificial neural networks(ANNs)is developed to control the dynamics and response of a fuel cell connected with a DC boost converter.Its capability to adapt to different loading conditions is established.Furthermore,a cycle-mean,black-box model for the switching device is also proposed.The model is centred about an ANN,too,and can achieve considerably faster simulation times making it much more suitable for power management applications.

Hybrid Dynamic Modeling and Control of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Stack Shutdown

A hybrid automaton modeling approach that incorporates state space partitioning, phase dynamic modeling and control law synthesis by control strategy is utilized to develop a hybrid automaton model of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack shutdown. The shutdown operation is divided into several phases and their boundaries are decided according to a control strategy, which is a set of specifications about the dynamics of MCFC stack during shutdown. According to the control strategy, the specification of increasing stack temperature is satisfied in a phase that can be modeled accurately. The model for phase that has complex dynamic is approximated. The duration of this kind of phase is decreased to minimize the error caused by model approximation.

Experimental Evaluation of Parameterized Nonlinear MPC Applied to PEM Fuel Cell

This paper proposes a parameterized nonlinear model-based predictive control (NMPC) strategy to tackle the oxygen excess ratio regulation challenge of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. In practice, the most challenging part regarding NMPC strategies remains the on-line implementation. In fact, NMPC strategies, at least in their basic form, involve heavy computation to solve the optimization problem. In this work, a specific parameterization of control actions has been designed to address this limitation and achieve on-line implementation. To assess the effectiveness and relevance of the proposed strategy, the controller has been implemented on-line, experimentally validated on a real fuel cell and compared to the built-in controller. Performance of the parameterized NMPC controller in terms of setpoint tracking accuracy, disturbances rejection and computational cost, have tested under several control scenarios. Experimental results have shown the excellent tracking capability, disturbances rejection ability and low computational cost of the NMPC controller, regardless of the operating conditions. Moreover, compared to the built-in controller the proposed strategy has demonstrated better disturbances rejection capability. Overall, the proposed parameterized NMPC controller appears as an excellent candidate to address the oxygen excess ratio regulation issue.

Feasibility Assessment of Fast Numerical Simulations for Real-Time Monitoring and Control of PEM Fuel Cells

Computational models that ensure accurate and fast responses to the variations in operating conditions,such as the cell tem-perature and relative humidity(RH),are essential monitoring tools for the real-time control of proton exchange membrane(PEM)fuel cells.To this end,fast cell-area-averaged numerical simulations are developed and verifi ed against the present experiments under various RH levels.The present simulations and measurements are found to agree well based on the cell voltage(polarization curve)and power density under variable RH conditions(RH=40%,RH=70%,and RH=100%),which verifi es the model accuracy in predicting PEM fuel cell performance.In addition,computationally feasible reduced-order models are found to deliver a fast output dataset to evaluate the charge/heat/mass transfer phenomena as well as water production and two-phase fl ow transport.Such fast and accurate evaluations of the overall fuel cell operation can be used to inform the real-time control systems that allow for the improved optimization of PEM fuel cell performance.