Experimental analysis of the performance of the air supply system in a 120 kW polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell system

For analyzing the performance of 120 kW polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system and its air supply system, an air system test bench was built, then applied on a 120 kW PEMFC system test bench composed of air supply subsystem, hydrogen supply subsystem, stack, cooling subsystem and electronic control subsystem. The strategy composed of feedforward table and Piecewise proportional integral (PI) feedback control strategy is employed to regulate the flow rate and pressure of air supply system. Firstly, the air compressor map and the mapping relationship between the speed of air compressor, opening of back-pressure valve and stack current are obtained by carrying out experiments on the PEMFC air system bench. Then, the max output performance, steady-state performance, the startup performance, the dynamic response abilities of PEMFC system are tested, respectively. During the experiments, performances under different test conditions were analyzed by comparing parameters such as voltage inconsistency, average voltage, minimum voltage, voltage range, net power of the PEMFC system, and stack power. The test results show that the air supply system can provide qualified flow rate and pressure for the PEMFC stack. The peak power of the stack is 120 kW and net power of the system is 97 kW when the current is 538 A. The response time from rated net power to idle net power is 12 s and from idle net power to rated net power is 23 s. The overshoot of average voltage and minimum voltage in the process of increasing load is both 0.01 V, which are 0.015 V and 0.02 V lower than that when the load is decreased, respectively. The dynamic response speed and stability of the PEMFC system in the process of decreasing the load are better than those in the process of increasing the load.     

Primary energy and economic analysis of combined heating, cooling and power systems

In this paper, the primary energy consumption and the economic viability of a combined heating, cooling and power (CHCP) system are derived. The focus is on small-scale applications in the range below 100 kW_H/70 kW_C/58 kW_el. CHCP is discussed between the boundaries of combined heating and power (CHP) and combined cooling and power (CCP) using a lumped parameter model. The method used is independent of a specific load profile for a building; only the full-load hours for heating and cooling are needed to predict the economic viability. German data is used for the example. A sensitivity analysis reveals the parameters with the highest impact on the primary energy consumption and the energy costs. The primary energy factors, the energy prices and the electric efficiency of the CHP are the dominating parameters. Increasing electricity prices favour the introduction of CHP and CHCP systems whereas increasing gas prices inhibit it. The energy cost analysis is extended to an economic analysis taking maintenance and investment costs into account. One result of this paper is a simple diagram which shows how many annual operation hours are needed for heating and cooling with CHCP to be more economical than a reference system.     

Hydrogen consumption minimization method based on the online identification for multi-stack PEMFCs system

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks are not widely used in the field of transportation industry, due to their limited power. Thus, the PEMFC stacks usually connected in parallel or series to meet the load demand power in high-power applications. The hydrogen consumption of multi-stack fuel cells (MFCs) system is related to the efficiency and output power. In addition, the efficiency of PEMFC depends on the applied voltage and other parameters. Consequently, the hydrogen consumption of system changes with varying load, because the system parameters are also varying. It makes reducing the fuel consumption of system a challenging assignment. In order to achieve the goal of minimizing fuel consumption of parallel-connected PEMFCs system, this paper proposes a novel power distribution strategy based on forgetting factor recursive least square (FFRLS) online identification. The FFRLS algorithm is based on data-driven and uses real-time data of the system to improve the estimation accuracy of PEMFC system parameters. On the test bench of parallel-connected PEMFCs system consists of two 300 W PEMFC stacks, PEMFC stack controller, DC/DC converters, and DSP controller etc., a multi-index performance test and comparative analysis are carried out. The results showed that, the performance of proposed power allocation strategy has been successfully validated. In addition, compared with the power average and daisy chain algorithms, the proposed online identification power distribution method can get more satisfactory results. Such as, reducing the hydrogen consumption and improving efficiency.     

MW cogenerated proton exchange membrane fuel cell combined heat and power system design for eco-neighborhoods in North China

Buildings account for most of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions causing global warming. The development of eco-neighborhood can improve the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce GHG emissions. A combined heat and power (CHP) system based on proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is designed to supply electricity and thermal for eco-neighborhood in North China with low GHG emissions. Effects of different inlet parameters, such as PEMFC inlet pressure and current density, on multi-stack CHP system performance are discussed. Coupled with a dynamic load scenario, the adaptability of the designed PEMFC-CHP system is studied through PI control with an electricity-led strategy and a thermal-led strategy. Both strategies can effectively reduce GHG emissions and the eco-neighborhood with PEMFC-CHP system is more environmental friendly compared to conventional energy supply. The electricity-led strategy can satisfy the energy consumption of the eco-neighborhood but with thermal waste. The energy consumption for most of the time during a year can be satisfied by the PEMFC-CHP system under the thermal-led strategy, but the electricity gap exists as the thermal demand is lower. Under the electricity-led strategy, the GHG emission reduction of the eco-neighborhood under electricity-led strategy and thermal-led strategy are around 7000 ton and 5000 ton per year, respectively.     

Performance evaluation of a novel CCHP system integrated with MCFC,ISCC and LiBr refrigeration system

This paper proposes a novel combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system integrated with molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), integrated solar gas-steam combined cycle (ISCC), and double-effect absorption lithium bromide refrigeration (DEALBR) system. According to the principle of energy cascade utilization, part of the high-temperature waste gas discharged by MCFC is led to the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) for further waste heat utilization, and the other part of the high-temperature waste gas is led to the MCFC cathode to produce CO₃^2?, and solar energy is used to replace part of the heating load of a high-pressure economizer in HRSG. Aspen Plus software is used for modeling, and the effects of key factors on the system performances are analyzed and evaluated by using the exergy analysis method. The results show that the new CCHP system can produce 494.1 MW of electric power, 7557.09 kW of cooling load and 57,956.25 kW of heating load. Both the exergy efficiency and the energy efficiency of the new system are 61.69% and 61.64%, respectively. Comparing the research results of new system with similar systems, it is found that the new CCHP system has better ability to do work, lower CO₂ emission, and can meet the cooling load, heating load and electric power requirements of the user side at the same time.     

Micro-combined cooling,heating and power systems hybrid electric-thermal load following operation

Micro-combined cooling, heating and power (mCCHP), typically designated as less than 30 kW electric, is a technology that generates electricity at or near the place where it is used. The waste heat from the electricity generation can be used for space cooling, space heating, or water heating. The operation of mCCHP systems, while obviously dependent upon the seasonal atmospheric conditions, which determine the building thermal and power demand, is ultimately controlled by the operation strategy. Two of the most common operation strategies are to run the prime mover in accordance to either electrical or thermal demand. In this study, a mCCHP system operating following a hybrid electric-thermal load (FHL) is proposed and investigated. This operation strategy is evaluated and compared with mCCHP systems operating following the electric load (FEL) and operating following the thermal load (FTL). This evaluation and comparison is based on site energy consumption (SEC), primary energy consumption (PEC), operational cost, and carbon dioxide emission reduction (CDE). Results show that mCCHP systems operated following the hybrid electric-thermal load have better performance than mCCHP-FEL and mCCHP-FTL. mCCHP-FHL showed higher reductions of PEC, operational cost, and carbon dioxide emissions than the ones obtained for the other two operation strategies for the evaluated case.     

Thermal management of hydrogen refuelling station housing on an annual level

A housing insulation of hydrogen refuelling station is vital from the aspect of safe operation of equipment in an environment that is installed. To secure hydrogen supply during the whole year, this work brings the solution for both cooling and heating insulation equipment inside of hydrogen refuelling station installed in Croatia, Europe. This hydrogen refuelling station was designed as an autonomous photovoltaic-hydrogen system. In the interest of improving its energy efficiency, an optimal thermal management strategy was proposed. To select the best technological solution for thermal management design which will maintain optimal temperature range inside the housing in cold and warm months, a detailed analysis of the system components thermodynamic parameters was performed. Optimal operating temperatures were established to be 25 °C in summer and 16 °C in winter, considering components working specifications. Insulation, type of cooling units, and heaters have been selected according to the HRN EN 12831 and VDI 2078 standards, while the regime of the heating and cooling system has been selected based on the station's indoor air temperature. The annual required heating and cooling energy were calculated according to HRN EN ISO 13790 standard, amounting to 1135.55 kW h and 1219.55 kW h, respectively. Annual energy share obtained from solar power plant used for the heating and cooling system resulted in 5%. The calculated thermal management system load turned out to be 1.437 kW.     

Operation characteristics and performance analysis of integrated power and hybrid cooling systems driven by PEM fuel cell

With the rapid growth in the number of data centers, energy consumption has increased exponentially, and energy conservation has become a focus of data center applications. Owing to the different ambient conditions in different regions, this study proposed novel integrated power and hybrid cooling systems driven by PEMFC. Multiple cooling methods were investigated to make full use of the waste heat generated by PEMFC and natural cold sources. Three types integrated systems, including a basic combined cooling and power (BCCP) supply system, a heat pipe combined cooling and power (HPCCP) supply system, and an outdoor air combined cooling and power (OACCP) supply system were constructed. Five cities representing five climatic regions were selected to compare and analyze the operation characteristics and energy efficiency of the three systems. It is concluded that the values of power usage effectiveness (PUE) in the three systems are 1.16–1.32, and the theoretical energy efficiency is 87.80%–91.08%, which is 11.27%–12.42% higher than the reported value of a commercially used data center in Changping. The energy efficiency of the OACCP system is generally higher than that of the HPCCP system. The HPCCP system is suitable for cold and severely cold climate regions, and the OACCP system is suitable for temperate climate regions. Such findings may provide theoretical basis for the selection of the integrated power and cooling system designed for data centers in different climate regions. However, the theoretical results may need further improvement by including the energy loss during transportation and the efficiency of the converter during power conversion.     

分布式能源在数据中心应用的可行性探析

介绍了分布式能源供能的特点和常见的供能方案,并结合大型数据中心的冷、电需求大及可靠性要求高的用能特点,指出“燃气轮机＋吸收式制冷机＋电制冷机＋冰蓄冷”供能方案更适合大型数据中心供能,该方案以燃气轮机产生电能和制冷量,配合市电、柴油机及中央空调为数据中心供能,提高了数据中心供能可靠性,达到节能减排的效果。     

基于CO2热泵的产消型数据中心能效联动优化

  目的  随着数字经济的发展,数据中心的“规模”将不断扩大,“算力”不断提高,随之带来的“能耗”及“运行成本”也将不断攀升。为实现数据中心余热的有效利用,并实现能效的联动优化,构建了一种基于CO₂热泵的产消型数据中心能源系统。  方法  将数据中心视为产消者,耗电的同时将制冷系统的余热回收,用于住宅供暖。产消型数据中心能源系统采用空气直接冷却、直膨式地埋管冷却和建筑供暖末端冷却三种方式实现数据中心全年的冷却,最大程度利用自然冷却,降低系统电耗。CO₂作为余热回收用热泵的工作介质,能够提高系统紧凑性与环境友好性。  结果  本系统可有效削减冷负荷,进而在平均占用率较低时,实现制冷电耗的降低。当平均占用率为0.6时,与常规房间级风冷空调机组相比,本系统可降低全年冷负荷108 MWh,节约电耗制冷电耗167 MWh,为建筑供热290 MWh,获得年收益4.23万元。  结论  本系统可实现数据中心余热回收用于建筑供暖,实现了数据中心非供暖期余热的有效利用。并通过地源热泵系统实现了数据中心余热与建筑热负荷的协调,为产消型数据中心的能效联动优化提供了借鉴。     

Performance of a coupled cooling system with earth-to-air heat exchanger and solar chimney

Buildings represent nearly 40 percent of total energy use in the U.S. and about 50 percent of this energy is used for heating, ventilating, and cooling the space. Conventional heating and cooling systems are having a great impact on security of energy supply and greenhouse gas emissions. Unlike conventional approach, this paper investigates an innovative passive air conditioning system coupling earth-to-air heat exchangers (EAHEs) with solar collector enhanced solar chimneys. By simultaneously utilizing geothermal and solar energy, the system can achieve great energy savings within the building sector and reduce the peak electrical demand in the summer. Experiments were conducted in a test facility in summer to evaluate the performance of such a system. During the test period, the solar chimney drove up to 0.28 m³/s (1000 m³/h) outdoor air into the space. The EAHE provided a maximum 3308 W total cooling capacity during the day time. As a 100 percent outdoor air system, the coupled system maximum cooling capacity was 2582 W that almost covered the building design cooling load. The cooling capacities reached their peak during the day time when the solar radiation intensity was strong. The results show that the coupled system can maintain the indoor thermal environmental comfort conditions at a favorable range that complies with ASHRAE standard for thermal comfort. The findings in this research provide the foundation for design and application of the coupled system.     

多时间尺度滚动优化在冷热电联供系统中的优化调度研究

为解决可再生能源和用户负荷波动所造成的能量供需不平衡问题,该文提出多时间尺度优化运行方法。该方法建立“日前-日内滚动-实时调整”的三阶段优化模型来逐级优化机组出力,日前阶段考虑环境成本,日前优化以日运行成本最低为目标,日内滚动优化以滚动控制时域内购能成本和机组出力变化惩罚成本最低为目标,实时调整优化以设备功率总调整率最小为目标,最终得到设备的实时平滑出力计划。日前阶段比较不同的系统结构对CCHP系统日运行成本的影响,并确定了最佳的系统结构。仿真结果验证了所提策略的准确性,优化结果显示：多元储能模式能降低CCHP系统的运行成本;多时间尺度滚动优化不但能提高CCHP系统的运行经济性,而且能减小设备的功率波动,减小设备运行损耗。     

Design and simulation of the PV/PEM fuel cell based hybrid energy system using MATLAB/Simulink for greenhouse application

In this study, design and optimization of the hybrid renewable energy system consisting of Photovoltaic (PV)/Electrolyzer/Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) was investigated to provide electricity and heat for Greenhouse in ?anl?urfa (Turkey). The coupling of a photovoltaic system with PEMFC was preferred to supply continuous production of electric energy throughout the year. Additionally, produced heat from PEMFC was used to heating of the greenhouse by micro cogeneration application. The MATLAB/Simulink was applied to the design and optimization of the proposed hybrid system. In the designed system, solar energy was selected to produce the Hydrogen (H₂) required to run the electrolyzer. In cases where the solar energy is not sufficient and cannot meet the electricity requirement for the electrolyzer; the H₂ requirement for the operation of the PEMFC was met from the H₂ storage tanks and energy continuity was ensured. The electrolyzer was designed for H₂ demand of the 3 kW PEMFC which were met the greenhouse energy requirement. PEMFC based hybrid system has 48% electrical and 45% thermal efficiencies. According to optimization results obtained for the proposed hybrid system, the levelized cost of energy was found 0.117 $/kWh. The obtained results show the proposed PV/Electrolyzer/PEMFC hybrid power system provides an applicable option for powering stand-alone application in a self-sustainable expedient.     

An adaptive sliding mode observer based near-optimal OER tracking control approach for PEMFC under dynamic operation condition

Tracking control of oxygen excess ratio (OER) is crucial for dynamic performance and operating efficiency of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). OER tracking errors and overshoots under dynamic load limit the PEMFC output power performance, and also could lead oxygen starvation which seriously affect the life of PEMFC. To solve this problem, an adaptive sliding mode observer based near-optimal OER tracking control approach is proposed in this paper. According to real time load demand, a dynamic OER optimization strategy is designed to obtain an optimal OER. A nonlinear system model based near-optimal controller is designed to minimize the OER tracking error under variable operation condition of PEMFC. An adaptive sliding mode observer is utilized to estimate the uncertain parameters of the PEMFC air supply system and update parameters in near-optimal controller. The proposed control approach is implemented in OER tracking experiments based on air supply system of a 5 kW PEMFC test platform. The experiment results are analyzed and demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control approach under load changes, external disturbances and parameter uncertainties of PEFMC system.     

Off-grid solar photovoltaic-alkaline electrolysis-metal hydrogen storage-fuel cell system: An investigation for application in eco-neighborhood in Ningbo,China

This study proposes a combined hydrogen, heating and power system based on solar energy for the off-grid application of distributed renewable energy. With hydrogen as the energy carrier, the stable consumption of renewable energy can be achieved by integrating alkaline water electrolysis (AWE), metal hydride (MH) hydrogen storage, and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). An energy management strategy is proposed based on the coordinated control of mass, energy, and information flow. Fluctuations in multi-source heat flow during solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation, hydrogen production, hydrogen-storage, and PEMFC power generation were studied based on electric and heating loads of typical winter and summer days in an eco-neighborhood in Ningbo, China. Owing to differences in solar radiation between summer and winter, the total electric energy generated by PV panels was 6179 kWh and 3667 kWh for summer and winter, respectively. The start-up times for AWE and MHs were 0.92 h and 0.32 h in summer and 1.70 h and 0.55 h in winter, respectively. After one day of operation, the hydrogen and heat surpluses were 57.17 kg and 5735.83 MJ in summer, while in winter the hydrogen surplus and heat deficit were 30.87 kg and 226.41 MJ, respectively.     

Remodeling of a commercial plug-in battery electric vehicle to a hybrid configuration with a PEM fuel cell

In the present research, a commercial battery-powered pure electric vehicle was suitably modified to convert it into a hybrid one integrating a PEMFC stack. The hydrogen supply system to the stack included a passive recirculation system based on a Ventury-type ejector. Besides, in order to achieve an optimum operation of the PEMFC stack, a discrete state machine model was considered in its control system. The inclusion of a rehabilitation operating mode prevented the stack from possible failures, increasing its lifetime. It was verified that for the rated operating point when supplying power to the vehicle (2.5 kW) the hydrogen consumption decreased, and the actual efficiency (47.9%) PEMFC was increased close to 1%. Field tests performed demonstrate that the range of the hybrid electric vehicle was increased by 78% when compared to the one of the original battery electric car. Also, under the tested experimental conditions in hybrid mode, 34% of the total energy demanded by the electric machine of the vehicle was supplied by the PEMFC stack.     

利用剩余风电的感应储能供暖控制系统研究

为了解决我国北方地区风电的弃风问题,改进剩余风电供暖系统的直接消纳储能技术,改善电蓄热供暖控制系统中存在换能装置电热转化效率低下的问题,经过方案对比提出采用电热转换效率高、安全可靠性好的电磁感应加热装置作为供暖系统的换能装置。为优化储能水箱加热供暖系统的控制策略,针对系统给定的控制需求,采取前级附加给定温度模糊控制器串联后级感应加热模糊PID控制器的复合控制策略,使闭环加热系统的给定温度随室外温度的变化而调整;同时为了节约不可再生能源,降低损耗,采用与后级模糊PID控制器的输出构成闭环比值随动控制系统的加热循环流量协调控制策略。利用Matlab/Simulink软件进行仿真实验,结果表明：模糊PID控制特性明显优于传统PID控制,系统的超调量显著减少,动态调节速度明显加快;实现模糊控制和模糊PID控制复合与协调智能控制策略的网络化,提高了系统控制的实时性和可靠性,使系统控制性能大为提升。     

Road testing of a three-wheeler driven by a 5 kW PEM fuel cell in the absence and presence of batteries

The road testing and demonstration of a three-wheeler vehicle driven by a 5 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was carried out in the absence and presence of lead acid batteries. Prior to integrating the PEMFC module and batteries in the three-wheeler, they were tested and demonstrated separately. The PEMFC module had a very fast response as the load was manually or, especially, automatically changed and it could supply a continuous power when the reactant was supplied continuously. In contrast, the 5 kW lead acid batteries alone could supply power for no longer than 300 s. In the presence of both the PEMFC module and batteries, when the drawing power was in the range of the PEMFC module capacity the propulsion motor gained its energy from the PEMFC module only, whilst the stack power output at all conditions was greater than the setting power of approximately 400 W. After integrating the PEMFC module and batteries into the three-wheeler, both energy sources were found to power the vehicle effectively. The motor power as well as the stack power changed as a linear proportion to the throttle. The motor consumed more power in case of high speed driving, take off or hill climbing, while it used only 0.354 kW in the absence of throttle. The hybrid system can achieve a maximum speed in this three-wheeler of around 24.9 km/h with a hydrogen consumption of 11 g H₂/km (71 g H₂/kWh) and an operating cost of 1.99 USD/km. The thermodynamic efficiency of the vehicle was 42.9%.     

基于热电互动的分布式能源系统优化研究

  [目的]  为实现分布式能源系统经济、高效的为工业用户供能,基于工业园区电、热负荷的耦合特性,建立了分布式能源系统供能单元的性能模型,提出了优化运行策略。  [方法]  以广州某工业园区为研究对象,结合实际负荷数据,合理确定优化参数,计算了年发电量、年耗气量和一次能源利用效率,并对负荷增量的影响进行了研究。  [结果]  结果表明:机组启动热负荷对分布式能源系统的年发电量影响较大,采用优化运行策略,年发电量提升约18.7%,可以提高园区自供电比例,一次能源利用效率在85%以上。  [结论]  该优化运行策略是正确并有效的,可应用于热电耦合分布式能源系统的优化,有效提升分布式能源系统的供能,同时维持较高的一次能源综合利用效率。     

Dispatch strategy and model for hybrid photovoltaic and trigeneration power systems

The advent of small scale combined heat and power (CHP) systems has provided the opportunity for in-house power backup of residential-scale photovoltaic (PV) arrays. These hybrid systems enjoy a symbiotic relationship between components, but have large thermal energy wastes when operated to provide 100% of the electric load. In a novel hybrid system is proposed here of PV-trigeneration. In order to reduce waste from excess heat, an absorption chiller has been proposed to utilize the CHP-produced thermal energy for cooling of PV-CHP system. This complexity has brought forth entirely new levels of system dynamics and interaction that require numerical simulation in order to optimize system design. This paper introduces a dispatch strategy for such a system that accounts for electric, domestic hot water, space heating, and space cooling load categories. The dispatch strategy was simulated for a typical home in Vancouver and the results indicate an improvement in performance of over 50% available when a PV-CHP system also accounts for cooling. The dispatch strategy and simulation are to be used as a foundation for an optimization algorithm of such systems.