Modeling and thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cell for fuel cell/battery hybrid automotive vehicle

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack is a key component in the fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicle. Thermal management and optimized control of the PEMFC under real driving cycle remains a challenging issue. This paper presents a new hybrid vehicle model, including simulations of diver behavior, vehicle dynamic, vehicle control unit, energy control unit, PEMFC stack, cooling system, battery, DC/DC converter, and motor. The stack model had been validated against experimental results. The aim is to model and analyze the characteristics of the 30 kW PEMFC stack regulated by its cooling system under actual driving conditions. Under actual driving cycles (0–65 kW/h), 33%–50% of the total energy becomes stack heat; the heat dissipation requirements of the PEMFC stack are high and increase at high speed and acceleration. A PID control is proposed; the cooling water flow rate is adjusted; the control succeeded in stabilizing the stack temperature at 350 K at actual driving conditions. Constant and relative lower inlet cooling water temperature (340 K) improves the regulation ability of the PID control. The hybrid vehicle model can provide a theoretical basis for the thermal management of the PEMFC stack in complex vehicle driving conditions.     

Automotive fuel cell stack and system efficiency and fuel consumption based on vehicle testing on a chassis dynamometer at minus 18 °C to positive 35 °C temperatures

This paper presents an in-depth laboratory technology assessment of a 2016 Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell (FC) vehicle based on chassis dynamometer testing. The 114.6 kW FC stack has a high dynamic response, which makes this powertrain a FC-dominant hybrid electric vehicle. The measured peak efficiency is 66.0% FC stack and 63.7% FC system with an idle hydrogen flow rate of 4.39 g/hr. The high FC system efficiencies at low loads match typical vehicle power spectrums, resulting in a high average vehicle efficiency of 62% compared to 45% and 23% for a hybrid electric vehicle and a conventional vehicle, respectively. An energy breakdown accounts for the FC stack losses, FC system losses, air compressor loads, and heater loads for different drive cycles and different thermal conditions. The cold-start North American city drive cycle (UDDS) energy consumption values are, respectively, 758, 581, 226, and 321 Wh/km at ambient conditions of −18 °C, −7 °C, 25 °C and 35 °C with 850 W/m² of solar loading. The FC system shutdown and startup processes at temperatures below the freezing point contribute to the increased hydrogen consumption. The raw test data files are available for download, thus providing the research community with a public reference data on a modern production automotive FC system.     

A new application of the UltraBattery to hybrid fuel cell vehicles

This study involves investigation of fuel cell hybrid vehicles. The main power source in the dynamic configuration is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. An energy performance comparison is conducted between the use of a lithium‐ion battery (Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, Japan) and the UltraBattery (Furukawa Battery Company, Japan) as auxiliary power sources. The MATLAB/Simulink for simulation is used to observe dynamic behavior and overall performance. This study describes the simulation frameworks of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, ultracapacitor, lead–acid battery, and UltraBattery. Then, the Economic Commission for Europe 40 driving cycle is used to test and investigate the performance of the fuel cell hybrid vehicle. Four energy output models are adopted to simulate the energy demand and the energy motor output of the dual power source, namely the high‐load demand, general demand, low‐load demand, and charge models. The simulation results indicate that the lithium battery recycles 0.1% more work compared with the UltraBattery. Regarding fuel economy, the UltraBattery is only 0.1% inferior to the lithium battery. The expected cost of an UltraBattery with the same specifications is 35% less than that of a lithium battery. Considering fuel economy and cost simultaneously, the UltraBattery can compete with the lithium battery. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical prediction on an automotive fuel cell driving system

Mathematical models were applied to predict the results of different strategies to improve automotive fuel cell driving systems. First, a fuel cell system was optimized on the base of a fuel cell stack model. Then calculations about the utilization of recovered energy from air exhaust steam were carried out. Two methods to combine the turbocharger with an electric compressor, namely in series and in parallel, were evaluated for a fuel cell system. Finally, research on the effect of removing the big power DC/DC converter, which is located between the fuel cell system and the driving motor, was conducted for a fuel cell driving system. The main results show that it is highly advantageous to connect the turbocharger with an electric compressor in series than in parallel; and that the fuel cell driving system without DC/DC converter before its motor could reach much higher performance characteristics, and even be so in lower power range while the cell voltage was designated to be lower.     

Performance simulation and predictive model for a multi‐mode parallel hybrid electric scooter drive

This paper presents a parallel hybrid electric scooter model developed on MATLAB‐Simulink. The hybrid electric scooter model was developed to further understand and analyze as well as to predict its performance before proper construction of the prototype begins. The model consists of four main models that formed the complete hybrid scooter model: battery model, engine model, DC motor model and the dynamics model. The multi‐mode controller predicts the required parameters to operate the scooter in an optimize condition. Experimental data were gathered and thus compared to the simulated data to check the model's feasibility and accuracy on four distinct driving cycles: modified urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS), New York city cycle (NYCC), European driving cycle (ECE‐15) and modified highway fuel economy driving schedule (HWFET). Basic studies showed that the model developed had a maximum of 4% error. Maximum error achieved between the theoretical and the experimental readings is about 3.15%, which is for the modified HWFET cycle. Other cycles have acceptable errors; UDDS cycle with 1.91%, NYCC cycle with a low 0.68% and ECE‐15 cycle with 1.15%. Operating costs between the internal combustion engine mode, motor mode and hybrid mode were also estimated, where final results showed an 18% reduction of the overall fuel consumption using the multi‐mode controller between hybrid scooters and conventional scooters. The fuel consumptions were also predicted and compared the estimated results with one commercially available hybrid scooter, Piaggio Vespa MP3 hybrid scooter. Primary results showed a 4.4% increase in distance travelled per kilometer. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic behaviour of Li batteries in hydrogen fuel cell power trains

A Li ion polymer battery pack for road vehicles (48 V, 20 Ah) was tested by charging/discharging tests at different current values, in order to evaluate its performance in comparison with a conventional Pb acid battery pack. The comparative analysis was also performed integrating the two storage systems in a hydrogen fuel cell power train for moped applications. The propulsion system comprised a fuel cell generator based on a 2.5 kW polymeric electrolyte membrane (PEM) stack, fuelled with compressed hydrogen, an electric drive of 1.8 kW as nominal power, of the same typology of that installed on commercial electric scooters (brushless electric machine and controlled bidirectional inverter). The power train was characterized making use of a test bench able to simulate the vehicle behaviour and road characteristics on driving cycles with different acceleration/deceleration rates and lengths. The power flows between fuel cell system, electric energy storage system and electric drive during the different cycles were analyzed, evidencing the effect of high battery currents on the vehicle driving range. The use of Li batteries in the fuel cell power train, adopting a range extender configuration, determined a hydrogen consumption lower than the correspondent Pb battery/fuel cell hybrid vehicle, with a major flexibility in the power management.     

An experimental study of a PEM fuel cell power train for urban bus application

An experimental study was carried out on a fuel cell propulsion system for minibus application with the aim to investigate the main issues of energy management within the system in dynamic conditions. The fuel cell system (FCS), based on a 20 kW PEM stack, was integrated into the power train comprising DC–DC converter, Pb batteries as energy storage systems and asynchronous electric drive of 30 kW. As reference vehicle a minibus for public transportation in historical centres was adopted. A preliminary experimental analysis was conducted on the FCS connected to a resistive load through a DC–DC converter, in order to verify the stack dynamic performance varying its power acceleration from 0.5 kW s⁻¹ to about 4 kW s⁻¹. The experiments on the power train were conducted on a test bench able to simulate the vehicle parameters and road characteristics on specific driving cycles, in particular the European R40 cycle was adopted as reference. The “soft hybrid” configuration, which permitted the utilization of a minimum size energy storage system and implied the use of FCS mainly in dynamic operation, was compared with the “hard hybrid” solution, characterized by FCS operation at limited power in stationary conditions. Different control strategies of power flows between fuel cells, electric energy storage system and electric drive were adopted in order to verify the two above hybrid approaches during the vehicle mission, in terms of efficiencies of individual components and of the overall power train.     

Formula zero: Development and kart’s competition driven by PEM fuel cell

Formula Zero (FZ) is an European project that promotes a zero emissions karts championship based on fuel cell (FC) technology. The project’s objectives are: first, to compete at FZ championship with own FC vehicle, second, to demonstrate that sustainable mobility is possible having zero emissions transports, and third, to take out all the knowledge gained during the development of this project for implanting it in future projects with FC automotive applications. The team has designed and built a kart powered by a stack of PEM 1.2 kW at a first prototype and another prototype powered by a 8 kW stack in a second stage. The goal of the project is to confirm that karts powered by hydrogen and FC are able to compete at velocity races, getting same performance as conventional karts. The difference is that the FC kart is an electric vehicle, with no emissions, no noise, and no vibrations.     

Viability study of a FC-battery-SC tramway controlled by equivalent consumption minimization strategy

This paper evaluates the option of using a new powertrain based on fuel cell (FC), battery and supercapacitor (SC) for the Urbos 3 tramway in Zaragoza, Spain. In the proposed powertrain configuration, a hydrogen Proton-Exchange-Membrane (PEM) FC acts as main energy source, and a Li-ion battery and a SC as energy support and storage systems. The battery supports the FC during the starting and accelerations, and furthermore, it absorbs the power generated during the regenerative braking. Otherwise, the SC, which presents the fastest dynamic response, acts mainly during power peaks, which are beyond the operating range of the FC and battery. The FC, battery and SC use a DC/DC converter to connect each energy source to the DC bus and to control the energy exchange. This configuration would allow the tramway to operate in an autonomous way without grid connection. The components of the hybrid tramway, selected from commercially available devices have been modeled in MATLAB-Simulink. The energy management system used for controlling the components of the new hybrid system allows optimizing the fuel consumption (hydrogen) by applying an equivalent consumption minimization strategy. This control system is evaluated by simulations for the real driving cycle of the tramway. The results show that the proposed control system is valid for its application to this hybrid system.     

Experimental study of a fuel cell power train for road transport application

The development of fuel cell electric vehicles requires the on-board integration of fuel cell systems and electric energy storage devices, with an appropriate energy management system. The optimization of performance and efficiency needs an experimental analysis of the power train, which has to be effected in both stationary and transient conditions (including standard driving cycles).In this paper experimental results concerning the performance of a fuel cell power train are reported and discussed. In particular characterization results for a small sized fuel cell system (FCS), based on a 2.5 kW PEM stack, alone and coupled to an electric propulsion chain of 3.7 kW are presented and discussed. The control unit of the FCS allowed the main stack operative parameters (stoichiometric ratio, hydrogen and air pressure, temperature) to be varied and regulated in order to obtain optimized polarization and efficiency curves. Experimental runs effected on the power train during standard driving cycles have allowed the performance and efficiency of the individual components (fuel cell stack and auxiliaries, dc–dc converter, traction batteries, electric engine) to be evaluated, evidencing the role of output current and voltage of the dc–dc converter in directing the energy flows within the propulsion system.     

Multi-mode control strategy for fuel cell electric vehicles regarding fuel economy and durability

A proton electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system and a Li-ion battery (LIB) are two power sources in a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). The fuel cell system is composed of a fuel cell stack and subsystems for air/hydrogen supply and cooling water. The operation procedure of the fuel cell system can be generally separated into several processes, e.g. starting up, normal/abnormal working and shutting down. In this paper, a multi-mode real-time control strategy for a FCEV is proposed. The strategy is established based on three typical processes (starting up, normal working, shutting down) of the fuel cell system, taking the fuel economy and system durability into consideration. The strategy is applied into a platform vehicle for the 12th 5-year project of “the next generation technologies of fuel cell city buses”. Experiments of the “China city bus typical cycle” on a test bench for the bus were carried out. Results show that, the fuel economy is 7.6 kg (100 km)⁻¹ in the battery charge-sustaining status. In a practical situation, a total driving mileage of more than 270 km can be achieved. Cycle testing also showed that, the degradation rate of the fuel cell was reduced to half of the original level. No performance degradation of the LIB system was observed in the cycling test.     

The study on the power management system in a fuel cell hybrid vehicle

This paper presents a model of a hybrid electric vehicle, based on a primary proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and an auxiliary Li-ion battery, and its dynamics and overall performance. The power voltage from the fuel cell is regulated by a DC/DC converter before integrating with the Li-ion battery, which provides energy to the drive motor. The driving force for propelling the wheels comes from a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM); where the power passes through the transmission, shaft, and the differential.     

Analysis and control of a hybrid fuel delivery system for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

A polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEM FC) system as a power source used in mobile applications should be able to produce electric power continuously and dynamically to meet the demand of the driver by consuming the fuel, hydrogen. The hydrogen stored in the tank is supplied to the anode of the stack by a fuel delivery system (FDS) that is comprised of supply and recirculation lines controlled by different actuators. Design of such a system and its operation should take into account several aspects, particularly efficient fuel usage and safe operation of the stack.     

A comparative review on power conversion topologies and energy storage system for electric vehicles

Fossil fuel depletion and its adverse impact on global warming is a major driving force for a recent upsurge in the development of hybrid electric vehicles technologies. This paper is a conglomeration of the recent literature in the usages of an energy storage system and power conversion topologies in electric vehicles (EVs). An EV requires sources that have high power and energy density to decrease the charging time. Commonly used energy storage devices in EVs are fuel cells, batteries, ultracapacitors, flywheel, and photovoltaic arrays. The power output from energy storage sources is conditioned to match load characteristics with the source for maximum power delivery. A DC-DC converter topology performs this task by way of transforming voltage under the condition of power invariance. In addition, power electronics is also required to power DC/AC motors efficiently with precise control as these motors provide tractive efforts and acts as prime movers. This paper therefore brings out a critical review of the literature on EV's power conversion topologies and energy storage systems with challenges, opportunities and future directions by systematic classification of EVs and energy storage.     

Analysis of dc link oscillations in a hybrid fuel cell powertrain brought by in situ converter based electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a valuable tool for characterizing fuel cells. It was previously used for offline testing and only applied to single cells or short stacks with low-power equipment. Recently, there has been a trend on bringing it to high-power fuel cell stacks (FCSs) for in situ operation, especially in vehicular applications, with the required EIS ac perturbations generated by the power processing converter. However, the effects of adding such an extra function to a converter in the powertrain have not been investigated previously. Aiming at filling this gap, this paper focuses on the oscillations brought by the converter based EIS operation and their transfer in a typical hybrid fuel cell powertrain. The presented results indicate that it is favorable to operate EIS during motor is idling. The oscillation on the dc link reaches its maximum at the resonant frequency of the energy storage converter, while its magnitude is influenced by various factors, i.e., system parameters and operating conditions. Moreover, it is found that the worst-case condition of oscillation can be determined by a healthy stack at the beginning of its life.     

Optimal sizing of a fuel processor for auxiliary power applications of a fuel cell-powered passenger car

The present study considers the optimal sizing of a three-way hybrid powertrain consisting of a compact reformer, a compact battery and a low temperature PEM fuel cell stack serving as the main power unit. A simulation model consisting of the relevant characteristic parameters of the three power sources has been developed and has been used to study the fuel utilization features of the hybrid powertrain while going through the NEDC driving cycle with a given auxiliary power requirement. The optimality is based on minimizing fuel cost while having an assured range of 500 km under practical driving conditions and a further 100 km under reduced auxiliary power usage. It is shown that for performance characteristics of Toyota Mirai and for average auxiliary power consumption of 5 kW, a smaller NiMH battery size of 1.3 kWh together with a fuel processor of 5.6 kW constant output would be optimal with a further requirement of 25% more hydrogen and 33 kg of ethanol to be carried on-board. Substantial reductions in vehicle mass and fuel load can be achieved for more modest performance characteristics and auxiliary power consumption.     

Comparison of control schemes for a fuel cell hybrid tramway integrating two dc/dc converters

This paper describes a comparative study of two control schemes for the energy management system of a hybrid tramway powered by a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell (FC) and an Ni-MH battery. The hybrid system was designed for a real surface tramway of 400 kW. It is composed of a PEM FC system with a unidirectional dc/dc boost converter (FC converter) and a rechargeable Ni-MH battery with a bidirectional dc/dc converter (battery converter), both of which are coupled to a traction dc bus. The PEM FC and Ni-MH battery models were designed from commercially available components.     

Energy management of a fuel cell hybrid ultra-energy efficient vehicle

This paper focuses on energy management in an ultra-energy efficient vehicle powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with rated power of 1 kW. The vehicle is especially developed for the student competition Shell Eco-marathon in the Urban Concept category. In order to minimize the driving energy consumption a simulation model of the vehicle and the electric propulsion is developed. The model is based on vehicle dynamics and real motor efficiency as constant DC/DC, motor controllers and transmission efficiency were considered. Based on that model five propulsion schemes and driving strategies were evaluated. The fuel cell output parameters were experimentally determined. Then, the driving energy demand and hydrogen consumption was estimated for each of the propulsion schemes. Finally, an experimental study on fuel cell output power and hydrogen consumption was conducted for two propulsion schemes in case of hybrid and non-hybrid power source. In the hybrid propulsion scheme, supercapacitors were used as energy storage as they were charged from the fuel cell with constant current of 10 A.     

Plug-in hybrid fuel cell vehicles market penetration scenarios

The main objective of this research is to analyze the impact of the market share increase of hydrogen based road vehicles in terms of energy consumption and CO₂, on today's Portuguese light-duty fleet. Actual yearly values of energy consumption and emissions were estimated using COPERT software: 167112 TJ of fossil fuel energy, 12213 kton of CO₂ emission and 141 kton of CO, 20 kton of HC, 46 kton of NO_x and 3 kton of PM. These values represent 20–40% of countries total emissions. Additionally to base fleet, three scenarios of introduction of 10–30% fuel cell vehicles including plug-in hybrids configurations were analysed. Considering the scenarios of increasing hydrogen based vehicles penetration, up to 10% life cycle energy consumption reduction can be obtained if hydrogen from centralized natural gas reforming is considered. Full life cycle CO₂ emissions can also be reduced up to 20% in these scenarios, while local pollutants reach up to 85% reductions. For the purpose of estimating road vehicle technologies energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in a full life cycle perspective, fuel cell, conventional full hybrids and hybrid plug-in technologies were considered with diesel, gasoline, hydrogen and biofuel blends. Energy consumption values were estimated in a real road driving cycle and with ADVISOR software. Materials cradle-to-grave life cycle was estimated using GREET database adapted to Europe electric mix. The main conclusions on CO₂ full life cycle analysis is that light-duty vehicles using fuel cell propulsion technology are highly dependent on hydrogen production pathway. The worst scenario for the current Portuguese and European electric mix is hydrogen produced from on-site electrolysis (in the refuelling stations). In this case full life cycle CO₂ is 270 g/km against 190 g/km for conventional Diesel vehicle, for a typical 150,000 km useful life.     

On-line fuzzy energy management for hybrid fuel cell systems

Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles (FCHV) can reach near zero emission by removing the conventional internal combustion from the vehicle powertrain. Nevertheless, before seeing competitive and efficient FCHV on the market, at market prices, different technical, economic, and social challenges should be overcome. A typical hybrid fuel cell powertrain combines a fuel cell stack and a dedicated energy storage system along with their necessary power converters. Energy storage systems are used in order to enhance the well-to-wheel efficiency and thus reducing the hydrogen consumption. An efficient management of power flows on the vehicle, allows optimizing the recovery of energy braking. Moreover, working in the fuel cell maximum efficiency leads to reduced thermal losses and thus to the downsizing of the heat exchangers. This paper presents an enhanced control of the power flows on a FCHV in order to reduce the hydrogen consumption, by generating and storing the electrical energy only at the most suitable moments on a given driving cycle. While the off-line optimization-based on dynamic programming algorithm offers the necessary optimal comparison reference on a known demand, the proposed strategy which can be implemented on-line, is based on a fuzzy logic decision system. The fine tuning of the fuzzy system parameters (mainly the membership functions and the gains), is made using a genetic algorithm and the fuzzy supervisor shows performing results for different load profiles.