Robust feedback linearization control of air-feed system in PEM fuel cell against practical uncertainty

In this paper robust feedback linearization control approach based on the gap metric analysis is proposed to control a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The oxygen excess ratio ( ) is regulated through adjustment of the air supply to avoid oxygen starvation. Furthermore regulation improves the efficiency whilst more net power will be delivered. In this paper a six order state variable PEM fuel cell is used as a plant whereas the system variations and disturbances are regarded as uncertainties to configure the perturbed plant. The gap metric analysis is gained in this paper to assess the difference between the perturbed plants and that of the nominal. Results of using the nonlinear control law reveal that the proposed feedback linearization control is robust against disturbances during the oxygen excess ratio regulation.Results verify that the measurement delays in super twisting algorithm excite un-modeled dynamics because of higher frequency in the oscillations. The proposed controller eliminates influence of un-modeled dynamic and delay of actuator and sensor. Furthermore the designed controller is found capable to attenuate the practical measurement noise effect (in terms of a stochastic uncertainty) in both of the frequency spectrum and also in the overall amplitude

Algebraic observer design for PEM fuel cell system

© 20xx IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.In this paper, the concept of the algebraic observer is applied to Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) system. The aim of the proposed observer is to reconstruct the oxygen excess ratio through estimation of their relevant states in real time from the measurement of the supply manifold air pressure. A robust differentiation method is adopted to estimate in finite-time the time derivative of the supply manifold air pressure. Then, the relevant states are reconstructed based on the output-state inversion model. The objective is to minimize the use of extra sensors in order to reduce the costs and enhance the system accuracy. The performance of the proposed observer is analyzed through simulations considering measurement noise and different stack-current variations. The results show that the algebraic observer estimates in finite time and robustly the oxygen-excess ratio.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Chemistry: Space resources for teachers including suggestions for classroom activities and laboratory experiments

Curriculum supplement to assist general chemistry teachers in updating instruction materials with aerospace development

Nonlinear predictive control for durability enhancement and efficiency improvement in a fuel cell power system

© . This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/In this work, a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) strategy is proposed to improve the efficiency and enhance the durability of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) power system. The PEMFC controller is based on a distributed parameters model that describes the nonlinear dynamics of the system, considering spatial variations along the gas channels. Parasitic power from different system auxiliaries is considered, including the main parasitic losses which are those of the compressor. A nonlinear observer is implemented, based on the discretised model of the PEMFC, to estimate the internal states. This information is included in the cost function of the controller to enhance the durability of the system by means of avoiding local starvation and inappropriate water vapour concentrations. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed controller over a given case study in an automotive application (New European Driving Cycle). With the aim of representing the most relevant phenomena that affects the PEMFC voltage, the simulation model includes a two-phase water model and the effects of liquid water on the catalyst active area. The control model is a simplified version that does not consider two-phase water dynamics.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Design and Experimental Validation of an Explicit MPC Controller for Regulating Temperature in PEM Fuel Cell Systems

This paper proposes a temperature controller for PEM fuel cell systems with an air blower as thermal circuit. The objective of this controller is to maintain the stack temperature over a given set-point which is obtained from the results of a real-time optimization algorithm with the goal of minimizing the stack degradation and maximizing the global efficiency. An Explicit MPC is proposed to deal with this control problem which presents delays, the critical sampling time, constraints and disturbances. The simulation results show good performance of the controller which accurately tracks the temperature reference over the overall range of operating conditions. Furthermore, the controller is implemented in real-time on a PEM fuel cell test-bench which is installed in the Fuel Cell Laboratory at the University of Seville

Experimental investigation on water injected twin screw compressor for fuel cell humidification

A water injection in Twin Screw compressors was examined in order to develop effective humidification and cooling schemes for fuel cell stacks as well as cooling for compressors. The temperature and the relative humidity of the air at suction and exhaust of the compressor were monitored under constant pressure and water injection rate and at variable compressor’s operating speeds. The experimental results showed that the relative humidity of the outlet air was increased by the water injection. The injection tends to have more effect on humidity at low operating speeds/ mass flow rates. Further humidification can be achieved at higher speeds as higher evaporation rate becomes available. It was also found that the rate of power produced by the fuel cell stack was higher than the rate used to run the compressor for the same amount of air supplied. The efficiency of the Balance-Of-Plant (BOP) was therefore higher when more air is delivered to the stack. However, this increase in the air supply needs additional subsystems for further humidification/ cooling of the BOP system

Shortcut Biological Nitrogen Removal (SBNR) in an MFC anode chamber under microaerobic conditions. The effect of C/N ratio and kinetic study

In this work, the feasibility of the Shortcut Biological Nitrogen Removal (SBNR) in the anodic chamber of a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) was investigated. Thirty day experiments were carried out using synthetic wastewaters with a Total Organic Carbon vs. nitrogen ratio (TOC/N) ranging from 0.1 to 1. Ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and TOC were daily monitored. Results showed that microaerobic conditions in the anodic chamber favored the development of nitritation reaction, due to oxygen transfer from the cathodic chamber through the membrane. Nitritation was found to depend on TOC/N ratio: at TOC/N equal to 0.1 an ammonium removal efficiency of up to 76% was observed. Once the oxygen supply to the cathodic chamber was stopped, denitritation occurred, favored by an increase of the TOC/N ratio: a nitrite removal of 80.3% was achieved at TOC/N equal to 0.75. The presence of nitrogen species strongly affected the potential of the electrochemical system: in the nitritation step, the Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) decreased from 180 mV to 21 mV with the decrease of the TOC/N ratio in the investigated range. Lower OCV values were observed in the denitritation steps since the organic carbon acted as the energy source for the conversion of nitrite to nitrogen gas. A kinetic analysis was also performed. Monod and Blackman models described the ammonium and the organic carbon removal processes well during the nitritation step, respectively, while Blackman-Blackman fitted experimental results of the denitritation step better

Power systems research at MSFC

Power systems research reviews at Marshall Space Flight Cente

Volterra Model Based Predictive Control, application to a Pem Fue Cell

14th Nordic Process Control Workshop - Espoo, Finland Duration: 23 Aug 2007 → 25 Aug 2007This paper presents a non linear model predictive controller for a PEM fuel cell for which the starvation control is the main objective. A second order Volterra model for control is obtained using input/output data for which the power supplied by the fuel cell is considered as a measurable disturbance. The controller developed allows to solve the nonlinear objective function in a way that it can be actually implemented in fast systems like Fuel cells. The use of a nonlinear controller is justified while comparing the outcome obtained with a linear controller of the same class

Specifications for modelling fuel cell and combustion-based residential cogeneration device within whole-building simulation programs

This document contains the specifications for a series of residential cogeneration device models developed within IEA/ECBCS Annex 42. The devices covered are: solid oxide and polymer exchange membrane fuel cells (SOFC and PEM), and internal combustion and Stirling engine units (ICE and SE). These models have been developed for use within whole-building simulation programs and one or more of the models described herein have been integrated into the following simulation packages: ESP-r, EnergyPlus, TRNSYS and IDA-ICE. The models have been designed to predict the energy performance of cogeneration devices when integrated into a residential building (dwelling). The models account for thermal performance (dynamic thermal performance in the case of the combustion engine models), electrochemical and combustion reactions where appropriate, along with electrical power output. All of the devices are modelled at levels of detail appropriate for whole-building simulation tools