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

Nonlinear observation in fuel cell systems: a comparison between disturbance estimation and High-Order Sliding-Mode techniques

© . This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/This paper compares two Nonlinear Distributed Parameter Observers (NDPO) for the observation of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Both NDPOs are based on the discretisation of distributed parameters models and they are used to estimate the state profile of gas concentrations in the anode and cathode gas channels of the PEMFC, giving detailed information about the internal conditions of the system. The reaction and water transport flow rates from the membrane to the channels are uncertainties of the observation problem and they are estimated throughout all the length of the PEMFC without the use of additional sensors. The first observation approach is a Nonlinear Disturbance Observer (NDOB) for the estimation of the disturbances in the NDPO. In the second approach, a novel implementation of a High-Order Sliding-Mode (HOSM) observer is developed to estimate the true value of the states as well as the reaction terms. The proposed observers are tested and compared through a simulation example at different operating points and their performance and robustness is analysed over a given case study, the New European Driving Cycle.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

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

Robust fuzzy sliding mode control for air supply on PEM fuel cell system

In this paper, an adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller is employed for air supply on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems. The control objective is to adjust the oxygen excess ratio at a given set point in order to prevent oxygen starvation and damage to the fuel-cell stack. The proposed control scheme consists of two parts: a sliding mode controller (SMC) and fuzzy logic controller (FLC) with an adjustable gain factor. The SMC is used to calculate the equivalent control law and the FLC is used to approximate the control hitting law. The performance of the proposed control strategy is analysed through simulations for different load variations. The results indicated that the adaptive fuzzy sliding mode controller (AFSMC) is excellent in terms of stability and several key performance indices such as the integral squared error (ISE), the integral absolute error (IAE) and the integral time-weighted absolute error (ITAE), as well as the settling and rise times for the closed-loop control system.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System

265 p.In the era of sustainable development, proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology has shown significant potential as a renewable energy source. This thesis focuses on improving the performance of the PEM fuel cell system through the use of appropriate algorithms for controlling the power interface. The main objective is to find an effective and optimal algorithm or control law for keeping the stack operating at an adequate power point. Add to this, it is intended to apply the artificial intelligence approach for studying the effect of temperature and humidity on the stack performance. The main points addressed in this study are : modeling of a PEM fuel cell system, studying the effect of temperature and humidity on the PEM fuel cell stack, studying the most common used power converters in renewable energy systems, studying the most common algorithms applied on fuel cell systems, design and implementation of a new MPPT control method for the PEM fuel cell system

Efficiency Optimisation of an Experimental PEM Fuel Cell System via Super Twisting Control

A robust control solution is proposed to solve the air supply control problem in autonomous polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) based systems. Different second order sliding mode (SOSM) controllers are designed using a model of a laboratory test fuel cell generation system. Very good simulation results are obtained using such algorithms, showing the suitability of the SOSM approach to PEMFC stack breathing control. Subsequently, for experimental validation, a controller based on one of the previously assessed SOSM algorithms, namely a Super Twisting, is successfully implemented in the laboratory test bench. Highly satisfactory results are obtained, regarding dynamic behaviour, regulation error and robustness to uncertainties and external disturbances.Instituto de Investigaciones en Electrónica, Control y Procesamiento de Señale

Design and Implementation of High Order Sliding Mode Control for PEMFC Power System

Fuel cells are considered as one of the most promising methods to produce electrical energy due to its high-efficiency level that reaches up to 50%, as well as high reliability with no polluting effects. However, scientists and researchers are interested more in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Thus, it has been considered as an ideal solution to many engineering applications. The main aim of this work is to keep the PEMFC operating at an adequate power point. To this end, conventional first-order sliding mode control (SMC) is used. However, the chattering phenomenon, which is caused by the SMC leads to a low control accuracy and heat loss in the energy circuits. In order to overcome these drawbacks, quasi-continuous high order sliding mode control (QC-HOSM) is proposed so as to improve the power quality and performance. The control stability is proven via the Lyapunov theory. The closed-loop system consists of a PEM fuel cell, a step-up converter, a DSPACE DS1104, SMC and QC-HOSM algorithms and a variable load resistance. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme, experimental results are compared with the conventional SMC. The obtained results show that a chattering reduction of 84% could be achieved using the proposed method.This work was partially supported by Eusko Jaurlaritza/Gobierno Vasco [grant number SMAR3NAK ELKARTEK KK-2019/00051]; the Provincial Council of Alava (DFA) [grant number CONAVAUTIN 2] (Collaboration Agreement)

Efficiency Optimisation of an Experimental PEM Fuel Cell System via Super Twisting Control

A robust control solution is proposed to solve the air supply control problem in autonomous polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) based systems. Different second order sliding mode (SOSM) controllers are designed using a model of a laboratory test fuel cell generation system. Very good simulation results are obtained using such algorithms, showing the suitability of the SOSM approach to PEMFC stack breathing control. Subsequently, for experimental validation, a controller based on one of the previously assessed SOSM algorithms, namely a Super Twisting, is successfully implemented in the laboratory test bench. Highly satisfactory results are obtained, regarding dynamic behaviour, regulation error and robustness to uncertainties and external disturbances.Instituto de Investigaciones en Electrónica, Control y Procesamiento de Señale

Algebraic observer-based output-feedback controller design for a PEM fuel cell air-supply subsystem

© 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, an algebraic-observer-based output-feedback controller is proposed for a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) air-supply subsystem, based on both algebraic differentiation and sliding-mode control approaches. The goal of the design is to regulate the Oxygen Excess Ratio (OER) towards its optimal setpoint value in the PEMFC air-supply subsystem. Hence, an algebraic estimation approach is used to reconstruct the OER based on a robust differentiation method. The proposed observer is known by its finite-time convergence and low computational time compared to other observers presented in the literature. Then, a twisting controller is designed to control the OER by manipulating the compressor motor voltage. The parameters of the twisting controller have been calculated by means of an off-line tuning procedure. The performance of the proposed algebraic-observer-based output-feedback controller is analyzed through simulations for different stack-current changes, for parameter uncertainties and for noise rejection. Results show that the proposed approach properly estimates and regulates the OER in finite-time.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft