Control of the Air Supply Subsystem in a PEMFC with Balance of Plant Simulation

Alan Cruz Rojas, Guadalupe Lopez Lopez, J. F. Gomez-Aguilar, Victor M. Alvarado and Cinda Luz Sandoval Torres
Additional contact information
Alan Cruz Rojas: TecNM, CENIDET, Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Guadalupe Lopez Lopez: TecNM, CENIDET, Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
J. F. Gomez-Aguilar: CONACYT-TecNM, CENIDET, Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Victor M. Alvarado: TecNM, CENIDET, Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Cinda Luz Sandoval Torres: TecNM, CENIDET, Interior Internado Palmira S/N, Col. Palmira, 62490 Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-23

Abstract: This paper deals with the design of a control scheme for improving the air supply subsystem of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) with maximum power of 65 kW. The control scheme is evaluated in a plant simulator which incorporates the balance of plant (BOP) components and is built in the aspenONE ® platform. The aspenONE ® libraries and tools allows introducing the compressor map and sizing the heat exchangers used to conduct the reactants temperature to the operating value. The PEMFC model and an adaptive controller were programmed to create customized libraries used in the simulator. The structure of the plant control is as follows: the stoichiometric oxygen excess ratio is regulated by manipulating the compressor power, the equilibrium of the anode-cathode pressures is achieved by tracking the anode pressure with hydrogen flow manipulation; the oxygen and hydrogen temperatures are regulated in the heat exchangers, and the gas humidity control is obtained with a simplified model of the humidifier. The control scheme performance is evaluated for load changes, perturbations and parametric variations, introducing a growing current profile covering a large span of power, and a current profile derived from a standard driving speed cycle. The impact of the control scheme is advantageous, since the control objectives are accomplished and the PEMFC tolerates reasonably membrane damage that can produce active surface reduction. The simulation analysis aids to identify the safe Voltage-Current region, where the compressor works with mechanical stability.

Keywords: PEM fuel cell; aspenONE; oxygen excess ratio; MRAC (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:1:p:73-:d:87133

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