Operation mode control of a hybrid power system based on fuel cell/battery/ultracapacitor for an electric tramway

This paper focuses on describing a control strategy for a real tramway, in Zaragoza (Spain), whose current propulsion system is to be replaced by a hybrid system based on fuel cell (FC) as primary energy source and batteries and ultracapacitors (UCs) as secondary energy sources. Due to its slow dynamic response, the FC needs other energy sources support during the starts and accelerations, which are used as energy storage devices in order to harness the regenerative energy generated during brakings and decelerations. The proposed energy management system is based on an operation mode control, which generates the FC reference power, and cascade controls, which define the battery and UC reference powers in order to achieve a proper control of the DC bus voltage and states of charge (SOC) of battery and UC. The simulations, performed by using the real drive cycle of the tramway, show that the proposed hybrid system and energy management system are suitable for its application in this tramway. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.