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. The exiting unconsumed hydrogen is circulated and reused to increase the efficiency and at the same time maintain the humidity in the anode side of the stack, thereby preventing drying and flooding in the channel which can affect the stack performance. A high pressure difference across a cell between the anode and cathode could cause damage on thin layers of the cell components and water imbalance in the membranes. In this paper, we analyze a hybrid fuel delivery system that consists of two supply and two recirculation lines. The major components were a pressure regulator, a flow control valve, an ejector, and a blower. These models were developed and connected in order to analyze dynamic behavior of the fuel delivery system. Based on the models, two control strategies, a decentralized classic proportional and integral control and a state feed-back control were designed and optimized to keep a constant pressure in the anode flow channel and a constant ratio of mass flow rates from recirculation to supply lines. The integrated system with the two different controllers was Simulated to evaluate its tracking and rejection performance at different references and disturbances. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.