Non-linear control for electric power stage of fuel cell vehicles

Tough driving conditions like hilly areas, slippery roads, rough terrains and high-speed driving dominate the effects of non-linearities present within each component of a vehicle. Such conditions cause the behavior of components like energy sources, power processing blocks and electric traction motors to deviate from their nominal behavior. This research work presents two non-linear control methodologies, one being Lyapunov and Backstepping based controller loops and the other being Synergetic based controller loops for these vehicles. Proposed controller methodologies take into account system's non-linearities ensuring asymptotic stability of the controlled system over a wide operating range. Performance of the proposed controllers is validated in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation model used here is a genuine representation of electric power stage in FC-HEV. The controlled system successfully tracks system parameters to reference values when subjected to driving attributes of European extra urban driving cycle (EUDC). (C) 2020 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.