A Low-Cost Battery-Less Power Train for Small Fuel Cell Vehicle Applications

Author

Bryan, Frank ; Nuttall, Daniel R. ; Forsyth, Andrew J. ; Cheng, Yonghua ; Van Mierlo, Joeri ; Lataire, Philippe

Author_Institution

Sch. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Univ. of Manchester, Manchester

fYear

2007

fDate

9-12 Sept. 2007

Firstpage

43

Lastpage

49

Abstract

The design and performance are described of a complete fuel cell-based power train for a small delivery vehicle. For low cost and simplicity, the power train comprises a single unidirectional DC-DC converter to interface the fuel cell, with a supercapacitor power buffer that is connected directly across the DC-link of the traction drive. The paper describes the overall design of the power train, in particular focusing on the development and performance of the control algorithm that is required to manage the energy flow between the fuel cell, super capacitors and traction system, a key objective being to minimize the transient loading of the fuel cell. A computer based model is used to design the controller and the results are validated by comparison with data from a dynamometer-based test rig of the complete power train for typical driving cycles.

Keywords

DC-DC power convertors; fuel cell vehicles; railways; supercapacitors; traction; fuel cell-based power train; low-cost battery-less power train; small delivery vehicle; small fuel cell vehicle applications; supercapacitor power buffer; traction system; unidirectional DC-DC converter; Algorithm design and analysis; Control systems; Costs; DC-DC power converters; Energy management; Fuel cell vehicles; Fuel cells; Management training; Power system management; Supercapacitors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference, 2007. VPPC 2007. IEEE

Conference_Location

Arlington, TX

Print_ISBN

978-0-7803-9760-6

Electronic_ISBN

978-0-7803-9761-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/VPPC.2007.4544095

Filename

4544095