Fault monitoring and control of PEM fuel cell as backup power for UPS applications

This paper presents the expert fault monitoring and intelligent comprehensive control of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (PEMFC) as backup power source for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. The failure status can be shown on the screen of a micro-computer (or a PC) linked with the UPS through an RS-232 and on the control panel of the UPS through LED indicator lights. The proposed intelligent comprehensive monitors and controllers of PEMFC and UPS can supply high quality power with flexible conversion functions, leading to the establishment of reliable power management for UPS applications. Finally, a suitable strategy and technique of fault monitoring and control for a UPS hybrid system with backup PEMFC and battery is implemented. The performances of the monitors and controllers are evaluated by experimental results, showing that the developed UPS system with backup PEMFC and battery power sources is suitable for industry applications.