Real-time strategy to optimize the fuel flow rate of fuel cell hybrid power source under variable load cycle

Abstract

A real-time optimization (RTO) strategy for the Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Sources (FCHPS) is proposed in this paper. The optimization strategy is based on the Global Extremum Seeking (GES) search of the optimal value of the fuel flow rate of the FC stack. The airflow rate is controlled by the FC current as in the Static Feed-Forward (sFF) RTO strategy, where both fueling flow rates are controlled by the FC current. The performance of the proposed Fuel_GES-RTO strategy is shown in comparison with the sFF-RTO strategy for constant and variable load. In the last case, a Load-Following (LF) control of the boost converter is used for both strategies.