A Power Allocation Method for Multistack PEMFC System Considering Fuel Cell Performance Consistency

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to design a power allocation method (PAM) for multistack fuel cell system (MFCS). Due to the limitations of technology, large-scale application of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) in the field of rail transportation has not been implemented. Therefore, this study presents an MFCS to promote the use of PEMFCs in the high-power energy market. During the operation of the MFCS, since the output power of the FC varies dynamically with different operation conditions, the performance of each stack is usually inconsistent. A method for evaluating the degree of performance degradation (DOPD) of stacks is presented in this study. In addition, a fuel cell (FC) semiempirical model is also adopted to simulate the effects of aging on the stacks’ performance. In order to maintain the uniform performance of stacks and enhance the lifespan of the MFCS, a PAM that considers the DOPD of each stack is presented. Besides, in order to facilitate system expansion, this article proposes a virtual droop control method to realize power splitting among the stacks. Also, a voltage control strategy is presented to compensate for the bus voltage drop caused by the droop control. The effectiveness and practicability of the presented PAM and MFCS are verified on the hardware-in-the-loop test bench constructed by RT-LAB.