Abstract
Fuel Cells (FC) are a clean energy source capable of powering a bus electrically with zero operating emissions. This research investigates the potential of FC and Supercapacitor (SC) hybrid buses for clean city transportation. To investigate the FC/SC hybridisation strategy, a scaled FC/SC hybrid drivetrain has been developed to provide the power system of a scaled bus model. The scaled model was developed as a MATLAB Simulink computer model and cross referenced against the constructed laboratory test rig for validation. A novel control strategy focusing on power balancing between the FC, the SC and the load has been developed and validated in the computer model. It has been demonstrated in both the test rig and computer simulation that the proposed control strategy is capable of maintaining a controlled and stable FC output while meeting different bus load regimes. The validated computer model can provide a reliably representative, convenient and low cost platform for further performance investigation and component optimisation of FC/SC hybrid drivetrains. The control strategy has also been demonstrated to be function as expected after scaling up the developed scaled model to a full scale model which can be used for simulation of practical bus performance.
Highlights
The harmful transportation derived emissions resulting from heavy traffic in a city contain greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, but can affect human physical health and significantly affect large cities like London
The validated scaled Fuel Cells (FC)/SC hybrid model showed the control strategy functioned as expected in terms of keeping the FC output constant and user controlled
The hybrid controller, for controlling the power flows, has been tested and showed good capability in managing the power balance between the FC and the SC power sources. Both steady state tests and dynamic tests have demonstrated the proposed control strategy functioned to satisfy the overall load while maintaining the FC output constant with both the laboratory system and computer model
Summary
The harmful transportation derived emissions resulting from heavy traffic in a city contain greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, but can affect human physical health and significantly affect large cities like London. The literature has highlighted a wide array of strategies used to control FC hybrid propulsion systems, these mostly require significant transient responses to the FC output to meet the load power demands. This work intends to simulate a different control strategy that is capable of keeping the FC output controlled and constant while meeting dynamic power demands This focuses on the operation of the hybrid electric system and the balance of power between the constituent power sources to provide for the load power requirements whilst maintaining the bus voltage. This includes the modelling and control of the power electronic converters used to achieve this and the impact on the energy storage system during operation. Enable more accessible scaling of the system and enable evaluation of full scale models at the power level of a practical bus, opening up the possibility for system design on a practical scale
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
