Fuel Cell Engine Research Articles

A fault identification method for Fuel cell engine air supply subsystem pressure sensor based on Random forest

A fault identification method for Fuel cell engine air supply subsystem pressure sensor based on Random forest

Modeling and simulating the thermal management system of a hydrogen fuel cell

Abstract Hydrogen energy is an important means of achieving decarbonization goals. Hydrogen fuel cells have broad application prospects due to their high-power output and wide temperature range. To improve the heat dissipation capacity of the fuel cell thermal management system, this paper establishes a simulation model of a 60kw fuel cell. The performance of the fuel cell engine thermal management system model under optimal operating parameters is studied by taking the temperature of the inlet and outlet water of the stack as the observation value. This is significant in improving the thermal environment of the fuel cell engine and ensuring its safe and efficient operation.

Adaptive Anti-Surge Control Strategy for PEM Fuel Cell Vehicle With Online Surge Detection

In this study, an online adaptive anti-surge control (OAASC) strategy is proposed for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system. Insufficient attention has been given to the issue of the surge in the air supply system, which can damage the compressor and stack, reducing the fuel cell vehicle’s efficiency and lifespan. The OAASC approach employs a multiple time-domain sliding window technique and characteristic energy-based correction to detect and adaptively contain surges before they become serious. A dynamic model of the fuel cell air supply system with surge prediction is established using a two-stage parameter identification process and is verified through 60 kW fuel cell engine experiments. Simulation and experimental comparisons between OAASC and standard industrial methods are conducted to evaluate the proposed method’s performance. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed strategy improves control performance, with surges being detected within 0.2 s and recovering within 0.5 s.

Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles: Comparing the Powertrain Efficiency and Sustainability of Fuel Cell versus Internal Combustion Engine Cars

Due to the large quantities of carbon emissions generated by the transportation sector, cleaner automotive technologies are needed aiming at a green energy transition. In this scenario, hydrogen is pointed out as a promising fuel that can be employed as the fuel of either a fuel cell or an internal combustion engine vehicle. Therefore, in this work, we propose the design and modeling of a fuel cell versus an internal combustion engine passenger car for a driving cycle. The simulation was carried out using the quasistatic simulation toolbox tool in Simulink considering the main powertrain components for each vehicle. Furthermore, a brief analysis of the carbon emissions associated with the hydrogen production method is addressed to assess the clean potential of hydrogen-powered vehicles compared to conventional fossil fuel-fueled cars. The resulting analysis has shown that the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is almost twice as efficient compared to internal combustion engines, resulting in a lower fuel consumption of 1.05 kg-H2/100 km in the WLTP driving cycle for the fuel cell vehicle, while the combustion vehicle consumed about 1.79 kg-H2/100 km. Regarding using different hydrogen colors to fuel the vehicle, hydrogen-powered vehicles fueled with blue and grey hydrogen presented higher carbon emissions compared to petrol-powered vehicles reaching up to 2–3 times higher in the case of grey hydrogen. Thus, green hydrogen is needed as fuel to keep carbon emissions lower than conventional petrol-powered vehicles.

Design and Optimization of an Integrated Power System of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Marine Low-Speed Dual-Fuel Engine

A combined system including a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and an internal combustion engine (ICE) is proposed in this paper. First, a 0-D model of SOFC and a 1-D model of ICE are built as agent models. Second, parameter analysis of the system is conducted based on SOFC and ICE models. Results show that the number of cells, current density, and fuel utilization can influence SOFC and ICE. Moreover, a deep neural network is applied as a data-driven model to conduct optimized calculations efficiently, as achieved by the particle swarm optimization algorithm in this paper. The results demonstrate that the optimal system efficiency of 51.8% can be achieved from a 22.4%/77.6% SOFC-ICE power split at 6 000 kW power output. Furthermore, promising improvements in efficiency of 5.1% are achieved compared to the original engine. Finally, a simple economic analysis model, which shows that the payback period of the optimal system is 8.41 years, is proposed in this paper.

Application of a PEM Fuel Cell Engine as a Small-Scale Power Generator for Small Cars with Different Fuel Concentrations

A fuel cell power generation system is a renewable energy system that works based on electrochemical processes and produces a direct electric current (DC). Specifically, a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell can operate at low temperatures and produce an efficiency of around 40-60%. In this study, the performance test of the PEM Fuel Cell for power generation was carried out by supplying hydrogen gas using hydrogen from the electrolysis of the hydrogen generator with a variation of KOH catalyst solution with a concentration of 0.5 M; 1.0 M; 1.5 M; 2 M and using Ultra High Purity (UHP) hydrogen with various flow rates of 250 mL/min, 300 mL/min, 350 mL/min, 400 mL/min, 450 mL/min, and 500 mL/min. The test results showed that the output power of hydrogen produced by the electrolysis process was 10.8 W at a concentration of 1 M solutions at an input current of 20 A. The greater the concentration of the catalyst solution, the smaller the electrical power required for the electrolysis process. However, the hydrogen power supply produced by the hydrogen generator was not optimal, so it did not meet the needs of the PEM Fuel Cell. As a result, the PEM Fuel Cell could not work. Meanwhile, testing with UHP hydrogen produced the highest electrical power of 31.588 W at a flow rate of 450 mL/min with a load of 20 W. It indicates that the PEM Fuel Cell is optimal at the output power value with an efficiency of 69.80%.

Investigation on the wet compression performance of a co-rotating scroll hydrogen recirculation pump for fuel cell engine systems

The scroll-type hydrogen recirculation pump is critical for fuel cell vehicle powertrain systems, yet its performance under multiphase conditions remains poorly understood. This study proposes a co-rotating scroll hydrogen pump with array scrolls and investigates its aerodynamic performance, including volumetric efficiency, isentropic efficiency, and power consumption, under varying inlet humidity through 3D transient numerical simulations. Additionally, the effects of operational and geometric parameters (rotational speed, radial clearance, and axial clearance) on the wet compression performance of the pump at the maximum inlet humidity are carried out. Results show that inlet humidity primarily affects the compression and discharge processes of the pump. Increasing inlet humidity suppresses tangential leakage, improving volumetric efficiency, while reducing isentropic efficiency. With inlet humidity increasing from 0% to 100%, the volumetric and isentropic efficiencies change by + 1.84% and −2.3%, respectively, with a power consumption increase of approximately 8.9 W. Higher rotational speeds significantly decrease the isentropic efficiency, while axial clearance has a more pronounced impact on both efficiencies compared to radial clearance. Specifically, increasing rotational speed from 5000 r/min to 15,000 r/min enhances volumetric efficiency by 9.27% and reduces isentropic efficiency by 6.72%. Similarly, increasing radial clearance from 20 μm to 40 μm reduces volumetric efficiency by 5.51% and isentropic efficiency by 0.87%. Raising axial clearance from 20 μm to 40 μm results in a 17.86% drop in volumetric efficiency and 10.7% in isentropic efficiency. These findings offer design insights for high-efficiency co-rotating scroll hydrogen pumps.

Numerical and experimental investigations on internal humidifying designs for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack

For an automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cell engine, the efficient water content management is critical to its overall efficiency and lifetime. The fuel cell stack designed with internal humidifying effect is a promising solution for enhanced performance and compact system integration. In this work, a novel internal humidifying fuel cell stack design is proposed which utilizes the water and heat transfer through membrane in the triangular gas feed areas. Validated by the experimental test, a coupled three-dimensional model is developed to compare the fuel cell performance with three different feed area functions. The active feed area design performs the worst with the lowest reaction uniformity, while the humidifying feed area design presents the best performance with greatly improved water content distributions. The internal humidifying stack design is suitable for operations under dry reactants inflow conditions with more performance improvement and more evenly distributed reaction, which is beneficial for the compact fuel cell system integration without external humidifiers. To further improve the internal humidification effects of the stack, the asymmetric inlet/outlet feed areas with specific flow channels will be studied in future work.

Simulation and Control Strategy Study of the Hydrogen Supply System of a Fuel Cell Engine

The hydrogen supply system is one of the important components of a hydrogen fuel cell engine, and its performance has an important impact on the economy and power of the engine system. In this paper, a hydrogen supply system based on cyclic mode is designed for a hydrogen fuel cell stack with a full load power of 150 kW, and the corresponding hydrogen fuel cell engine simulation model is built and validated. The control strategy of the fuel cell hydrogen supply system is developed, and its effect is verified through bench tests. The results show that the developed control strategy can keep the volume fraction of nitrogen below 6%, the hydrogen excess ratio does not exceed 1.5 under medium and high operating conditions, the anode pressure is relatively stable, and the stack can operate efficiently and reliably.

Challenges of Application of Green Ammonia as Fuel in Onshore Transportation

The main purpose of the article is to present a comprehensive and critical review of the challenges and risks associated with the use of green ammonia as an alternative fuel in land transport. The review is motivated by the clear trend toward phasing out fossil fuel vehicles and replacing them with emission-free alternatives. Topics covered include safety aspects such as safety of powering of vehicles, the production of green ammonia, the use of ammonia in the context of various fuel solutions (combustion engines and fuel cell engines), and the discussion of ammonia-powered vehicles in the context of air pollution. The paper offers new insights into identifying the challenges and obstacles that may arise in the case of the massive use of green ammonia as a fuel for land transport. In addition, the review presents the latest information on the technological readiness of the necessary infrastructure for the production, transport, storage, and utilization of green ammonia in internal combustion or electric engines.

Flying cars economically favor battery electric over fuel cell and internal combustion engine.

Flying cars, essentially vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), are an emerging, disruptive technology that is expected to reshape future transportation. VTOLs can be powered by battery electric, fuel cell, or internal combustion engine, which point to entirely different needs for industry expertise, research & development, supply chain, and infrastructure supports. A pre-analysis of the propulsion technology competition is crucial to avoid potential wrong directions of research, investment, and policy making efforts. In this study, we comprehensively examined the cost competitiveness of the three propulsion technologies. Here we show that battery electric has already become the lowest-cost option for below-200-km VTOL applications, covering intra-city and short-range inter-city travels. This cost advantage can be robustly strengthened in the long term under various technology development scenarios. Battery energy density improvement is the key to reducing cost. In particular, a 600 Wh/kg battery energy density provides battery electric with all-range cost advantage, and promises high return in business. Fuel cell and internal combustion engine, under certain technology development scenarios, can obtain cost advantage in long-range applications, but face intense competition from ground transportation such as high-speed rail. The findings suggest a battery-electric-prioritized VTOL development strategy, and the necessity of developing VTOL-customized high-energy-density batteries.

Research on cooling-temperature control strategy of fuel-cell engine test bench

AbstractAs one of the important ways to utilize hydrogen energy, fuel cells are receiving more and more attention and research from countries and institutions. To meet the practical needs of testing the performance of high-power fuel-cell systems and simulate the actual application environment as much as possible, a fuel-cell system test bench is usually used to test the system performance, in which the cooling-temperature control of the test bench has a great impact on the results of the performance of the fuel-cell system. This paper studies the cooling-temperature control strategy of a 150-kW-class fuel-cell engine test platform, proposes a new test-bench cooling-system structure with a thermostat and heat exchanger as the main heat-dissipation components, and compares and analyzes the impact of coordinated thermostat and heat-exchanger control on the fuel-cell system test performance. The test results show that the control strategy of the coordinated operation of a thermostat and heat exchanger can maintain the steady-state error to within ±0.3℃ and maintain the temperature variation to within ±1.5℃ during the loading-condition test, so as to avoid the limitation of system output performance due to excessive cooling-temperature fluctuation and ensure that the fuel-cell engine performance-test process is carried out smoothly and efficiently.

Adaptive energy management for fuel cell hybrid power system with power slope constraint and variable horizon speed prediction

An adaptive energy management strategy (EMS) is proposed to improve the economy and reliability of the fuel cell vehicle. Firstly, a variable horizon speed prediction method based on the principal component analysis and the K-means clustering is constructed. Then, an adaptive equivalent consumption minimization strategy (AECMS) with power slope constraints was designed to minimize the hydrogen consumption while ensuring reliability. Finally, a proportional-integral controller is used to track the air flow and pressure of the fuel cell engine (FCE) under energy distribution. Simulation results under West Virginia University Suburban (WVUSUB) show that the proposed strategy can improve the speed prediction accuracy by 2.80% and 25.57%, and reduce the hydrogen consumption by 2.79% and 2.66%, respectively, compared with the fixed 12 s and 15 s horizon. Moreover, the control error of oxygen excess ratio and the cathode pressure under energy distribution are 0.0102 (0.51%) and 189.4 Pa (0.0935%), respectively, indicating better reliability than the strategy without constraint.

Design and optimization of thermal strategy to improve the thermal management of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

This paper briefly recommends the working principle of the cooling system of the fuel cell engine (PEMFC), studies the control strategy of the thermostat in the cooling system, which couples the electric heater to shorten the water temperature fluctuation and save time. Cooling PEMFC is a challenge due to the small temperature differences between the stack and the environment. The fluctuation of water temperature and time transformation will lead to the change of system power, and further impact on the system's dynamic performance, reliability and life. Firstly, the simulation and experimental verification of cooling system of 30 kW fuel cell engine are presented. The influence of mechanical paraffin thermostat and electronic thermostat with certain control logic on the outlet temperature of the engine system stack is contrasted. Severe water temperature fluctuations will decrease the life of the system. Furthermore, the PID control and fuzzy PID control of temperature control valve are adopted, and the control method of coupling electric heater is used to solve the temperature fluctuation when the water temperature at the outlet of the stack is mixed. The results indicate that compared with the paraffin thermostat and PID controller, the fuzzy PID controller can obviously decrease the temperature fluctuation during the mixing of water temperature. Further, in different external environments, the fuzzy PID control coupling electric heater can reduce the temperature difference fluctuation to 0.5 °C when the system mixes large and small circulating water temperatures. The optimized coupling control strategy can decrease the water temperature fluctuation of the cooling system, thereby optimizing the temperature management of the cooling system, and significantly extending the power and reliability of the system.

Adaptive optimization strategy of air supply for automotive polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell in life cycle

• Adaptive optimization matching method of the PEMFC system is presented. • The adaptive model of degradation stack can be universally applied in life cycle. • Validation is completed on experimental data of commercialized fuel cell engine. • Effects of air compressor parameters on the system efficiency are investigated. • System efficiency could be improved above 5% by adaptive optimization method. In this study, an adaptive optimization matching method of the air supply is developed to maintain the high-efficiency operation of the automotive polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system in the life cycle. A 1-D non-isothermal model of the PEMFC stack with 150 kW designed power and a centrifugal air compressor model are developed, considering the fuel cell performance degradation. The genetic algorithm (GA) is used to optimize the overall system efficiency under various output powers to achieve adaptive matching. The 1-D stack model is validated with the experimental test results at two states (before and after 800 h degradation), considering the effect of degradation on the matching strategies. Through the optimization method, the centrifugal air compressor is adaptively matched with the stack of the proposed two states to develop the compressor matching strategies under various stack conditions individually. It is found that the efficiency of the system with this optimized method is 3.8% higher than that of the system without an optimized method under the full system power range. In addition, the new matching strategy between the air compressor and the stack after degradation is exploited by the adaptive optimization method. With the help of this method, the efficiencies of the system and the stack are 5.7% and 2.9% higher than that of the matching strategy without adaptive updating. It is shown that this adaptive optimization method not only improves the output efficiency of the stack but also reduces the additional parasitic power consumed by the compressor.

Management of the development of the marine industry elements in the context of global trends

The article presents the results of the study of the system elements of the maritime industry in Ukraine. The current state of development of maritime trade, as a key element of the domestic maritime complex, is studied. The indicators of maritime transport in Ukraine, the dynamics and structure of cargo flows, modern conditions of the development of the domestic maritime industry are analyzed. The assessment of the economic potential of seaports, the state of business activity of the largest stevedoring companies of Ukraine was carried out. Studies have shown that the volume of sea cargo flows is significantly inferior to road and rail transport in terms of scale. The volume of investments directed into the industry remains insignificant. The main trends in the development of the world maritime industry were studied, the key directions of the development of maritime trade of the EU countries for the near future were determined, the system of priorities and key requirements for the functioning of the maritime economy of European countries was studied, taking into account global competitive challenges. Among the main ones today are the following: priorities and goals of sustainable development: elimination of the gap in regional access to transport system networks, preservation of biodiversity of marine resources, prevention of climate change, digitization of maritime industry management, maximum effective use of the capacities of seaport-hubs. The prospective directions of the further development of the maritime industry in Ukraine in the context of the main trends taking place in the world system of maritime economic zones are substantiated. Studies have shown that the realization of the potential of the maritime industry in Ukraine is possible due to more active integration into the European maritime space and taking into account the strategic priorities of the further development of the EU countries. It was determined that the further management of the maritime industry in Ukraine should take into account national interests and global world trends, among the latter the key ones are: the use of nanotechnology, shipbuilding with LNG and hydrogen fuel cell engines, technologies for the use of Internet of Things, artificial intelligence in the management of port hubs, use of unmanned cargo vessels, digitalization of the maritime administration system. Keywords: maritime complex, maritime industry, maritime transport, management, development, stevedoring companies, sea ports.

Consistent Optimization and Durability Test of 41kW Fuel Cell Engine Based on Temperature Control Strategy

<div class="section abstract"><div class="htmlview paragraph">Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is regarded as the reality power source in the 21th century because of its characteristics of high energy density, low working noise, no air pollution, good cold-start performance, quickly start-up and so forth. However, the durability of fuel cell engine is an important factor hindering their mass commercialization and the stack`s consistency is the key factor of the durability for fuel cell engine. Based on the fuel cell water heat management subsystem control strategy, a decoupling control scheme for the temperature management subsystem coolant outlet temperature and inlet temperature is designed to improve the temperature distribution between individual batteries and individual batteries by adjusting the coolant temperature at the outlet and inlet in real time during the operation of the PEMFC system. The control strategy is applied to the 100,000 kilometers durability test for the 41kW fuel cell commercial vehicle. The results show that: To begin with, this control strategy can realize the decoupling control of the import and output temperature of the fuel cell stack coolant, and the average control error of the coolant import and output temperature is less than 0.2°C; Secondly, stake consistency (Cv) was significantly improved during the system test phase; Finally, the durability of the fuel cell stack has been significantly improved in the road test of 100,000 kilometers. From the perspective of the fuel cell engine, the durability of fuel cell stack under optimized the optimized conditions is improved by the water heat management subsystem control strategy.</div></div>

Research on Fuel Cell Fault Diagnosis Based on Genetic Algorithm Optimization of Support Vector Machine

The fuel cell engine mechanism model is used to research fault diagnosis based on a data-driven method to identify the failure of proton exchange membrane fuel cells in the process of operation, which leads to the degradation of system performance and other problems. In this paper, an extreme learning machine and a support vector machine are applied to classify the usual faults of fuel cells, including air compressor faults, air supply pipe and return pipe leaks, stack flooding faults and temperature controller faults. The accuracy of fault classification was 78.67% and 83.33% respectively. In order to improve the efficiency of fault classification, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the support vector machine. The simulation results show that the accuracy of fault classification was improved to 94% after optimization.

Performance and cost of fuel cells for off-road heavy-duty vehicles

Replacing hydrocarbon-powered off-road vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell-powered off-road vehicles can reduce carbon dioxide and criteria pollutant emissions in the agriculture, construction, and mining industries. Off-road vehicles perform challenging work in harsh environments that complicate deployment of their fuel cell-powered counterparts. Customers and vehicle manufacturers recognize the health and environmental benefits of emissions reductions but are compelled by the total cost of ownership of their vehicles. This study provides a novel technoeconomic comparison of hydrogen fuel cell + battery hybrid powertrains to traditional diesel powertrains for three hallmark off-road vehicles: tractors, wheel loaders, and excavators. Performance metrics include fuel cell engine power, hydrogen consumption rate, hydrogen storage system volume, energy-regenerative drivetrain efficiency, cost of capital, operating and maintenance cost, fuel cost, and fuel storage cost. Results demonstrate that state-of-the-art fuel cell-powered wheel loaders and excavators are currently cost competitive with diesel platforms by total cost of ownership: compact wheel loaders are 19% less expensive, large wheel loaders are equally expensive, mini/compact excavators are 11% more expensive, and standard/full excavators are 9% less expensive. If targeted improvements to cost, performance, and durability of fuel cell stacks and storage systems are achieved, fuel cell systems would be cost competitive for tractors and significantly lower total cost of ownership options for wheel loaders and excavators. This study also elucidates the relationship between performance, cost, and vehicle duty cycle and provides guidance for optimal deployment of fuel cell off-road vehicles. • Performance and total cost of ownership modeling of fuel cell vehicles. • FC powertrains are currently economically viable for wheel loaders and excavators. • FC powertrains become lower cost than diesel powertrains if ultimate targets are met.

Driving information process system-based real-time energy management for the fuel cell bus to minimize fuel cell engine aging and energy consumption

The traditional velocity prediction method has an unsatisfactory prediction effect on the starts and stops phase of the bus urban driving cycle, which caused the fuel cell engine large fluctuation of output power, life aging, and consequently low energy efficiency of the fuel cell bus (FCB). In addition, the load weight of the FCB fluctuates more than that of traditional passenger cars or logistics vehicles. From the viewpoint of frequent starts, stop and random change of load weight during the driving process, this paper proposes a driving information process system (DIPS) based real-time energy management, which adds pattern recognition to the long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network-based velocity prediction to improve starts and stops phase prediction precious. The prediction results show that this method can significantly improve the prediction effect of the low-velocity urban bus driving cycle. Moreover, the change of load weight caused by the change of passengers is considered to the energy management. The simulation results show that the DIPS-based real-time energy management equivalent hydrogen consumption is 2.5% higher than that of the traditional MPC-based energy management. Finally, the effectiveness and real-time performance of the energy management are verified by hardware in the loop test.