Optimal fuel cell power extraction

• Main Author: Nandakumar Santhosh
• Other Authors: Ali Iftekhar Maswood
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Power electronics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/43531
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Application of Fuel Cells in commercial applications such as automobiles (FCV's), Distributed generation and other energy related fields require a research oriented skeletal model which can be used to test and retest several practical scenarios. Following this requirement, one needs several Transient and Steady state model of a PEM Fuel Cell. This dissertation aims at combining the electrical model of the fuel cell along with a compatible DC/DC converter interface for an automobile drive train. The Voltage versus Current and hence Power versus Current characteristics of a PEM Fuel Cell is studied, as an alternate power source for application in Electric Powered Vehicle. The Fuel Cell stack has to be interfaced with a suitable DC-DC converter and DC-AC inverter before it can be connected to the drive train of the Electric vehicle (Cars, Busses etc.,). Moreover, a power controller has to track the fuel cell output and keep the operating point at an optimum power extraction point for various operating conditions. The project is focused on a simple electrical model of a PEM Fuel Cell, design of a DCDC converter, Controller and a Simple 3 phase SPWM inverter for the Fuel Cell model for interface with drive train of an electric vehicle (eg. SUV).