A coupled power-voltage equilibrium strategy based on droop control for fuel cell/battery/supercapacitor hybrid tramway

In order to improve the robustness of the energy management system (EMS) and avoid the influence of demand power on the design of EMS, a coupled power-voltage equilibrium strategy based on droop control (CPVE-DC) is proposed in this paper. Making use of the principal that the DC bus can directly reflect the changes of load power, the proposed strategy couples DC bus voltage with output powers through droop control to achieve self-equilibrium. The proposed EMS is applied into a hybrid tramway model configured with multiple proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) systems, batteries and super capacitors (SCs). FC systems and SC systems are responsible for satisfying most of the demand power, therefore the CPVE-DC strategy generates FCs and SCs reference power through power-voltage droop control on the primary control. Then batteries supplement the rest part of load power and generate DC bus voltage reference value of the next sampling time. With the gambling between output power and DC bus voltage, the hybrid system achieves self-equilibrium and steps into steady operation by selecting appropriate droop coefficients. Then the secondary control of the proposed strategy allocates power between every single unit. In addition, a penalty coefficient is introduced to balance SOC of SCs. The proposed strategy is tested under a real drive cycle LF-LRV on RT-LAB platform. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy can achieve self-equilibrium and is effective to allocate demand power among these power sources,achieve active control for the range of DC bus voltage and SOC consensus of SCs as well. In addition, some faults are simulated to verify the robustness of the proposed strategy and it turns out that the CPVE-DC strategy possesses higher robustness. Finally, the CPVE-DC strategy is compared with equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) and the results shows that the proposed strategy is able to get higher average efficiency and lower equivalent fuel consumption.     

A simple robust controller for power maximization of a variable‐speed wind turbine

This paper presents a high‐order sliding mode control strategy that aims to optimize the power conversion efficiency of a wind energy conversion system within the partial load zone of operation. The main challenges of this control problem are related to the random variations of the wind speed, the nonlinear nature of the whole system, usual model uncertainties and external disturbances. For all these reasons, the robustness, simplicity and low computational burden of the proposed super‐twisting algorithm result very attractive in this context. Simulation results that show the achievement of the desired characteristics are provided. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation on the online fuzzy energy management of hybrid fuel cell/battery power system for UAVs

The hybrid powerplant combining a fuel cell and a battery has become one of the most promising alternative power systems for electric unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). To enhance the fuel efficiency and battery service life, highly effective and robust online energy management strategies are needed in real applications.In this work, an energy management system is designed to control the hybrid fuel cell and battery power system for electric UAVs. To reduce the weight, only one programmable direct-current to direct-current (dcdc) converter is used as the critical power split component to implement the power management strategy. The output voltage and current of the dcdc is controlled by an independent energy management controller. An executable process of online fuzzy energy management strategy is proposed and established. According to the demand power and battery state of charge, the online fuzzy energy management strategy produces the current command for the dcdc to directly control the output current of the fuel cell and to indirectly control the charge/discharge current of the battery based on the power balance principle.Another two online strategies, the passive control strategy and the state machine strategy, are also employed to compare with the proposed online fuzzy strategy in terms of the battery management and fuel efficiency. To evaluate and compare the feasibility of the online energy management strategies in application, experiments with three types of missions are carried out using the hybrid power system test-bench, which consists of a commercial fuel cell EOS600, a Lipo battery, a programmable dcdc converter, an energy management controller, and an electric load. The experimental investigation shows that the proposed online fuzzy strategy prefers to use the most power from the battery and consumes the least amount of hydrogen fuel compared with the other two online energy management strategies.     

Development of solid oxide fuel cell and battery hybrid power generation system

Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid generation system is the best scheme for the load tracking of off-grid monitoring stations. But there are still potential problems that need to be addressed: preventing fuel starvation and ensuring thermal safety while meeting load tracking in hybrid power generation system. In order to solve these problems, a feasible hybrid power generation system structure scheme is proposed which combined SOFC subsystem and Li-ion battery subsystem. Then a model of the hybrid power generation system is built based on the proposed system structure. On this basis, an adaptive controller, include the adaptive energy management algorithm and current feedforward gas supply strategy, is applied to manage the power-sharing in this hybrid system as well as keep the system operating within the safety constraints. The constraints, including maintaining the bus voltage at the desired level, keeping SOFC operating temperature in safety, and mitigating fuel starvation are explicitly considered. The stability of the proposed energy management algorithm is analyzed. Finally, the developed control algorithm is applied to the hybrid power generation system model, the operation result proves the feasibility of the designed controller strategy for hybrid generation system and effectively prevent fuel starvation and ensure thermal safety.     

Development of new energy management strategy for a household fuel cell/battery hybrid system

This work aims to construct an efficient and robust fuel cell/battery hybrid operating system for a household application. The ability to dispatch the power demands, sustain the state of charge (SOC) of battery, optimize the power consumption, and more importantly, ensure the durability as well as extend the lifetime of a fuel cell system is the basic requirements of the hybrid operating system. New power management strategy based on fuzzy logical combined state machine control is developed, and its effectiveness is compared with various strategies such as dynamic programming (DP), state machine control, and fuzzy logical control with simulation. Experimental results are also presented, except for DP because of difficulties in achieving real‐time implementation and much faster response to load variation. The given current from the energy management system (EMS) as a reference of the fuel cell output current is determined by filtering out various harmful signals. The new power management strategy is applied to a 1‐kW stationary fuel cell/battery hybrid system. Results show that the fuel cell hybrid system can run much smoothly with prolonged lifetime.     

基于SOC的混合储能风电功率平抑方法

近年来风电等可再生能源的装机容量越来越大,鉴于风电的输出功率随机性特别强且波动性十分大,在混合储能风电平抑系统的基础上引进滞环控制,提出了一种基于超级电容端电压的能量管理方法。该方法通过在低通滤波算法中引进滞环控制,可将风电功率的波动幅度严格控制在滞环宽度之内;同时根据监控超级电容端电压判断电池的荷电状态(SOC),防止超级电容频繁过度地充电和放电,有利于延长储能装置的工作寿命,最后通过仿真试验,验证了该方法的有效性。     

Energy control of supercapacitor/fuel cell hybrid power source

This paper deals with a flatness based control principle in a hybrid system utilizing a fuel cell as a main power source and a supercapacitor as an auxiliary power source. The control strategy is based on regulation of the dc bus capacitor energy and, consequently, voltage regulation. The proposed control algorithm does not use a commutation algorithm when the operating mode changes with the load power variation and, thus, avoids chattering effects. Using the flatness based control method, the fuel cell dynamic and its delivered power is perfectly controlled, and the fuel cell can operate in a safe condition. In the hybrid system, the supercapacitor functions during transient energy delivery or during energy recovery situations. To validate the proposed method, the control algorithms are executed in dSPACE hardware, while analogical current loops regulators are employed in the experimental environment. The experimental results prove the validity of the proposed approach.     

High-Order Sliding Control for a Wind Energy Conversion System Based on a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator

This paper presents the output power control of a wind energy conversion system (WECS) based on a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). It is assumed that the considered wind module integrates a stand-alone hybrid generation system, jointly with a battery bank, a variable ac load, and other generation subsystems. The operation strategy of the hybrid system determines two possible operation modes for the WECS, depending on the power requirements of the load and the wind availability. The paper deals with the design of a combined high-order sliding mode (HOSM) controller for the power control of the WECS on both operational modes. The main features of the obtained controller are its chattering-free behavior, its finite-time reaching phase, its simplicity, and its robustness with respect to external disturbances and unmodeled dynamics. The performance of the closed-loop system is assessed through representative computer simulations.      

Energy harvesting from sediment microbial fuel cell to supply uninterruptible regulated power for small devices

Sediment microbial fuel cell (SMFC) is a bio‐electrochemical device that generates direct current by microbes present in the soil. The main drawback of SMFC is the low voltage and fluctuations. Therefore, a suitable scheme is required to obtain sufficient voltage with insignificant fluctuation. This paper proposes an energy harvester power management system (PMS) to get rid of low voltage and fluctuation problem of SMFC. The proposed PMS is composed of a dc‐dc boost converter, switches, and super capacitors. The boost converter (using LTC3108 IC) successfully steps up the voltage up to 2.658 V and provides it to the load for 1.5 minutes. Four SMFCs connected with four individual super capacitors and a single boost converter has been used to implement this scheme. In this strategy, the charging and discharging time of the SMFCs are controlled in such a way that the continuous power will be supplied to the load with the optimum number of SMFCs. This scheme is tested on an experimental setup. It is found that the energy harvester PMS supplies a continuous voltage of 2.658 V with the efficiency of 85.46%, which is sufficient to power for small devices such as remote environment sensors, temperature sensors, LED lighting, and submersible ultrasonic receiver.     

Enhancing the operation of fuel cell-photovoltaic-battery-supercapacitor renewable system through a hybrid energy management strategy

It is necessary to have an energy management system based on one or more control strategies to sense, monitor, and control the behavior of the hybrid energy sources. In renewable hybrid power systems containing fuel cells and batteries, the hydrogen consumption reduction and battery state of charge (SOC) utilizing are the main objectives. These parameters are essential to get the maximum befits of cost reduction as well as battery and hydrogen storage lifetime increasing. In this paper, a novel hybrid energy management system (HEMS) was designed to achieve these objectives. A renewable hybrid power system combines: PV, PEMFC, SC, and Battery was designed to supply a predetermined load with its needed power. This (REHPS) depends on the PV power as a master source during the daylight. It uses the FC to support as a secondary source in the night or shading time. The battery is helping the FC when the load power is high. The supercapacitor (SC) is working at the load transient or load fast change. The proposed energy management system uses fuzzy logic and frequency decoupling and state machine control strategies working together as a hybrid strategy where the switching over between both strategies done automatically based on predetermined values to obtain the minimum value of hydrogen consumption and the maximum value of SOC at the same time. The proposed HEMS achieves 19.6% Hydrogen consumption saving and 5.4% increase in SOC value compared to the results of the same two strategies when working as a stand-alone. The load is designed to show a surplus power when the PV power is at its maximum value. This surplus power is used to charge the battery. To validate the system, the results were compared with the results of each strategy if working separately. The comparison confirms the achievement of the hybrid energy management system goal.     

Design and set up of a hybrid power system (PV-WT-URFC) for a stand-alone application in Mexico

The Mexican territory has a large potential for renewable energy development, such as geothermal, hydro, biofuels, wind and solar. Thus, a 2.5 kW hybrid power system (solar, wind and hydrogen) was designed and installed to meet the power demand for a stand-alone application at the University of Zacatecas. The hybrid unit integrates three power energy sources –a photovoltaic system (PV), a micro-wind turbine (WT), a prototype of a unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) and energy storage devices (batteries)– in addition to their interaction methodology. The main contribution of this work is the URFC integration to a hybrid power system for the production of H₂ (water electrolyzer mode) and energy (fuel cell mode). These three energy technologies were connected in parallel, synchronized to the energy storage system and finally coupled to a power conversion module. To achieve the best performance and energy management, an energy management and control strategy was developed to the properly operation of the power plant. A meteorological station that has wireless sensors for the temperature, the humidity, the solar radiation and the wind speed provides the necessary information (in real time) to the monitor and control software, which computes and executes the short and mid–term decisions about the energy management and the data storage for future analysis.     

Solid oxide fuel cell-lithium battery hybrid power generation system energy management: A review

The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)/lithium battery hybrid energy structure uses lithium batteries as the energy buffer unit to ensure that the SOFC can operate safely and stably when the load power increases suddenly. For the SOFC/lithium battery hybrid power generation system, a real-time energy management strategy based on power prediction is discussed, and an in-depth summary is made from system construction, power prediction, energy distribution, and power tracking. In the hybrid power generation system, the SOFC system and the lithium battery influence each other. Research the appropriate energy management strategies and realize real-time energy distribution and tracking of hybrid power generation systems in order to improve system performance and economy. This has become a key issue in the current SOFC hybrid power generation system research field.     

Study on the control strategy for a boost converter used in hybrid energy storage system of electric vehicles

升压型直流变换器采用滑模变结构控制策略存在收敛速度较慢、抖振剧烈等导致的动态响应品质差问题。本文提出一种双幂次滑模趋近滞环控制策略,在电流跟踪误差估计值的基础上定义滑模面以实现电流跟踪控制,依据系统的未知扰动和负载变化建立自适应状态观测器,结合李雅普诺夫函数设计自适应律,并计算自适应占空比。提出一种双幂次趋近律,根据系统不同趋近过程的特点制定参数选择标准,对系统的动态响应品质进行目的性调节,并设计滑模滞环控制器以削弱由符号函数项所引起的抖振。对以上方法进行了仿真验证,结果显示可有效改善系统的动态特性和电流控制鲁棒性。     

基于集合经验模态分解的微电网混合储能优化配置

为了平抑微电网联络线功率,该文采用磷酸铁锂电池与超级电容组合的方式进行微电网混合储能优化配置。首先,根据电网调度安排,将微电网净负荷分解为联络线功率与混合储能系统总功率。其次,通过集合经验模态分解将混合储能总功率分解为锂电池平抑的低频分量与超级电容平抑的高频分量,并建立混合储能的等年值成本、平抑联络线功率、能量供需平衡目标函数,采用自适应粒子群算法求解混合储能容量。根据储能的荷电状态,采用模糊控制算法对锂电池、超级电容的充放电功率进行二次修正,保证储能系统的长期运行。基于某并网型微电网进行算例分析,仿真验证该方法的经济性与有效性。     

Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system: Control strategy for stand-alone configurations

The aim of this study is the development and testing of a control system for solid oxide fuel cell hybrid systems through dynamic simulations. Due to the complexity of these cycles, several parameters, such as the turbine rotational speed, the temperatures within the fuel cell, the differential pressure between the anodic and the cathodic side and the Steam-To-Carbon Ratio need to be monitored and kept within safe limits. Furthermore, in stand-alone conditions the system response to load variations is required to meet the global plant power demand at any time, supporting global load variations and avoiding dangerous or unstable conditions. The plant component models and their integration were carried out in previous studies. This paper focuses on the control strategy required for managing the net electrical power from the system, avoiding malfunctions or damage. Once the control system was developed and tuned, its performance was evaluated by simulating the transient behaviour of the whole hybrid cycle: the results for several operating conditions are presented and discussed.     

A new method for dynamic performance improvement of a hybrid power system by coordination of converter's controller

In this paper, a new strategy for modeling and controlling a hybrid power generation system that contains a fuel cell (FC) and super capacitor (SC) system is proposed. The main drawback of FC systems is its slow dynamic because the FC current slope must be limited in order to prevent fuel starvation problems and to improve its efficiency and lifetime. To overcome this slow dynamic and to improve dynamic performance, a new control strategy is proposed to combine FC system with SC system. The proposed control strategy can be also used for cold starting and different types of FC systems with different dynamics. The control strategy is capable of determining the desired FC power to prolong FC system lifetime and keeps the AC and DC voltages around its nominal value in transient event by supplying propulsion power and recuperating FC energy. The minimum SC system is computed in new method and used to meet the load demand to constraint the DC bus voltage and enhances power regulation under various active and reactive load conditions. Two different case studies are used to obtain the simulation results using MATLAB/SIMULINK to verify the validity of the proposed control strategy.     

Model construction and energy management system of lithium battery,PV generator,hydrogen production unit and fuel cell in islanded AC microgrid

The external electrical characteristics of the lithium battery, PV generator, hydrogen production unit (HPU) and fuel cell in islanded AC microgrid are well analyzed with mathematic models, based on which an energy management system among the abovementioned elements is proposed by using the bus frequency signaling. Specifically, the functions of lithium battery with the variables of the residual capacity and instantaneous working power are well designed to deliver its operation information to other units. The P-f droop control strategy is designed for the PV generator to make it adaptively work off from the maximum power point to the reference power point. The control strategy of HPU can make it work from the maximum efficiency point mode to the allowable maximum power point mode to absorb PV output power as much as possible when the lithium battery is almost getting full charged. Similarly, the fuel cell controller can regulate its power generation from the maximum efficiency point mode to the maximum power point to supply the local load as much as possible when the lithium battery is almost getting full discharged. Finally, the proposed energy management system is verified based on RTLAB experimental platform to show the effectiveness of the proposed coordination control strategy.     

A direct borohydride–peroxide fuel cell–LiPO battery hybrid motorcycle prototype – II

In this study, a direct borohydride–peroxide fuel cell (DBPFC)–LiPo battery hybrid motorcycle, called HYBROTO, was developed. The hybrid system was designed using a 10-cell DBPFC stack with 120 W of maximum power as the main power source, a 12 LiPo battery pack with 6300 mAh and 65 C for energy storage and as auxiliary power source, and a brushless DC (BLDC) motor. In addition, a voltage-monitoring integrated circuit for fuel cells, a battery management unit, and a motor control circuit were developed to command the DBPFC, LiPo battery, and BLDC motor, respectively. The hybrid system was managed and synchronized by a main control unit (MCU) containing a synchronous bidirectional buck–boost converter and a boost converter. For performance tests, the DBPFC–battery system and BLDC motor were installed in an electric motorcycle body. Performance tests were carried out in the hybrid system under a constant load of 60 W. The hybrid system showed a satisfactory performance under the constant load with an efficiency of 67%. However, the MCU requires further improvement to provide more stable power output. The motorcycle prototype was tested at the 2016 International Symposium on Sustainable Aviation organized by the Sustainable Aviation Research Society.     

基于分级模糊控制风力太阳能混合发电控制系统的研究

针对分散式风力太阳能混合发电系统的特点,提出了基于分级模糊控制器的风力太阳能混合发电能量管理控制方法,设计了一四级分级模糊控制器来实现对系统的能量管理和控制;并对所设计的能量管理系统进行了仿真研究,仿真结果表明所设计的控制器具有良好的控制性能,证明此方案是可行的。