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Energy Efficiency of PEM Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Source

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Energy Harvesting and Energy Efficiency

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Energy ((LNEN,volume 37))

Abstract

The chapter deals with a single DC bus hybrid configuration of a power source required for an automotive application. Such system architecture is the best choice for interconnecting multiple energy sources in order to meet the load profile in the most efficient way. This work analyzes a new PEM Fuel Cell stack-Hybrid Power Source (PEMFCs-HPS) topology consisting of a 5 kW PEMFC stack (primary source of power) and a bank of ultracapacitors (130 F, 56 V, 57 Wh) (auxiliary power source) to fulfill the high energy and high power requirements of the vehicle applications, wherein the power demand is impulsive rather than constant. This topology uses three programmable unidirectional DC/DC converters which connects the PEMFCs, the UC and the programmable electronic load. The energy management strategy (EMS) for different power sources has great effect in decreasing the fuel consumption, increasing the performance and the lifetime of the fuel cells. The proposed EMS is based on the FC efficiency map and on the state of charge of the UC. The EMS is used to split the power between the PEMFCs and the UC in the hybrid arrangement to fulfil the power requirement, which depends on the operating conditions considering the optimum power of PEMFCs and UC. An algorithm the EMS is able to achieve the steady-state PEMFCs operating with minimum hydrogen consumption and the UC state of charge (SoC) maintaining at values higher than 20%. The system ability to efficiently follow the load variations under that EMS is also presented. The consumption of hydrogen was reduced by 11.8% in comparison with the system without UC. The experimental data acquisition system is monitored and controlled using the NI Labview® software with the NI Compact-RIO hardware.

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Abbreviations

PEMFCs:

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell stack

UC:

Ultracapacitor

SoC:

State of Charge

EMS:

Energy Management Strategy

HPS:

Hybrid Power Sources

BoP:

Balance of Plant

DC:

Direct Current

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD), financed from the European Social Fund and the Romanian Government under the contract number POSDRU/159/1.5/S/137390.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pitesti, Targu din Vale Street no. 1, 110040, Pitesti, Romania

    Nicu Bizon

  2. National Research and Development Institute for Cryogenics and Isotopic Technologies - ICSI Rm.Valcea, Uzinei Street no. 4, P.O. Box Râureni 7, 240050, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania

    Mircea Raceanu

  3. University Politehnica of Bucharest, Splaiul Independentei Street no. 313, 060042, Bucharest, Romania

    Nicu Bizon & Mircea Raceanu

Authors
  1. Nicu Bizon
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  2. Mircea Raceanu
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Correspondence to Nicu Bizon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electronics, Communication, and Computers, University of Piteşti, Piteşti, Romania

    Nicu Bizon

  2. Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Seraj Higher Education Institute, Tabriz, Iran

    Naser Mahdavi Tabatabaei

  3. Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg East, Denmark

    Frede Blaabjerg

  4. Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey

    Erol Kurt

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Bizon, N., Raceanu, M. (2017). Energy Efficiency of PEM Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Source. In: Bizon, N., Mahdavi Tabatabaei, N., Blaabjerg, F., Kurt, E. (eds) Energy Harvesting and Energy Efficiency. Lecture Notes in Energy, vol 37. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49875-1_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49875-1_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49874-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49875-1

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