Multivariable Robust Control of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell System
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Chen, Hsuan-Tsung
Abstract
This paper applies multivariable robust control strategies-central control and fixed-order control to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system and implements the designed controllers on a microchip for system miniaturization. From the system point of view, a PEMFC can be modeled as a two-input-two-output system, where the inputs are air and hydrogen flow rates and the outputs are cell voltage and current. By fixing the output resistance, the system can be further reduced to a two-input-single-output system. That is, we can either control the cell voltage or current output by regulating the air and the hydrogen flow rates. Since most electrical equipment requires constant voltage supply, in this thesis we aim to control the cell voltage output. Due to the nonlinear characteristics of this system, multivariable robust controllers were designed to provide robust performance and to reduce the hydrogen consumption of this system. However, for standard robust control design, the order of resulting controllers is constrained by the plants and weighting functions. For hardware implementation, controllers with lower orders are preferable in terms of computing efforts and cost. Therefore, we apply fixed-order robust control algorithms to design controllers with specified orders for a PEMFC, and evaluate efficiency of the system employing these controllers. Furthermore, the designed controllers are implemented on a microchip for system miniaturization. From the experimental results, multivariable robust control is deemed effective in supplying steady power and reducing fuel consumption.
Subjects
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell
Robust control
System identification
Fixed-order optimization
Hydrogen efficiency
System implementation
Type
thesis
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