Performance Analysis of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine Driven Energy Efficient Low Power Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are becoming very popular but most of them use high power electrical motors that quickly burn hydrogen fuel. To address this concern, a low power permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) driven energy efficient fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is proposed in this paper. A proton exchange membrane hydrogen fuel cell (PEMFC) is used as an electricity generator to drive the PMSM. The fuel cell creates energy electrochemically where low dc voltage rating is obtained. A dc-dc boost converter is applied to increase the voltage rating. To drive the PMSM, an inverter is coupled to the boost converter to create suitable voltage and frequency. This paper analyzes the performance of the FCEV at different fuel flow rates. To get the best performance, an optimization is carried out, keeping the fuel flow rate at its optimum value. MATLAB-Simulink is used to analyze different segments of the FCEV. Various parameters of the fuel cell, converter, and the PMSM are plotted in the result section.