The Application Of Fuel Cell Emulation In The Design Of An Electric Vehicle Powertrain

This paper presents a technique for the design of the powertrain of a fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle. The fuel cell used is a "pseudo" fuel cell emulated using a power converter. This power converter emulates both static and dynamic behaviour, including the effects of the hydrogen gas supply and air compressor observed in a fuel cell system. The powertrain is then designed around the fuel cell addressing issues in the performance of the cell. Typical design aspects include DC-DC converters to couple the fuel cell to the batteries and supercapacitors. The test system utilizes an inverter in the back-to-back configuration to load the powertrain's inverter. It is used to subject the designed powertrain of the vehicle to practical load cycle power demands. Load cycle analysis is done to optimize the design and develop a control strategy. This design technique promises to be an inexpensive way of analyzing both the performance issues of a fuel cell used in such an application and the interaction between the components of a powertrain. It may then be used to develop powertrain control strategies. Real-time testing of the power converters may then be carried out under realistic operating conditions