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