Multiobjective control of power converter in active hybrid fuel cell/battery power sources

Hybrid power sources composed of fuel cells and secondary batteries would combine the high energy density of fuel cells with the high power density of batteries. A DC-DC power converter could be placed between the fuel cell and the battery to balance the power flow, which would augment the peak output power greatly. This paper presents a novel multiobjective control strategy for the power converter in the hybrid power source. The control strategy is able to regulate the output current of the fuel cell and the charging current or voltage of the battery while limiting the discharging current of the battery. It can be used for two different configurations without any change. The control strategy is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink and tested by simulation and experiments. The results show that the multiobjective control strategy is able to select the regulation mode correctly and that the fuel cell current, the battery current and the battery voltage are regulated appropriately. Experiment results demonstrate the great flexibility and generality of the control strategy. Simulation and experiment results also show that power converter can be appropriately regulated to meet the multiple objectives required by hybrid power sources.