HYBRID FUEL CELL ELECTRIC VEHICLES

ABSTRACT:
Power sources hybridization for fuel cell vehicles can overcome Short comings such as slow cold start-up, slow dynamic response to load Change and no regenerative energy capture. The hybridization can also Reduce the vehicle weight and power source's cost as well as increase the Vehicle fuel efficiency. The system analysis in this report shows hybrid control is necessary To make sure the fuel cell and the energy storage device working properly and safely Batteries are favored as the energy storage device in Hybridization with a fuel cell system from the consideration of energy density, technology maturity, and cost. The Panasonic D-size battery understudy has high internal impedance, and wide variation with temperature. It would be difficult to control the hybrid system to achieve consistent Performance. It is recommended to look at the alternative battery Options that could offer high power and low impedance. The conclusions are highly dependent on the fuel system and Energy storagesystem. The use of hybrid batteries with significant power density and the use of fuel cells with much quicker load response might result in a different hybridization strategy and different fuel efficiency.

1. INTRODUCTION:
Fuel cell powered vehicles are well known for their extremely high cost, less efficiency at lower power operation. They are not compatible with the regenerative braking system (regenerative fuel cell might fix this problem). A FC system with a reformer takes at least Minutes to start from cold, and has sluggish dynamic response to load change. A "hybrid" vehicle usually refers to one that incorporates a minimum of two Separate power sources in its power train system. In the application of fuel cell vehicles, this means a fuel cell system coupled with one or more power sources or energy storage devices such as batteries or super capacitors. One of the primary advantages of this dual power supply system is the flexibility in power distribution between sources. This versatility yields greater potential to optimize the vehicle power train to meet vehicle performance, fuel economy and cost requirements. In order to take the advantage of this system flexibility, the sizes of the fuel cell system and supplemental power system have to be properly matched. It is equally critical to integrate the system with an intelligent control strategy that uses each component to optimize the overall system performance. This paper reviews the general concept of hybrid fuel cell EV with the emphasis on The fuel cell and battery combination. The issues related to the hybrid system design are discussed. The system trade-off study was performed to show how to meet the requirements of FCV performance targets, and the improvements achieved in vehicle acceleration and cold start time with the hybrid over the existing reformer fuel cell technology. This paper also explains why the appropriate control is necessary in such a hybrid system and how it affects the system efficiency. Finally, the cost and life issues are briefly discussed.

2.1 WHY HYBRID?

A fuel cell system can use either direct hydrogen fuel or reformed fuel from methanol, gasoline, etc. The fuel cell with a fuel processor consists of a series of complex chemical reactors that have a limited dynamic range.The processor has a relatively slow dynamic response as compared to the fuel cell stack. The power system acts as an integrated unit with a Response time given by that of its slowest component. Under a transient load, the thermal inertia of the heat transfer surfaces and catalyst beds in a thermally integrated fuel processor will typically result in a mismatch between the heat available and that needed by the reactants. This can lead to temporary, localized temperatures that differ from the optimal steady-state values. The reformer is designed so that the catalysts remain at optimal temperatures Irrespective of variations in load/reactant mass flow, by means of circulating heat transfer medium (such as oil) in close thermal contact with catalyst via high surface area. The DBBs PEM fuel cell engine with the reformer takes atleast three minutes to start from cold. The dynamic response time of the Franger 50kW methanol PEMFC engine is about 10kW/second with little loss in transient efficiency. These performances are not acceptable to the customers who have been used to the conventional internal combustion engine The hybridization of a fuel cell system with an energy storage device, such as a battery, can solve the long cold start and slow dynamic response problems. The battery can be used to start the fuel cell and to provide energy to heat the fuel reformer to reduce star-up time. Battery energy storage also has the advantages in cost, size, weight and technology maturity in the near future. The efficiency of a fuel cell varies with its load. A hybrid system has the potential to control the power outputs from the dual sources to achieve better total system efficiency, and therefore, to reduce the cooling requirement. 2.2 ARCHITECTURE Unlike the hybrid vehicles that combine a conventional IC engine with an electric powertrain, hybrid FCEV have two power sources coupled electrically to the electric drive system, which converts the electrical power into mechanical power to drive the vehicle.

Since both fuel cell and battery provide DC electric power, theoretically, they can be connected either in series or in parallel. However, the series architecture is not practical. Therefore, the hybrid FCEV to be considered will have a fuel cell and an energy storage device connected in parallel, as shown in Fig. 1. The output voltages from the two systems either are the same when directly connected or have a fixed relation when a converter or an equivalent device is applied.