Evaluation of fluctuating voltage topology with fuel cells and supercapacitors for automotive applications
Journal article, 2019

To develop a single stage power conversion topology in which energy storage devices can be directly coupled, a fluctuating voltage topology is applied, leading to lower cost and more compactness with the absence of DC/DC converters. This paper investigates such topology for automotive applications where fuel cells are directly connected to the DC bus of the inverter, resulting in fluctuating voltage across the DC bus. Further, a supercapacitor pack is also introduced to maintain power capacity and voltage stability. The hybridization principle and practical application of such a topology are then discussed in the time domain and frequency domain. Furthermore, the transient power requirement is decomposed to design the size of fuel cells and supercapacitors. Simulation results from the modelling of the fuel cell‐supercapacitor powertrain demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of this topology. The supercapacitors can serve as a low‐pass filter for the fuel cells. In conclusion, the peak power requirement can be successfully achieved because of the lowered system impedance and the fuel cells only need to supply the average power.

DC/DC converters

supercapacitors

low‐pass filter

fuel cells

fluctuating voltage topology

Author

Qian Xun

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Electric Power Engineering

Yujing Liu

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Electric Power Engineering

International Journal of Energy Research

0363-907X (ISSN) 1099114x (eISSN)

Vol. 43 9 4807-4819

Cost-effective drivetrains for fuel cell powered EVs

Swedish Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC), 2017-01-01 -- 2019-06-30.

Floating voltage fuel cell drive system

Swedish Energy Agency (44935-1), 2018-01-01 -- 2018-08-31.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Energy Engineering

Energy Systems

Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering

Roots

Basic sciences

DOI

10.1002/er.4622

More information

Latest update

7/5/2024 1