Efficient Voltage Control in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: An Approach based on Intelligent Algorithms

ABSTRACT

The fuel cells, as the recently emerged power sources, offer a number of unique benefits such as higher efficiency, lower environmental impacts, and suitable scalability. These merits are achieved by devising accurate and efficient control mechanisms adopted for enhanced technical performances. Evidently, rapid voltage variations and a slow dynamic response are recognized as important challenges for an efficient voltage control mission in fuel cells. To overcome such issues, the ongoing study addresses the design procedure and numerical validation of an intelligent approach to enhance the voltage control process in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) assembly. The implemented approach deploys the bacterial foraging algorithm (BFA) as the intelligent optimization engine. In mathematical statements, a complete modeling of PEMFC is first developed and then investigated thoroughly. To provoke an easy-implementable and trustable industrial controller, the renowned lead–lag controller is allocated herein. As the initial step, the established controller is tuned for a fixed operating point. Such practice, although reveals a good knowledge regarding the current state of the whole system, depreciates its performance in changing conditions. Thus, the second stage deploys the established BFA to optimally tune the controller against the changing conditions and faults happenings. Extensive numerical studies are carried out to assess the performance of the proposed controller. Results are discussed in depth.

KEYWORDS:

• Bacterial foraging algorithm (BFA)
• Efficient voltage control process
• Lead–lag controller
• Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Himan Hamedi

Himan Hamedi was born in Mahabad, Iran. He received his BSc degree in electrical engineering from Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran, in 2010, and the MSc degree in electrical engineering in 2015 from Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, Iran. He is currently a PhD student in electrical engineering in Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran. His research interests are in renewable energies and maximum power point tracking mechanisms in wind power systems.

E-mail: [email protected]

Rahmat Khezri

Rahmat Khezri was born in Oshnavieh, Iran. He received his BSc degree in electrical engineering from Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, in 2011, and the MSc degree in 2014 from University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran. His research interests include frequency control in large-scale power systems, power system stability and control using intelligent methods, wind power integration in power systems, and micro-grids control based on artificial intelligence approaches.

E-mail: [email protected]

Sajjad Golshannavaz

Sajjad Golshannavaz received the BSc (Honors) and MSc (Honors) degrees in electrical engineering from Urmia University, Urmia, Iran, in 2009 and 2011, respectively. He received his PhD degree from School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, in 2015. Currently, he is an assistant professor in Electrical Engineering Department, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. Since 2014, he has been collaborating with the smart electric grid research laboratory, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy. His research interests are centered on smart distribution grids, optimal operation and planning of distribution systems, distributed generations, power markets, and FACTS applications in power systems.

E-mail: [email protected]

Behrouz Ershadifard

Behrouz Ershadifard received the BSc degree in electrical engineering from Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. Also, he received his MSc degree in electrical engineering from Ahar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahar, Iran in 2015. His research interest includes the renewable and distributed generations. He is a researcher of telecommunication in Iran TCI about BSS of mobile and developing of data and a member of Sama Faculty, Ardabil Islamic University.

E-mail: [email protected]