Parameter optimization of thermal-model-oriented control law for PEM fuel cell stack via novel genetic algorithm

It is critical to understand and manage the thermal effects in optimizing the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. And building up the control-oriented thermal model of PEMFC stack is necessary. The thermal model, a set of differential equations, is established according to the conservation equations of mass and energy, which can be used to reflect truly the actual temperature response of PEMFC stack, however, the expressions of the model are too complicated to be used in the design of control. For this reason, the expressions are converted into the affine state space control-oriented model in detail for the variable structure control (VSC) strategy. Meanwhile, the accurate model must be established for the VSC and the parameters of VSC laws should be optimized. Consequently, a novel genetic algorithm (NGA) is developed to optimize the parameter of thermal-model-oriented control law for PEMFC stack. Finally, numerical test results demonstrate the effectiveness and rationality of the method proposed in this paper. It lays the foundation for the realization of online thermal management of PEMFC stack based on VSC.

► We build up the thermal expressions of PEMFC stack.
► The expressions are converted into the affine state space control-oriented model for the VSC strategy.
► The NGA is developed to optimize the parameter of thermal-model-oriented control law.
► Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness and rationality of the method proposed.