Fuel Cell Model Development

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

As the automotive industry continues to de-carbonise, Fuel Cell vehicles provide a promising alternative to conventional ICE vehicles. Characterising a fuel cell virtually is fundamental in unlocking performance and efficiency gains in its operation and development. Using data and specifications from the manufacturer to develop a theoretical model is often time consuming given the number of parameters and the level of fidelity desired in each use case. Therefore, the main aim of this work is to parameterise and develop automotive fuel cell models which will improve and fulfil the current model requirements derived from industry use cases such as Hardware in the Loop systems and virtual sensors for onboard monitoring. The initial stages of the project will include narrowing the scope through both an in-depth literature search and review and communication with the industry partner to define the model itself. From here the fuel cell model development process will contribute to a significant proportion of the research project, with the model needing to satisfy the use case but also improve upon what is already available to the industry partner. Following this, careful design of the experimental procedure will take place in order to optimise the data acquisition process. This will then lead to the verification of the model, reducing error between modelled and measured values. It is envisaged that the required data for the project will be supplied by AVL as well as experimental testing at a later date using DoE methods. The parameterisation procedure will aim to reduce the hardware required on the UUT by optimising the parametrisation process. The main challenge associated with this project is the amount of data handled throughout. Fuel cells are complex to model and therefore include a huge set of parameters leading to a large amount of data needed to fully characterise the cell. This in turn increases the measurements required during the experimental procedures. Given that the intended output of this work is to develop and define a fuel cell model, parameterisation process and experimental process which is more efficient and accessible there are clear benefits and impacts as a result. The model development process will allow for a simplification of the model generation and selection used in industry, as well as unlocking new potential avenues to explore within the subject such as cell aging which at this moment is a relatively poorly understood area. This will allow better understanding of performance, efficiency, and longevity gains in the development of fuel cells. Streamlining the experimental design procedure and parametrisation process reduces both financial and time costs associated with testing but also allows models to be more widely accessible, given these processes will have been optimised.