Optimal Design of Hybrid Fuel Cell Vehicles

Abstract

Automotive use of fuel cells has received increased attention due to clean and efficient power generation. Successful vehicular applications require careful balance of design and control trade-offs. This article presents a model-based vehicle design capability with sufficient fidelity and efficiency to perform design and power management optimization using quasisteady fuel cell performance maps. Optimized fuel cell systems demonstrate a trade-off between power density and efficiency depending on compressor size. Vehicle performance can be improved significantly when the fuel cell system is designed to balance this trade-off.