Multi-objective optimization of SOFC systems

Abstract

For solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) development, maximizing its electrical efficiency and minimizing its cost are two important optimization objects. A new optimization strategy is proposed in this work, which can maximize the SOFC electrical efficiency and minimize the cost in the case of an air leakage fault. The proposed optimization method involves a fault diagnosis module, a switching module and two backup optimizers. The fault diagnosis part is employed to identify the SOFC current fault type, and the switching module is used to select the appropriate backup optimizer. For the efficiency and cost are two conflicting objectives, the multi-objective optimization strategy based on a non-dominated sorting particle swarm optimization algorithm is applied to determine the trade-off solutions. The optimization results show the proposed method can achieve the maximum efficiency and the minimum cost in the case of SOFC normal, and even in the air leakage fault.