Modeling and energy management of a photovoltaic‐fuel cell‐battery hybrid electric vehicle

Abstract

Automobile power systems are increasingly in need of renewable and clean energy sources such as solar energy and fuel cells in the context of global warming. This article investigates the feasibility of a photovoltaic‐fuel cell‐battery hybrid electric vehicle (PVFCHEV) via a model‐based approach and delivers two major original contributions. First, a completed PVFCHEV system, which consists of the electric power system, the control system, and the vehicle powertrain system, is modeled in detail in Matlab/Simulink environment. Second, a fuzzy logic control based energy management strategy (EMS) is developed, aiming to maximize solar energy utilization under the fast‐changing power demand, the variance of solar energy, and different levels of battery state‐of‐charge. The simulation results of the functional test, including idling, accelerating, and cruising at different solar radiations and battery states, reveal that the designed vehicular power system and the EMS work reasonably well. Then, with the simulation of a particular driving cycle test in three typical scenarios (high, low, and zero solar radiances with different battery SOC), the power system proves to work effectively and adaptively in different situations under the regulation of the EMS and demonstrates better fuel economy than using a widely‐adopted power‐following control strategy.