Controlling a Dynamic Fuel Cell System for the Propulsion of a Regional Aircraft

Kurzfassung

In this work, a dynamic polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell system is modelled in Modelica using the in-house developed, open-source library ThermoFluidStream. The focus lies on the fuel cell stack, the hydrogen fuel supply and the air supply. Additionally, the thermal management and the power electronics are considered in a simplified manner. Dynamic simulations are carried out for this system over an exemplary aircraft gate-to-gate mission. Simultaneously, a baseline control scheme is developed to provide the fuel cell with sufficient product gases in a suitable state regarding the temperature, pressure and relative humidity. The results indicate that the fuel cell system performs well with standard PI controllers. Only when strong dynamics occur, such as when going from taxi to take-off, does the control scheme show some weaknesses, as expected. This fuel cell system together with its control is a powerful baseline for future investigations.