Non-linear control for electric power stage of fuel cell vehicles

Abstract Tough driving conditions like hilly areas, slippery roads, rough terrains and high-speed driving dominate the effects of non-linearities present within each component of a vehicle. Such conditions cause the behavior of components like energy sources, power processing blocks and electric traction motors to deviate from their nominal behavior. This research work presents two non-linear control methodologies, one being Lyapunov and Backstepping based controller loops and the other being Synergetic based controller loops for these vehicles. Proposed controller methodologies take into account system’s non-linearities ensuring asymptotic stability of the controlled system over a wide operating range. Performance of the proposed controllers is validated in MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation model used here is a genuine representation of electric power stage in FC-HEV. The controlled system successfully tracks system parameters to reference values when subjected to driving attributes of European extra urban driving cycle (EUDC).