Real-time energy management strategy for fuel cell range extender vehicles based on nonlinear control

Energy management strategy (EMS) is very crucial for the hybrid power system of fuel cell range extender vehicles (FCREV) with respect to improving vehicle energy consumption economy. The objective of this article is to formulate a real-time EMS to efficiently regulate the energy flow of the hybrid power system under complex driving conditions. First, a nonlinear control system is developed to calculate the reference output current of the proton exchange membrane FC for energy management, and the theoretical stability of the nonlinear control system is proven by using the Lyapunov function. Then, a physics-based model of FCREVs is established in the Simulink environment, which considers the energy losses from the braking and the mechanical transmission system. Finally, fuzzy logic control is proposed as a benchmark to compare the performance of the proposed EMS in a combined driving cycle testing condition. The simulation results show that the proposed EMS has the potential for prolonging the lifespan of FC and achieves optimal energy consumption efficiency of FC, as well as improving the energy consumption economy of FCREVs.