Optimal Design of Compact Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Systems

This work will use numerical methods to determine optimal design parameters for a compact hybrid fuel cell power system driven by a statistically determined load profile. Detailed physics-based models will be used to represent the behavior of the components in the hybrid system. The components considered in the hybrid system for Phase I will be a PEM fuel cell, Li-ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors. For the design of hybrid systems, the component models will be implemented in VTB Pro. Existing methods for bound constrained optimization will be used to design and optimize hybrid systems. Completion of Phase I will allow one to design accurately and specify hybrid systems subject to user–defined constraints.