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The percentage of the population in urban areas has increased by ten points from 2000 (46%) to 2020 (56%); it is expected to reach up to 70% by 2050. This undoubtedly will encourage society to use alternative transports. On the other hand, the widespread fear of pandemics seems to be here to stay, and it is causing most people to leave public transport to use private cars, and a few have chosen unipersonal electric vehicles. As a consequence, the decision of using private cars negatively affects the air quality, and consequently urban population health. This paper aims to demonstrate a sustainable solution for urban mobility based on a hydrogen powered unipersonal electric vehicle, which, as shown, provides great advantages over the conventional battery powered unipersonal electric vehicle. To show this, the authors have developed both vehicles in comparable versions, using the same platform, and ensuring that the total weight of the unipersonal electric vehicle was the same in both cases. They have been subjected to experimental tests that support the features of the hydrogen-based configuration versus the battery-based one, including higher specific energy, more autonomy, and shorter recharge time.
F. Isorna Llerena; E. López González; J. Caparrós Mancera; F. Segura Manzano; J. Andújar. Hydrogen vs. Battery-Based Propulsion Systems in Unipersonal Vehicles—Developing Solutions to Improve the Sustainability of Urban Mobility. Sustainability 2021, 13, 5721 .
AMA StyleF. Isorna Llerena, E. López González, J. Caparrós Mancera, F. Segura Manzano, J. Andújar. Hydrogen vs. Battery-Based Propulsion Systems in Unipersonal Vehicles—Developing Solutions to Improve the Sustainability of Urban Mobility. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (10):5721.
Chicago/Turabian StyleF. Isorna Llerena; E. López González; J. Caparrós Mancera; F. Segura Manzano; J. Andújar. 2021. "Hydrogen vs. Battery-Based Propulsion Systems in Unipersonal Vehicles—Developing Solutions to Improve the Sustainability of Urban Mobility." Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5721.
This work deals with the prediction of variables for a hydrogen energy storage system integrated into a microgrid. Due to the fact that this kind of system has a nonlinear behaviour, the use of traditional techniques is not accurate enough to generate good models of the system under study. Then, a hybrid intelligent system, based on clustering and regression techniques, has been developed and implemented to predict the power, the hydrogen level and the hydrogen system degradation. In this research, a hybrid intelligent model was created and validated over a dataset from a lab-size migrogrid. The achieved results show a better performance than other well-known classical regression methods, allowing us to predict the hydrogen consumption/generation with a mean absolute error of 0.63% with the test dataset respect to the maximum power of the system.
José-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Francisco Vivas; Francisca Segura; Antonio Barragán; Jose Calvo-Rolle; José Andújar. Hybrid Intelligent Modelling in Renewable Energy Sources-Based Microgrid. A Variable Estimation of the Hydrogen Subsystem Oriented to the Energy Management Strategy. Sustainability 2020, 12, 10566 .
AMA StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca, Francisco Vivas, Francisca Segura, Antonio Barragán, Jose Calvo-Rolle, José Andújar. Hybrid Intelligent Modelling in Renewable Energy Sources-Based Microgrid. A Variable Estimation of the Hydrogen Subsystem Oriented to the Energy Management Strategy. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (24):10566.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Francisco Vivas; Francisca Segura; Antonio Barragán; Jose Calvo-Rolle; José Andújar. 2020. "Hybrid Intelligent Modelling in Renewable Energy Sources-Based Microgrid. A Variable Estimation of the Hydrogen Subsystem Oriented to the Energy Management Strategy." Sustainability 12, no. 24: 10566.
This article presents a methodological foundation to design and experimentally test a Model Predictive Controller (MPC) to be applied in renewable source-based microgrids with hydrogen as backup. The Model Predictive Controller has been developed with the aim to guarantee the best energy distribution while the microgrid operation is optimized considering both technical and economic parameters. As a differentiating element, this proposal provides a solution to the problem of energy management in real systems, addressing technological challenges such as charge management in topologies with direct battery connection, or loss of performance associated with equipment degradation or the required dynamics in the operation of hydrogen systems. That is, the proposed Model Predictive Controller achieves the optimization of microgrid operation both in the short and in the long-term basis. For this purpose, a generalized multi-objective function has been defined that considers the energy demand, operating costs, system performance as well as the suffered and accumulated degradation by microgrid elements throughout their lifespan. The generality in the definition of the model and cost function, allows multi-objective optimization problems to be raised depending on the application, topology or design criteria to be considered. For this purpose, a heuristic methodology based on artificial intelligence techniques is presented for the tuning of the controller parameters. The Model Predictive Controller has been validated by simulation and experimental tests in a case study, where the performance of the microgrid under energy excess and deficit situations has been tested, considering the constrains defined by the degradation of the systems that make up the microgrid. The designed controller always made it possible to guarantee both the power balance and the optimal energy distribution between systems according to the predefined priority and accumulated degradation, while guaranteeing the maximum operating voltage of the system with a margin of error less than 1%. The simulation and experimental results for the case study showed the validity of the controller and the design methodology used.
Francisco J. Vivas Fernández; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar Márquez; Antonio J. Calderón Godoy. Extended Model Predictive Controller to Develop Energy Management Systems in Renewable Source-Based Smart Microgrids with Hydrogen as Backup. Theoretical Foundation and Case Study. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8969 .
AMA StyleFrancisco J. Vivas Fernández, Francisca Segura Manzano, José Manuel Andújar Márquez, Antonio J. Calderón Godoy. Extended Model Predictive Controller to Develop Energy Management Systems in Renewable Source-Based Smart Microgrids with Hydrogen as Backup. Theoretical Foundation and Case Study. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (21):8969.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancisco J. Vivas Fernández; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar Márquez; Antonio J. Calderón Godoy. 2020. "Extended Model Predictive Controller to Develop Energy Management Systems in Renewable Source-Based Smart Microgrids with Hydrogen as Backup. Theoretical Foundation and Case Study." Sustainability 12, no. 21: 8969.
This paper proposes a multi-objective model predictive control (MPC) designed for the power management of a multi-stack fuel cell (FC) system integrated into a renewable sources-based microgrid. The main advantage of MPC is the fact that it allows the current timeslot to be optimized while taking future timeslots into account. The multi-objective function solves the problem related to the power dispatch at time that includes criteria to reduce the multi-stack FC degradation, operating and maintenance costs, as well as hydrogen consumption. Regarding the scientific literature, the novelty of this paper lies in the proposal of a generalized MPC controller for a multi-stack FC that can be used independently of the number of stacks that make it up. Although all the stacks that make up the modular FC system are identical, their levels of degradation, in general, will not be. Thus, over time, each stack can present a different behavior. Therefore, the power control strategy cannot be based on an equal distribution according to the nominal power of each stack. On the contrary, the control algorithm should take advantage of the characteristics of the multi-stack FC concept, distributing operation across all the stacks regarding their capacity to produce power/energy, and optimizing the overall performance.
Antonio José Calderón; Francisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. Integration of a Multi-Stack Fuel Cell System in Microgrids: A Solution Based on Model Predictive Control. Energies 2020, 13, 4924 .
AMA StyleAntonio José Calderón, Francisco José Vivas, Francisca Segura, José Manuel Andújar. Integration of a Multi-Stack Fuel Cell System in Microgrids: A Solution Based on Model Predictive Control. Energies. 2020; 13 (18):4924.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio José Calderón; Francisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. 2020. "Integration of a Multi-Stack Fuel Cell System in Microgrids: A Solution Based on Model Predictive Control." Energies 13, no. 18: 4924.
Hydrogen economy is one of the recently opened alternatives in the field of non-polluting energy. Hydrogen fuel cells show high performance, high reliability in stationary applications and minimal environmental impact. To increase the efficiency of the hydrogen fuel cell it is very important to have a good model to predict its dynamic behavior. In addition, this model must be able to adapt iteratively to the changes that occur in its performance due to operating conditions and even to the degradation through its lifespan. This paper presents the application of an iterative fuzzy modeling methodology based on the extended Kalman filter applied to a real hydrogen fuel cell. Two algorithms based on the Kalman filter will be compared with the well-known backpropagation algorithm from three different initializations: by uniform partitioning, subtractive clustering and CMeans clustering. The used data have been collected during the actual operation of a real 3.4 kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell. As the article experimentally shows, the Takagi-Sugeno type fuzzy model allows to create a very accurate nonlinear dynamic model of the fuel cell, which can be very useful to design an efficient fuel cell control system.
Antonio J. Barragan; Juan M. Enrique; Francisca Segura; Jose M. Andujar. Iterative Fuzzy Modeling of Hydrogen Fuel Cells by the Extended Kalman Filter. IEEE Access 2020, 8, 180280 -180294.
AMA StyleAntonio J. Barragan, Juan M. Enrique, Francisca Segura, Jose M. Andujar. Iterative Fuzzy Modeling of Hydrogen Fuel Cells by the Extended Kalman Filter. IEEE Access. 2020; 8 (99):180280-180294.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAntonio J. Barragan; Juan M. Enrique; Francisca Segura; Jose M. Andujar. 2020. "Iterative Fuzzy Modeling of Hydrogen Fuel Cells by the Extended Kalman Filter." IEEE Access 8, no. 99: 180280-180294.
This paper proposes a fuzzy logic-based energy management system (EMS) for microgrids with a combined battery and hydrogen energy storage system (ESS), which ensures the power balance according to the load demand at the time that it takes into account the improvement of the microgrid performance from a technical and economic point of view. As is known, renewable energy-based microgrids are receiving increasing interest in the research community, since they play a key role in the challenge of designing the next energy transition model. The integration of ESSs allows the absorption of the energy surplus in the microgrid to ensure power supply if the renewable resource is insufficient and the microgrid is isolated. If the microgrid can be connected to the main power grid, the freedom degrees increase and this allows, among other things, diminishment of the ESS size. Planning the operation of renewable sources-based microgrids requires both an efficient dispatching management between the available and the demanded energy and a reliable forecasting tool. The developed EMS is based on a fuzzy logic controller (FLC), which presents different advantages regarding other controllers: It is not necessary to know the model of the plant, and the linguistic rules that make up its inference engine are easily interpretable. These rules can incorporate expert knowledge, which simplifies the microgrid management, generally complex. The developed EMS has been subjected to a stress test that has demonstrated its excellent behavior. For that, a residential-type profile in an actual microgrid has been used. The developed fuzzy logic-based EMS, in addition to responding to the required load demand, can meet both technical (to prolong the devices’ lifespan) and economic (seeking the highest profitability and efficiency) established criteria, which can be introduced by the expert depending on the microgrid characteristic and profile demand to accomplish.
Francisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar; Adriana Palacio; Jaime Luis Saenz; Fernando Isorna; Eduardo López. Multi-objective Fuzzy Logic-based Energy Management System for Microgrids with Battery and Hydrogen Energy Storage System. Electronics 2020, 9, 1074 .
AMA StyleFrancisco José Vivas, Francisca Segura, José Manuel Andújar, Adriana Palacio, Jaime Luis Saenz, Fernando Isorna, Eduardo López. Multi-objective Fuzzy Logic-based Energy Management System for Microgrids with Battery and Hydrogen Energy Storage System. Electronics. 2020; 9 (7):1074.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar; Adriana Palacio; Jaime Luis Saenz; Fernando Isorna; Eduardo López. 2020. "Multi-objective Fuzzy Logic-based Energy Management System for Microgrids with Battery and Hydrogen Energy Storage System." Electronics 9, no. 7: 1074.
The progressive increase in hydrogen technologies’ role in transport, mobility, electrical microgrids, and even in residential applications, as well as in other sectors is expected. However, to achieve it, it is necessary to focus efforts on improving features of hydrogen-based systems, such as efficiency, start-up time, lifespan, and operating power range, among others. A key sector in the development of hydrogen technology is its production, renewable if possible, with the objective to obtain increasingly efficient, lightweight, and durable electrolyzers. For this, scientific works are currently being produced on stacks technology improvement (mainly based on two technologies: polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and alkaline) and on the balance of plant (BoP) or the industrial plant (its size depends on the power of the electrolyzer) that runs the stack for its best performance. PEM technology offers distinct advantages, apart from the high cost of its components, its durability that is not yet guaranteed and the availability in the MW range. Therefore, there is an open field of research for achievements in this technology. The two elements to improve are the stacks and BoP, also bearing in mind that improving BoP will positively affect the stack operation. This paper develops the design, implementation, and practical experimentation of a BoP for a medium-size PEM electrolyzer. It is based on the realization of the optimal design of the BoP, paying special attention to the subsystems that comprise it: the power supply subsystem, water management subsystem, hydrogen production subsystem, cooling subsystem, and control subsystem. Based on this, a control logic has been developed that guarantees efficient and safe operation. Experimental results validate the designed control logic in various operating cases, including warning and failure cases. Additionally, the experimental results show the correct operation in the different states of the plant, analyzing the evolution of the hydrogen flow pressure and temperature. The capacity of the developed PEM electrolysis plant is probed regarding its production rate, wide operating power range, reduced pressurization time, and high efficiency.
Julio José Caparrós Mancera; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar; Francisco José Vivas; Antonio José Calderón. An Optimized Balance of Plant for a Medium-Size PEM Electrolyzer: Design, Control and Physical Implementation. Electronics 2020, 9, 871 .
AMA StyleJulio José Caparrós Mancera, Francisca Segura Manzano, José Manuel Andújar, Francisco José Vivas, Antonio José Calderón. An Optimized Balance of Plant for a Medium-Size PEM Electrolyzer: Design, Control and Physical Implementation. Electronics. 2020; 9 (5):871.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJulio José Caparrós Mancera; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar; Francisco José Vivas; Antonio José Calderón. 2020. "An Optimized Balance of Plant for a Medium-Size PEM Electrolyzer: Design, Control and Physical Implementation." Electronics 9, no. 5: 871.
The growth of the world’s energy demand over recent decades in relation to energy intensity and demography is clear. At the same time, the use of renewable energy sources is pursued to address decarbonization targets, but the stochasticity of renewable energy systems produces an increasing need for management systems to supply such energy volume while guaranteeing, at the same time, the security and reliability of the microgrids. Locally distributed energy storage systems (ESS) may provide the capacity to temporarily decouple production and demand. In this sense, the most implemented ESS in local energy districts are small–medium-scale electrochemical batteries. However, hydrogen systems are viable for storing larger energy quantities thanks to its intrinsic high mass-energy density. To match generation, demand and storage, energy management systems (EMSs) become crucial. This paper compares two strategies for an energy management system based on hydrogen-priority vs. battery-priority for the operation of a hybrid renewable microgrid. The overall performance of the two mentioned strategies is compared in the long-term operation via a set of evaluation parameters defined by the unmet load, storage efficiency, operating hours and cumulative energy. The results show that the hydrogen-priority strategy allows the microgrid to be led towards island operation because it saves a higher amount of energy, while the battery-priority strategy reduces the energy efficiency in the storage round trip. The main contribution of this work lies in the demonstration that conventional EMS for microgrids’ operation based on battery-priority strategy should turn into hydrogen-priority to keep the reliability and independence of the microgrid in the long-term operation.
Andrea Monforti Ferrario; Francisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar; Enrico Bocci; Luigi Martirano. Hydrogen vs. Battery in the Long-term Operation. A Comparative Between Energy Management Strategies for Hybrid Renewable Microgrids. Electronics 2020, 9, 698 .
AMA StyleAndrea Monforti Ferrario, Francisco José Vivas, Francisca Segura Manzano, José Manuel Andújar, Enrico Bocci, Luigi Martirano. Hydrogen vs. Battery in the Long-term Operation. A Comparative Between Energy Management Strategies for Hybrid Renewable Microgrids. Electronics. 2020; 9 (4):698.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Monforti Ferrario; Francisco José Vivas; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Manuel Andújar; Enrico Bocci; Luigi Martirano. 2020. "Hydrogen vs. Battery in the Long-term Operation. A Comparative Between Energy Management Strategies for Hybrid Renewable Microgrids." Electronics 9, no. 4: 698.
It is well proved that remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPASs) are very useful systems for remote sensing in precision agricultural labors. INTA (National Institute for Aerospace Applications) and the University of Huelva are involved in Tecnolivo Project that proposes the development of a marketable and easy-to-use technological solution that allows integrated, ecological, and optimized management of the olive grove through non-invasive monitoring of key agronomic parameters using RPASs. The information collected by the RPAS in regards to the state of the vegetation, such as hydric stress levels, plague detection, or maturation of the fruit, are very interesting for farmers when it comes to make decisions about their crops. Current RPAS applications for precision agriculture are mainly developed for small- to medium-sized crops using rotary-wing RPASs with small range and endurance operation, leaving aside large-sized crops. This work shows the conversion of a fully declassified and obsolete fixed-wing internal combustion engine (ICE) remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), used as aerial target for military applications and in reconnaissance and surveillance missions at low cost, into an electric lithium polymer (LiPo) battery-driven RPA that will be used for precision agriculture in large-sized crop applications, as well as other applications for tracking and monitoring of endangered animal species in national parks. This RPA, being over twenty years old, has undergone a deep change. The applied methodology consisted of the design of a new propulsion system, based on an electric motor and batteries, maintaining the main airworthiness characteristics of the aircraft. Some other novelties achieved in this study were: (1) Change to a more efficient engine, less heavy and bulky, with a greater ratio of torque vs. size. Modernization of the fly control system and geolocation system. (2) Modification of the type and material of the propeller, reaching a higher performance. (3) Replacement of a polluting fuel, such as gasoline, with electricity from renewable sources. (4) Development of a new control software, etc. Preliminary results indicate that the endurance achieved with the new energy and propulsion systems and the payload weight available in the RPA meet the expectations of the use of this type of RPAS in the study of large areas of crops and surveillance.
Fernando Isorna Llerena; Álvaro Fernández Barranco; José Antonio Bogeat; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. Converting a Fixed-Wing Internal Combustion Engine RPAS into an Electric Lithium-Ion Battery-Driven RPAS. Applied Sciences 2020, 10, 1573 .
AMA StyleFernando Isorna Llerena, Álvaro Fernández Barranco, José Antonio Bogeat, Francisca Segura, José Manuel Andújar. Converting a Fixed-Wing Internal Combustion Engine RPAS into an Electric Lithium-Ion Battery-Driven RPAS. Applied Sciences. 2020; 10 (5):1573.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFernando Isorna Llerena; Álvaro Fernández Barranco; José Antonio Bogeat; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. 2020. "Converting a Fixed-Wing Internal Combustion Engine RPAS into an Electric Lithium-Ion Battery-Driven RPAS." Applied Sciences 10, no. 5: 1573.
Fuel cells are a promising technology to use as a source of electricity and heat for buildings, and as an electrical power source for electric motors propelling vehicles. They consume hydrogen as fuel and oxygen to produce electricity, heat and water. Conventional fuels, such as natural gas, methanol, or even gasoline are reformed to produce the hydrogen required by the fuel cells. During the reforming process, impurities are inevitably obtained in the hydrogen flow. One of them is ammonia (NH3) that can result in serious damage to the fuel cell operation. In this paper, the effects produced by different concentrations of NH3 present in the hydrogen flow on the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) performance are studied, differentiating between irreversible and recoverable damages. Strictly experimental, the study includes both low and high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC). The NH3 poisoning effect is analyzed and quantified by comparing the polarization curves. After the poisoning stage, the cells are subjected to a regeneration process (feeding the cell with neat H2) with the aim of knowing the membrane's recovery capacity. The experimental results demonstrate that in low temperature (LT)‐PEFCs, the cell recovers its performance almost completely with a new exposure to neat H2, in spite of the damage previously caused by the presence of traces of NH3 in the anode feed stream. In contrast, in high temperature (HT)‐PEFCs, the cell suffers irreversible damage, even with short time exposure to NH3. The paper concludes with discussing the possible chemical interactions by which NH3 affects the cell performance.
Fernando Isorna Llerena; A. De Las Heras Jiménez; Eduardo López González; F. Segura Manzano; J. M. Andújar Márquez. Effects of Ammonia Impurities on the Hydrogen Flow in High and Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Fuel Cells 2019, 19, 651 -662.
AMA StyleFernando Isorna Llerena, A. De Las Heras Jiménez, Eduardo López González, F. Segura Manzano, J. M. Andújar Márquez. Effects of Ammonia Impurities on the Hydrogen Flow in High and Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Fuel Cells. 2019; 19 (6):651-662.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFernando Isorna Llerena; A. De Las Heras Jiménez; Eduardo López González; F. Segura Manzano; J. M. Andújar Márquez. 2019. "Effects of Ammonia Impurities on the Hydrogen Flow in High and Low Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells." Fuel Cells 19, no. 6: 651-662.
Hydrogen-based energy storage and generation is an increasingly used technology, especially in renewable systems because they are non-polluting devices. Fuel cells are complex nonlinear systems, so a good model is required to establish efficient control strategies. This paper presents a hybrid model to predict the variation of H2 flow of a hydrogen fuel cell. This model combining clusters’ techniques to get multiple Artificial Neural Networks models whose results are merged by Polynomial Regression algorithms to obtain a more accurate estimate. The model proposed in this article use the power generated by the fuel cell, the hydrogen inlet flow, and the desired power variation, to predict the necessary variation of the hydrogen flow that allows the stack to reach the desired working point. The proposed algorithm has been tested on a real proton exchange membrane fuel cell, and the results show a great precision of the model, so that it can be very useful to improve the efficiency of the fuel cell system.
José-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Antonio Javier Barragán; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Luis Calvo-Rolle; José Manuel Andújar. Fuel Cell Hybrid Model for Predicting Hydrogen Inflow through Energy Demand. Electronics 2019, 8, 1325 .
AMA StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca, Antonio Javier Barragán, Francisca Segura Manzano, José Luis Calvo-Rolle, José Manuel Andújar. Fuel Cell Hybrid Model for Predicting Hydrogen Inflow through Energy Demand. Electronics. 2019; 8 (11):1325.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Antonio Javier Barragán; Francisca Segura Manzano; José Luis Calvo-Rolle; José Manuel Andújar. 2019. "Fuel Cell Hybrid Model for Predicting Hydrogen Inflow through Energy Demand." Electronics 8, no. 11: 1325.
A fuel cell is a complex system, which produces electricity through an electrochemical reaction. For the formal application of control strategies on a fuel cell, it is very important to have a precise dynamic model of it. In this paper, a dynamic model of a real hydrogen fuel cell is obtained to predict its response. The data used in this paper to obtain the model have been acquired from a real fuel cell subjected to different load patterns by means of a programmable electronic load. Using this data, a nonlinear model based on a hybrid intelligent system is obtained. This hybrid model uses artificial neural networks to predict the output current of the fuel cell in a very precise way. The use of a hybrid scheme improves the performance of neural networks reducing to half the mean squared error obtained for a global model of the fuel cell.
José-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Antonio Javier Barragán; Francisca Segura; José Luis Calvo-Rolle; José Manuel Andújar. Fuel Cell Output Current Prediction with a Hybrid Intelligent System. Complexity 2019, 2019, 1 -10.
AMA StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca, Antonio Javier Barragán, Francisca Segura, José Luis Calvo-Rolle, José Manuel Andújar. Fuel Cell Output Current Prediction with a Hybrid Intelligent System. Complexity. 2019; 2019 ():1-10.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJosé-Luis Casteleiro-Roca; Antonio Javier Barragán; Francisca Segura; José Luis Calvo-Rolle; José Manuel Andújar. 2019. "Fuel Cell Output Current Prediction with a Hybrid Intelligent System." Complexity 2019, no. : 1-10.
In this work, a new low-cost and high-performance system for cells voltage monitoring and degradation studies in air-cooled polymer electrolyte fuel cells has been designed, built and validated in the laboratory under experimental conditions. This system allows monitoring in real time the cells’ voltages, the stack current and temperature in fuel cells made of up to 100 cells. The developed system consists of an acquisition system, which complies with all the recommendations and features necessary to perform degradation tests. It is a scalable configuration with a low number of components and great simplicity. Additionally, the cell voltage monitoring (CVM) system offers high rate of accuracy and high reliability and low cost in comparison with other commercial systems. In the same way, looking for an "All-in-One" solution, the acquisition hardware is accompanied by a software tool based on the "plug and play" philosophy. It allows in a simple way obtaining information from the cells and performing a degradation analysis based on the study of the polarisation curve. The different options and tools included in the CVM system permit, in a very intuitive and graphical way, detecting and quantifying the cell degradation without the need of isolating the stack from the system. Experimental tests carried out on the system validate its performance and show the great applicability of the system in cases where cell faults detection and degradation analysis are required.
Francisco José Vivas; Ainhoa De Las Heras; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. Cell voltage monitoring All-in-One. A new low cost solution to perform degradation analysis on air-cooled polymer electrolyte fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2019, 44, 12842 -12856.
AMA StyleFrancisco José Vivas, Ainhoa De Las Heras, Francisca Segura, José Manuel Andújar. Cell voltage monitoring All-in-One. A new low cost solution to perform degradation analysis on air-cooled polymer electrolyte fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019; 44 (25):12842-12856.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancisco José Vivas; Ainhoa De Las Heras; Francisca Segura; José Manuel Andújar. 2019. "Cell voltage monitoring All-in-One. A new low cost solution to perform degradation analysis on air-cooled polymer electrolyte fuel cells." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 44, no. 25: 12842-12856.
In the field of energy, hydrogen as an energetic vector is becoming increasingly important. Specifically, fuel cells powered by hydrogen are becoming an alternative in automotive and other fields because of their ability to produce electricity without any pollution. Therefore, at this time there is a very active research field. A fuel cell can be described as a scale down industrial plant that consists of different subsystems whose purpose is to make the stack works properly. Air Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (AC-PEFC) are receiving special attention due to their potential to integrate the oxidant and cooling subsystems into one, which in term gives the fuel cells their capability to reduce its weight, volume, cost and control complexity. In these fuel cells, the Oxidant/Cooling subsystem is of crucial importance and along with three others (Fuel, Electrical and Control subsystems) make up the Balance of Plant (BoP), which together with the stack comprise the full fuel cell system. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive experimental study of an AC-PEFC paying particular attention to the Oxidant/Cooling subsystem configuration. According to the scientific literature, this subsystem has not received the same attention as other subsystems like the Fuel and Control subsystems. However, a suitable design and size is critical for the proper functioning of the stack. The analysis carried out in this paper tries to solve some problems that can appear if the design of the Oxidant/Cooling subsystem has not been optimized. These problems are related to important aspects such as the performance and the efficiency of the whole system and temperature distribution over the stack.
A. De Las Heras; F.J. Vivas; F. Segura; M.J. Redondo; J.M. Andújar. Air-cooled fuel cells: Keys to design and build the oxidant/cooling system. Renewable Energy 2018, 125, 1 -20.
AMA StyleA. De Las Heras, F.J. Vivas, F. Segura, M.J. Redondo, J.M. Andújar. Air-cooled fuel cells: Keys to design and build the oxidant/cooling system. Renewable Energy. 2018; 125 ():1-20.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. De Las Heras; F.J. Vivas; F. Segura; M.J. Redondo; J.M. Andújar. 2018. "Air-cooled fuel cells: Keys to design and build the oxidant/cooling system." Renewable Energy 125, no. : 1-20.
In the recent decades, researchers have been focussing more and more on renewable energy because of the known climate crisis that will occur in the near future. One possible solution is the use of fuel cells that generate clean energy. Regarding fuel cell technologies, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) are widely used for portable, stationary or automotive applications as well as backup systems for emergency situations. To build a full PEFC stack, a single cell is used, which is then stacked with more similar cells (the number of cells depends on the electrical power required) and are then integrated into the final product. In a cell, there are two parts that deserve special attention: membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and bipolar plates (BPs). This paper is dedicated to carry out detailed review of processes involved in these two parts, describing the catalyst deposition techniques and BPs manufacturing methods. Finally, a discussion of how to assemble the cells to build a stack of suitable power is included. The review shows the different techniques in chronological order to be able to understand where the fuel cells technology started, and all of the new developments that have been made over time. Each of the techniques has been studied separately in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of the various possible methods found in the scientific literature. After a description and analysis of each technique, a comparative evaluation has been carried out to highlight the most important characteristics of each technique. The review also shows that for fuel cells manufacturing technology to achieve good rates of accuracy, mass production and homogeneity, research should be aimed at achieving less restrictive manufacturing and environmental conditions, and equipment is required with lower costs.
A. De Las Heras; F.J. Vivas; F. Segura; J.M. Andújar. From the cell to the stack. A chronological walk through the techniques to manufacture the PEFCs core. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2018, 96, 29 -45.
AMA StyleA. De Las Heras, F.J. Vivas, F. Segura, J.M. Andújar. From the cell to the stack. A chronological walk through the techniques to manufacture the PEFCs core. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2018; 96 ():29-45.
Chicago/Turabian StyleA. De Las Heras; F.J. Vivas; F. Segura; J.M. Andújar. 2018. "From the cell to the stack. A chronological walk through the techniques to manufacture the PEFCs core." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 96, no. : 29-45.
J.M. Andújar; F. Segura; F. Isorna; A.J. Calderón. Comprehensive diagnosis methodology for faults detection and identification, and performance improvement of Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2018, 88, 193 -207.
AMA StyleJ.M. Andújar, F. Segura, F. Isorna, A.J. Calderón. Comprehensive diagnosis methodology for faults detection and identification, and performance improvement of Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2018; 88 ():193-207.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJ.M. Andújar; F. Segura; F. Isorna; A.J. Calderón. 2018. "Comprehensive diagnosis methodology for faults detection and identification, and performance improvement of Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 88, no. : 193-207.
F.J. Vivas; A. De Las Heras; F. Segura; José Manuel Andújar-Márquez. A review of energy management strategies for renewable hybrid energy systems with hydrogen backup. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2018, 82, 126 -155.
AMA StyleF.J. Vivas, A. De Las Heras, F. Segura, José Manuel Andújar-Márquez. A review of energy management strategies for renewable hybrid energy systems with hydrogen backup. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2018; 82 ():126-155.
Chicago/Turabian StyleF.J. Vivas; A. De Las Heras; F. Segura; José Manuel Andújar-Márquez. 2018. "A review of energy management strategies for renewable hybrid energy systems with hydrogen backup." Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 82, no. : 126-155.
This paper presents a real smart grid for distributed generation based on renewable energy sources and with hydrogen as backup element. The smart grid can operate in isolation or connected to another grid. The hybrid smart grid consists on solar panels (PV) and wind turbine (WT) as primary energy sources. Apart from the own load to supply, an electrolyzer (ELEC) will act as secondary load to ensure the energy balance in situations of excess production. Additionally, there are backup elements like a batteries bank (BAT) that is used as primary backup energy, and a fuel cell system (FC) as secondary backup energy. Then, it is necessary the use of hydrogen backup technologies like metal hybrid (MH) tanks. The main characteristic of the smart grid is that it incorporates an energy management system (EMS) which takes into account technical and economic criteria to optimize the operation of each of the systems involved at time that it ensures the power balance within the entire system. The EMS is based on the hysteresis concept around the state of charge (SOC) of the BAT, and at the optimum operating points of the FC and ELEC. In addition, a hydrogen management strategy will be included to maximize the yield in its production, storage and consumption. This smart grid has been implemented physically, so its performance is tested and experimental results can demonstrate its feasibility.
J. M. Andujar; F. Segura; M. A. Martínez. A renewable sources-based smart grid using hydrogen as backup. Optimization criteria for the energy management. 2017 Saudi Arabia Smart Grid (SASG) 2017, 1 -8.
AMA StyleJ. M. Andujar, F. Segura, M. A. Martínez. A renewable sources-based smart grid using hydrogen as backup. Optimization criteria for the energy management. 2017 Saudi Arabia Smart Grid (SASG). 2017; ():1-8.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJ. M. Andujar; F. Segura; M. A. Martínez. 2017. "A renewable sources-based smart grid using hydrogen as backup. Optimization criteria for the energy management." 2017 Saudi Arabia Smart Grid (SASG) , no. : 1-8.
This work presents a hardware/software data acquisition system developed for monitoring the temperature in real time of the cells in Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (AC-PEFC). These fuel cells are of great interest because they can carry out, in a single operation, the processes of oxidation and refrigeration. This allows reduction of weight, volume, cost and complexity of the control system in the AC-PEFC. In this type of PEFC (and in general in any PEFC), the reliable monitoring of temperature along the entire surface of the stack is fundamental, since a suitable temperature and a regular distribution thereof, are key for a better performance of the stack and a longer lifetime under the best operating conditions. The developed data acquisition (DAQ) system can perform non-intrusive temperature measurements of each individual cell of an AC-PEFC stack of any power (from watts to kilowatts). The stack power is related to the temperature gradient; i.e., a higher power corresponds to a higher stack surface, and consequently higher temperature difference between the coldest and the hottest point. The developed DAQ system has been implemented with the low-cost open-source platform Arduino, and it is completed with a modular virtual instrument that has been developed using NI LabVIEW. Temperature vs time evolution of all the cells of an AC-PEFC both together and individually can be registered and supervised. The paper explains comprehensively the developed DAQ system together with experimental results that demonstrate the suitability of the system.
Francisca Segura; Veronica Bartolucci; José Manuel Andújar. Hardware/Software Data Acquisition System for Real Time Cell Temperature Monitoring in Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Sensors 2017, 17, 1600 .
AMA StyleFrancisca Segura, Veronica Bartolucci, José Manuel Andújar. Hardware/Software Data Acquisition System for Real Time Cell Temperature Monitoring in Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. Sensors. 2017; 17 (7):1600.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancisca Segura; Veronica Bartolucci; José Manuel Andújar. 2017. "Hardware/Software Data Acquisition System for Real Time Cell Temperature Monitoring in Air-Cooled Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells." Sensors 17, no. 7: 1600.
F.J. Vivas; A. De Las Heras; F. Segura; J.M. Andújar. H2RES2 simulator. A new solution for hydrogen hybridization with renewable energy sources-based systems. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2017, 42, 13510 -13531.
AMA StyleF.J. Vivas, A. De Las Heras, F. Segura, J.M. Andújar. H2RES2 simulator. A new solution for hydrogen hybridization with renewable energy sources-based systems. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2017; 42 (19):13510-13531.
Chicago/Turabian StyleF.J. Vivas; A. De Las Heras; F. Segura; J.M. Andújar. 2017. "H2RES2 simulator. A new solution for hydrogen hybridization with renewable energy sources-based systems." International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 42, no. 19: 13510-13531.