Incremental fuzzy with PSO optimization for improving the pressure stability of hydrogen and oxygen recovery 5 kW PEM fuel cell system under variable load conditions

Abstract

The longevity and efficiency of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is related to the stability of the hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2) pressures within. Variations in these pressures may cause detrimental me- chanical limitations. Controlling the difference between the pressures is essential to preventing reactant insuf- ficiency or fuel waste. Conventional control techniques like PID controller often struggle with dynamic system variations and load fluctuations. This paper introduces two advanced control strategies to enhance pressure stability: an improved incremental fuzzy logic controller (IFLC) utilizing a (7 × 7) membership function scaling and a PID controller optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO). Unlike previous studies that focused on smaller PEMFC systems (3 kW and 500 W) and relied primarily on conventional PID controllers, this work evaluates a larger 5-kW PEMFC system, providing a more comprehensive assessment of H2/O2 pressures regulation. Simulation results, conducted in MATLAB/Simulink, demonstrate that the IFLC and PSO-optimized PID significantly enhance H2/O2 pressures stability under varying load demands. The IFLC, in particular, ach- ieves superior robustness, quick response time, and zero overshoot, minimizing performance indices such as integral absolute error (IAE) (0.0067, 0.0165), integral square error (ISE) (0.0016, 0.0035), mean absolute error (MAE) (0.0007, 0.002). These results confirm the effectiveness of the IFLC in ensuring long-term PEMFC reli- ability and efficiency.