Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems
The turbocharging of hydrogen fuel cell systems (FCSs) has recently become a prominent research area, aiming to improve FCS efficiency to help decarbonise the energy and transport sectors. This work compares the performance of an electrically assisted variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT) with a fixe...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Matt L. Smith Alexander Fritot Davide Di Blasio Richard Burke Tom Fletcher |
| author_facet | Matt L. Smith Alexander Fritot Davide Di Blasio Richard Burke Tom Fletcher |
| author_sort | Matt L. Smith |
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| description | The turbocharging of hydrogen fuel cell systems (FCSs) has recently become a prominent research area, aiming to improve FCS efficiency to help decarbonise the energy and transport sectors. This work compares the performance of an electrically assisted variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT) with a fixed-geometry turbocharger (FGT) by optimising both the sizing of the components and their operating points, ensuring both designs are compared at their respective peak performance. A MATLAB-Simulink reduced-order model is used first to identify the most efficient components that match the fuel cell air path requirements. Maps representing the compressor and turbines are then evaluated in a 1D flow model to optimise cathode pressure and stoichiometry operating targets for net system efficiency, using an accelerated genetic algorithm (A-GA). Good agreement was observed between the two models’ trends with a less than 10.5% difference between their normalised e-motor power across all operating points. Under optimised conditions, the VGT showed a less than 0.25% increase in fuel cell system efficiency compared to the use of an FGT. However, a sensitivity study demonstrates significantly lower sensitivity when operating at non-ideal flows and pressures for the VGT when compared to the FGT, suggesting that VGTs may provide a higher level of tolerance under variable environmental conditions such as ambient temperature, humidity, and transient loading. Overall, it is concluded that the efficiency benefits of VGT are marginal, and therefore not necessarily significant enough to justify the additional cost and complexity that they introduce. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbeca14f1db94d9a9d7a71995ad83cb3 |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| spelling | doaj-art-dbeca14f1db94d9a9d7a71995ad83cb32025-08-20T02:24:39ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-04-01158438710.3390/app15084387Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell SystemsMatt L. Smith0Alexander Fritot1Davide Di Blasio2Richard Burke3Tom Fletcher4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UKDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UKThe turbocharging of hydrogen fuel cell systems (FCSs) has recently become a prominent research area, aiming to improve FCS efficiency to help decarbonise the energy and transport sectors. This work compares the performance of an electrically assisted variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT) with a fixed-geometry turbocharger (FGT) by optimising both the sizing of the components and their operating points, ensuring both designs are compared at their respective peak performance. A MATLAB-Simulink reduced-order model is used first to identify the most efficient components that match the fuel cell air path requirements. Maps representing the compressor and turbines are then evaluated in a 1D flow model to optimise cathode pressure and stoichiometry operating targets for net system efficiency, using an accelerated genetic algorithm (A-GA). Good agreement was observed between the two models’ trends with a less than 10.5% difference between their normalised e-motor power across all operating points. Under optimised conditions, the VGT showed a less than 0.25% increase in fuel cell system efficiency compared to the use of an FGT. However, a sensitivity study demonstrates significantly lower sensitivity when operating at non-ideal flows and pressures for the VGT when compared to the FGT, suggesting that VGTs may provide a higher level of tolerance under variable environmental conditions such as ambient temperature, humidity, and transient loading. Overall, it is concluded that the efficiency benefits of VGT are marginal, and therefore not necessarily significant enough to justify the additional cost and complexity that they introduce.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4387fuel cell systemPEM fuel cellturbomachineryoptimizationhydrogen vehicleturbo matching |
| spellingShingle | Matt L. Smith Alexander Fritot Davide Di Blasio Richard Burke Tom Fletcher Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems Applied Sciences fuel cell system PEM fuel cell turbomachinery optimization hydrogen vehicle turbo matching |
| title | Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems |
| title_full | Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems |
| title_fullStr | Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems |
| title_short | Matching and Control Optimisation of Variable-Geometry Turbochargers for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Systems |
| title_sort | matching and control optimisation of variable geometry turbochargers for hydrogen fuel cell systems |
| topic | fuel cell system PEM fuel cell turbomachinery optimization hydrogen vehicle turbo matching |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4387 |
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