Content area
This study deals with a fuel-cell-based power supply system created from a fuel cell stack with a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and controller monitoring system (Horizon Fuell Cell Technologies (HFCT)). In the fuel cell (FC) stack H60, the reactants are air and hydrogen. Reactants are used for the generation of electricity. The reactants supply fuel cell stacks with hydrogen through the hydrogen supply valve, and redundant reactants are extruded from the region of the 20 fuel cells of the H60 stack through the purge valve, both controlled by an FC controller. The main contribution of this study is the proposal, practical design and integration of an embedded monitoring system into the function of a fuel-cell-based power supply system for monitoring its operation parameters in mobile applications (such as in UGVs—Unmanned Ground Vehicles). The next contribution is the usage of INA226 power monitors for the measurement of input/output parameters in selected parts of the fuel-cell-based power supply system for the evaluation of electrical efficiency or power loss in the system. The third contribution is the integration of Bluetooth technology for the transfer of data from a fuel-cell-based power supply system in a mobile platform to a smartphone or PC for monitoring and data processing. At the end of this study, the computed efficiency values of the fuel cell stack, controller and switching power supply outputs are analysed, and the advantages, disadvantages and practical experience are summarized.
Details
Electric power loss;
Data processing;
Electrodes;
Applications programs;
Equilibrium;
Protons;
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells;
Mobile computing;
Heat;
Energy;
Engines;
Monitoring;
Entropy;
Efficiency;
Embedded systems;
Electrolytes;
Oxidation;
Smartphones;
Temperature;
Carbon dioxide;
Design;
Unmanned ground vehicles;
Hydrogen production;
Controllers;
Parameters;
Hydrogen
; Popardovská Eva 2 ; Popardovský Vladimír 2 ; Babjak Marián 1 1 Department of Electronics, Armed Forces Academy of Gen. M. R. Štefánik, Demänová 393, 031 01 Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia; [email protected]
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Armed Forces Academy of Gen. M. R. Štefánik, Demänová 393, 031 01 Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia; [email protected] (E.P.); [email protected] (V.P.)