| A theoretical analysis of a Fuel Cell - Internal Combustion Engine Series Hybrid Vehicle was conducted using ADVISOR software. ADVISOR is an open source vehicle simulation software developed by NREL. The main purpose of this work was to visualize a fuel cell (FC) - internal combustion engine (ICE) powered series hybrid vehicle with no energy storage system like a battery or an ultracapacitor. The study included plotting the fuel economy of the vehicle and dynamic response of the FC and the ICE to the load requirements under two different test conditions. 1985 Toyota pick-up truck parameters were used to model the vehicle. The conventional vehicle has a 72 kW (@4500 rpm), 172 Nm (@2600 rpm) Toyota 2.4 L SI gasoline engine. The empirical data in the ADVISOR software were extensively used to model the various components of the series vehicle like fuel cell, power bus, electric motor, generator and gear box. Modifications were made to the default series control logic and Matlab sub-routines were written to plot the fuel use data from the simulation. Various degrees of hybridization (in increments of 10% power from fuel cell) from conventional up to a complete fuel cell vehicle was simulated. Two driving cycles, Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule and US 06 cycle, that collectively represent the overall vehicle usage, were used to find the fuel economy of the vehicle. Also, a cost analysis of fuel converters for the conversion was carried out. The results of the simulation show that an FC-ICE series hybrid with a base power from a 15 kW FC and a down sized 57 kW ICE will be the best design for converting the conventional 72 kW gasoline vehicle. This 20% hybridized truck, at an additional investment of 5.7% of fuel converter cost, will improve the fuel economy of the vehicle by 73% within the city and 49.2% on highways. |
