Temperature modeling and control of 5kW proton exchange membrane fuel cell system

In order to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), it's necessary to control the temperature of PEMFC effectively. Through analyzing the thermodynamic properties of 5kW PEMFC system, a nonlinear dynamic temperature model of it is built based on principle of conservation of energy in this paper. For facilitating designing the controller, the linear temperature model is proposed by nonlinear feedforward and state feedback (FF/FB) transformation law. In addition, model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) with fractional order adaptive law is designed based on Lyapunov stability theory. Simulation studies have been made to verify the validity of FF/FB transformation method and the advantages of fractional order controller over integer' s in controlling the temperature of PEMFC system.