The Cruising Range Analysis of Heavy-duty Fuel Cell Vehicles with Liquid Hydrogen Storage and Supply Systems Based on Dynamic Programming

Liquid hydrogen provides a prospective solution for the on-board hydrogen storage and supply system of heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles to carry more hydrogen in a smaller volume. The research group develops 32-ton and 49-ton heavy-duty vehicles equipped with fuel cell systems, batteries, liquid hydrogen storage and supply systems, and independent-drive electric wheels. In this study, the two heavy-duty vehicles’ powertrain dynamic model based on experimental data is established. The maximum cruising ranges of two vehicles under constant-speed conditions and China-worldwide transient vehicle cycles (C-WTVCs) are then analyzed, respectively. The dynamic programming algorithm is adopted to find the optimal power distribution between the fuel cell system and the battery. Simulation results show that the 40-km/h cruising range of the 32-ton and 49-ton vehicles can be up to 1283 km and 1717 km with 62.0 kg and 112.2 kg hydrogen depleted completely and battery state of charge sustained. Dynamic programming results show that two vehicles’ cruising range can be 615.3 km and 768.7 km under consecutive C-WTVCs.