EE 400/401 Project Proposal

Project Title: U of A EcoCar; Power Supply Control for Fuel Cell Modeling

Background The University of Alberta EcoCar team is aiming to compete in the Urban Concept category of the 2013 Shell Eco Marathon. The vehicle will be a zero emission car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Objective Design a control system for an 1800 W power supply to accurately model the characteristic voltage/current curve given by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Scope of Work Due to the constraints of fuel cell technology and the volatility of hydrogen, it is difficult to test the power electronics using only the fuel cell. Many fuel cells, such as ours, have a limited number of on/off cycles, and thus it is necessary to limit the use of the fuel cell for testing purposes. Fortunately, it is possible to physically simulate the fuel cell in the power circuitry of the vehicle with a power supply. The power supply is an 1800 W unit with an analog signal input for signal modeling. The output current and voltage can then be controlled with this signal. Producing such a signal will require a computer interface and software such as LabView. A controller will then also need to be designed to ensure that the output stays as close as possible to the real voltage/current curve of a real fuel cell. In order to gain an accurate representation of the fuel cell voltage/current curve, it may be necessary to run the fuel cell with a simulated load while recording the current and voltage at various points. This could be done in collaboration with EcoCar team members and Dr. Marc Secanell in his lab in Mechanical Engineering. If successful, the power supply control system will be used with a high voltage/current power supply in Dr. Andy Knight’s lab in order to test and optimize the power electronics systems for future EcoCar vehicles.

Hazards: Significant shock hazards exist with high-power DC supplies; as such, the appropriate safety protocol must be followed diligently. If fuel cell test data is required, the experimenters must be familiar with compressed hydrogen safety standards, especially in the presence of electricity.

Prototype Resources - The University of Alberta EcoCar team will provide access to its facilities as

required.

- The EcoCar team will assist in manufacture and testing of prototype time/funding permitting.

- Dr. Andy Knight has graciously offered his lab (upon availability) for the testing of the power supply control system.

Project Sponsor Name: Jared Geisinger Title/Position: Electrical Engineering Lead Company: University of Alberta EcoCar Address: University of Alberta, Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Center Telephone #: (780) 965 6331 Email address: jared.geisinger@ualberta-ecocar.ca U of A EcoCar Website: www.uAlberta-EcoCar.ca

Available Meeting Time There will be weekly meetings with the University of Alberta design team. A mutually convenient time will be agreed upon. Email inquiries can be sent at any time and extra meetings scheduled if required.

Maximum Number of Design Groups The maximum number of groups: 1

Maximum Number of Implementation Groups The maximum number of groups: 1

Intellectual Property Ownership All intellectual property belongs to the University of Alberta EcoCar team.

Illustrations All Images are the intellectual property of the University of Alberta EcoCar team.