OBSERVATION OF THE INTERNAL STATES OF A PEMFC ANODE GAS CHANNEL

In this work a non-linear state observer is devel-oped to estimate the concentrations of the differ-ent species inside a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) anode gas channel. The im-plementation of the observer is based on the par-tial differential equations that define the dynamics of the system, taking into account spatial varia-tions along the anode channel. Forward and back-ward discretization of the distributed model are employed to take advantage of the boundary con-ditions of the problem. For comparative reasons, linear and non-linear observability conditions are analysed, and a linear and a non-linear observer are designed. Likewise, two types of Sliding Mode corrective control actions (quasi continuous and super twisting input actions) are implemented in the non-linear state observer. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the ob-servers and the superiority of the non-linear one over the linear one can be clearly seen