Parametric study of a fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrain

Advisors: Pradip Majumdar; Kevin B. Martin.Committee members: Kyu Taek Cho.Includes bibliographical references.Includes illustrations.Fuel cell plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (FC PHEVs) have the potential to significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions while providing similar or increased range and fuel economy compared to traditional vehicles. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles also potentially provide a method to manage excess power production from intermittent renewable electricity sources. The performance of the FC PHEV depends on the component specifications and control strategy utilized. This thesis focuses on a parametric simulation study to determine the fuel economy for various parameters and drive cycles such as urban dynamometer driving schedule (UDDS), the highway fuel economy test cycle (HWFET), and SAE J1711. The effects of ambient temperature and relative humidity, rated fuel cell power and energy storage system (ESS) capacity over the fuel economy of the vehicle were analyzed. The rated fuel cell power was found to have the highest impact on fuel economy due to a change in operational efficiency at the average required power. For comparison, a series fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle (FC HEV) was simulated over the same rated fuel cell power range. The lowest rated fuel power considered resulted in the highest fuel economy for a FC PHEV. Although for a FC HEV, the same behavior does not take place due to the relatively small capacity of the ESS.M.S. (Master of Science