A global integral terminal sliding mode control based on a novel reaching law for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell system

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are devices with huge potential for renewable and clean industries due to their high efficiency and low emissions. Since the proton exchange membrane fuel cell employed in this research supplied a low output voltage, it was encouraged to use a boost converter with a designed non-linear controller to provide a suitable end-user voltage. In this paper, we proposed a novel control framework based on sliding mode control, which is a global integral sliding mode control linked with a quick reaching law that has been implemented in a commercial fuel cell system Heliocentris FC50 through a dSpace 1102 control board. We compared the strategy with a conventional sliding mode controller and an integral terminal sliding mode controller where we addressed a Lyapunov stability proof has for each structure. We contrasted the experimental outcomes where we proved the superiority of the proposed novel design in terms of robustness, convergence speed. Additionally, as the sliding mode controllers are well known by the energy consumption caused by the chattering effect, we analysed every framework in these terms. Finally, it was found that the proposed structure offered an enhancement in the energy consumption issues. Moreover, the applicability of the proposed control scheme has been demonstrated through the real time implementation over a commercial fuel cell.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Basque Govern-ment, through the project EKOHEGAZ (ELKARTEK KK-2021/00092) , to the Diputacion Foral de alava (DFA) , through the project CONA-VANTER, and to the UPV/EHU, through the project GIU20/063, for supporting this work. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Basque Govern-ment, through the project EKOHEGAZ (ELKARTEK KK-2021/00092) , to the Diputacion Foral de alava (DFA) , through the project CONA-VANTER, and to the UPV/EHU, through the project GIU20/063, for supporting this work