In fuel cell hybrid systems, the degradation processes of fuel cells and power batteries are highly inconsistent. The excessive consumption and premature end of life of one power source can disrupt the balance of the power system, deplete the performance of the other power source, accelerate the aging of the entire power system, and negatively affect vehicle economy and system durability. Consequently, it becomes challenging to achieve optimal fuel economy and system durability simultaneously. To address this issue, an optimization strategy based on condition prediction and coordinated power source life degradation is proposed.
Firstly, to improve prediction accuracy, operating conditions are categorized into three typical states: low-speed, medium-speed, and high-speed. An upper-level Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) prediction model is established based on historical conditions to predict the tram's operating conditions. This prediction provides more information for the lower-level energy management strategy to optimize system energy distribution. Secondly, in the lower-level energy management strategy, the hydrogen consumption of the fuel cell and the equivalent hydrogen consumption of the auxiliary power source are analyzed. A continuous degradation model for the fuel cell and power battery is established, introducing optimization objectives and adaptively adjusting the weights of each objective online to optimize the multi-objective function. Finally, the proposed strategy is compared with the traditional equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) and the external energy maximization strategy (EEMS).
Results show that at the end of the entire operating condition, the proposed strategy's hydrogen consumption is 99.61 g, the degradation rate difference between the dual power sources is 0.000 66%, the system efficiency is 81.66%, the power fluctuation range is -800 W to 800 W, and the stress on the power battery and supercapacitor is 117.5 and 176.4 respectively. Compared to the ECMS strategy, with a hydrogen consumption of 115.1 g and system efficiency of 77.64%, the proposed strategy improves fuel economy and system efficiency by 15.6% and 5.2% respectively. Compared to the EEMS strategy, with a dual power source degradation rate difference of 0.014 4% and system efficiency of 79.77%, the proposed strategy reduces the degradation rate difference by 21.82 times and improves system efficiency by 2.4%. Additionally, the power fluctuation range under the proposed strategy is significantly reduced compared to the -1 000 W to 1 000 W range under both the ECMS and EEMS strategies, resulting in a smoother power source power curve. Under the ECMS strategy, the stress on the power battery and supercapacitor is 156.6 and 215 respectively, while under the EEMS strategy, the stress is 156.8 and 226.6 respectively. The proposed strategy reduces the stress on the auxiliary power source compared to the ECMS and EEMS strategies, decreasing excessive consumption and resulting in a more reasonable power distribution.
Comprehensive simulation analysis reveals the core advantages of the proposed strategy: (1) Establishing an MCMC prediction model for condition prediction improves the adaptability of the energy management strategy to operating conditions, achieving more reasonable, precise, and efficient energy control and reducing damage to the hybrid power system. (2) Overcoming the poor fuel economy of traditional ECMS and the high inconsistency in power source degradation of EEMS. (3) Achieving superior fuel economy and system durability, thereby extending the lifecycle of fuel cell hybrid systems.