Optimal State Feedback-Integral Control of Fuel-Cell Integrated Boost Converter

Clean energy and reduction in carbon footprint have motivated the adoption of Fuel Cells as an alternative source of energy, merely having any detrimental byproducts. In this work, the control of the Proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) integrated boost converter has been carried out. State-feedback with integral-based controllers has been designed using the classical pole placement method and optimal linear quadratic regulator approach. The first method aims at achieving the desired performance. The second method also minimizes the error while optimizing the control effort. In this approach, the control energy required for attaining the time and frequency domain objective at steady state operation is also optimized. The same avoids the limitation of existing schemes by avoiding sub-optimal solutions. Both control techniques have been verified in terms of transient performance during the load disturbance using numerical simulations and experimentation. In addition, comparative state trajectories and overall efficiency analysis of the system are presented.