Design of Adaptive Backstepping Sliding Mode-Based Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Hydrogen Circulation Pump Controller

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has a compelling potential to solve the environment and energy issues. The hydrogen circulation pump, a main component of the PEMFC, its output mass flow rate need be regulated in time, which affects the hydrogen excess ratio and further influences the efficiency of PEMFC. A nonlinear model of hydrogen supply system is built and a linear state space model is simplified. An adaptive backstepping sliding mode (ABSM) controller is designed to control the output mass flow rate of the pump. To test the efficacy of the proposed ABSM controller used for the circulation pump, a vehicle driving cycle of WVUSUB is implemented to change the PEMFC current as the disturbance of the control system. The results indicate that the output well tracks the ideal output within 2% relative error, and the ABSM controller has a promising application on various operation conditions.