Integrated fuel cell power systems, especially those incorporating energy recuperating devices, are often characterized by synergetic interactions of heterogeneous subsystems; tight chemical, thermal, mechanical, and electrical couplings; and stringent operational requirements. To maintain high efficiency, these systems often operate on or close to their admissible boundary. In addition, there are many operational constraints, such as continuous fuel cell reactant supply and reactor temperature limits, that have to be strictly enforced during transient operations.
In this presentation, we will discuss our recent research and development activities on modeling, control, and optimization of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)
and gas turbine power system that is targeted for mobile applications. We have investigated several different configurations of the systems, and focused our effort on developing control methodologies and tools that can assure both highly efficient steady state operations and fast and safe transients. Dynamic analysis and control design will be presented, supported by control-oriented modeling. Real-time simulation and constrained optimization results will also covered. Finally applications to naval and automotive mobile platforms will be discussed.
Prof. Jing Sun received her Ph. D degree from University of Southern California in 1989. From 1989-1993, she was an assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Wayne State University. She joined Ford Research Laboratory in 1993, where she worked on advanced powertrain system controls. After spending almost 10 years in industry, she came back to academia in 2003 and joined the Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan where she is a professor now. She holds 37 US patents and has co-authored (with Petros Ioannou) a textbook on Robust Adaptive Control. She is an IEEE Fellow and one of the three recipients of the 2003 IEEE Control System Technology Award.