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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 23119

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Dr. Donghai Hu

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Guest Editor

School of Automotive and Traffic Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Interests: hybrid electric vehicle; nonlinear dynamics; bifurcation mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Yongping Hou

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Guest Editor

College of Automotive Studies, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
Interests: new energy vehicle testing technology and tire mechanics

Dr. Caizhi Zhang

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College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Interests: hydrogen system analysis and rapid hydrogenation research; fuel cell stack and system design; testing, modeling and control systems; fuel cell vehicle intelligence (perceptual learning; intelligent control and intelligent IoT technology)
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Prof. Dr. Fengyan Yi

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Guest Editor

Automotive Engineering College, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan 250023, China
Interests: key technologies of new energy vehicles; energy management and control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Qingqing Yang

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Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing, Coventry University, Convertry CV1 5FB, UK
Interests: HVDC system and its control and protection scheme; artificial intelligence and its application in the electrical power systems; hybrid simulation and advanced control algorithm; energy storages and renewable energy and design/appliction of the cyber physical freamwork in power systems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As an important technical path for the sustainable development and strategic transformation of global energy, hydrogen energy has become an essential part of achieving global carbon neutrality. Governments of various countries provide subsidies for the construction and operation of hydrogenation stations for the application of hydrogen energy and the purchase of fuel cell vehicles, so as to strive for the large-scale emergence of hydrogen production facilities, distribution pipe networks and hydrogenation facilities. Although hydrogen energy has been demonstrated and popularized in the field of transportation, the wide variety and high cost of hydrogen transportation causes a widespread risk of hydrogen leakage and pollution, as well as the wide and complex scenario of hydrogen energy application always restricting its use in the field of transportation.

This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers to publish high-quality literature reviews and original research. These papers will mainly discuss how to realize the development, application and industrialization of hydrogen energy in the field of transportation whilst ensuring economy and safety, ultimately aiming to provide innovative highlights and an overview of the cutting-edge technology of hydrogen energy in the field of transportation.

Authors who focus on the application of hydrogen energy in transportation are welcome to submit papers, on topics including, but not limited to, the production, transportation, storage, filling and use of hydrogen energy. We hope to work together to promote the development and application of hydrogen energy in the field of transportation in all countries around the world.

The main topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

Hydrogen pipeline transportation;
Hydrogen transport vehicle;
Liquid hydrogen transport vehicle;
In-station hydrogen production;
Off-station hydrogen supply to a hydrogenation station;
Fuel cell vehicle;
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell;
Hydrogen leakage monitoring;
Hydrogen quality inspection;
Comprehensive management of hydrogenation station;
Vehicle energy management;
Vehicle-integrated thermal management;
Fuel cell power control;
Fuel cell hydrothermal management;
Fuel cell life prediction.

Prof. Dr. Qingqing Yang
Prof. Dr. Fengyan Yi
Dr. Yongping Hou
Dr. Donghai Hu
Dr. Caizhi Zhang
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 9901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Electrochemical Performance Model Considering of Non-Uniform Gas Distribution Based on Porous Media Method in PEMFC Stack

by Zhiming Zhang, Chenfu Quan, Sai Wu, Tong Zhang and Jinming Zhang

Sustainability 2024, 16(2), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16020587 - 09 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 753

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is significant and favorable to the long-range and short refueling time in the vehicle industry. However, the non-uniform distribution of gas flow supply, particularly in the fuel cell stack is neglected in the electrochemical model for PEMFC performance optimization. The purpose of this study is to break through this limitation to establish an optimized electrochemical fuel cell performance model, with porous media methods considering the non-uniform gas flow distribution in fuel cell stack with different compression of the gas distribution layer (GDL). The numerical models are validated by experimentation of a practical fuel cell stack. For the established fuel cell model, there is a 5% difference between the maximum and minimum speeds of various flow channels in the anode flow field under 10% GDL compression. Furthermore, the single-channel electrochemical performance model is optimized by considering the non-uniform gas flow distribution of the fuel cell stack. The results of the optimized electrochemical fuel cell performance model demonstrate that the correlation coefficient between the experiment results and the simulation results is nearly 99.50%, which is higher than that of the original model under 20% GDL compression. This established model is effective in enhancing the prediction accuracy of the PEMFC performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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19 pages, 9475 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Simulation Model and Experimental Validation of One Passive Fuel Cell–Battery Hybrid Powertrain for an Electric Light Scooter

by Zhiming Zhang, Alexander Rex, Jiaming Zhou, Xinfeng Zhang, Gangqiang Huang, Jinming Zhang and Tong Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 13180; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151713180 - 01 Sep 2023

Viewed by 906

Abstract

Given the escalating issue of climate change, environmental protection is of growing importance. A rising proportion of battery-powered scooters are becoming available. However, their range is limited, and they require a long charging time. The fuel cell–battery-powered electric scooter appears to be a promising alternative. Further development of the active hybrid is the passive hybrid, in which the fuel cell is directly coupled to the battery, eliminating the need for a DC/DC converter. The passive hybrid promises the possibility of a reduction in the installation volume and cost. A simulation model is created MATLAB/Simulink for the passive fuel cell–battery hybrid electric scooter. It specifically focuses on how the power split between the fuel cell and battery occurs under dynamic load requirements. The scooter is powered by two air–hydrogen Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) systems with a nominal power of 250 W each and a Li-ion battery (48 V, 12 Ah). The validation is performed following an ECE-R47 driving cycle. The maximum relative deviation of the fuel cell is 2.82% for the current value. The results of the simulation show a high level of agreement with the test data. This study provides a method allowing for an efficient assessment of the passive fuel cell–battery hybrid electric scooter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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19 pages, 5416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Energy Management of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning Considering Velocity Control

by Yang Shen, Jiaming Zhou, Jinming Zhang, Fengyan Yi, Guofeng Wang, Chaofeng Pan, Wei Guo and Xing Shu

Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12488; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612488 - 17 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1342

Abstract

In the vehicle-to-everything scenario, the fuel cell bus can accurately obtain the surrounding traffic information, and quickly optimize the energy management problem while controlling its own safe and efficient driving. This paper proposes an energy management strategy (EMS) that considers speed control based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) in complex traffic scenarios. Using SUMO simulation software (Version 1.15.0), a two-lane urban expressway is designed as a traffic scenario, and a hydrogen fuel cell bus speed control and energy management system is designed through the soft actor–critic (SAC) algorithm to effectively reduce the equivalent hydrogen consumption and fuel cell output power fluctuation while ensuring the safe, efficient and smooth driving of the vehicle. Compared with the SUMO–IDM car-following model, the average speed of vehicles is kept the same, and the average acceleration and acceleration change value decrease by 10.22% and 11.57% respectively. Compared with deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG), the average speed is increased by 1.18%, and the average acceleration and acceleration change value are decreased by 4.82% and 5.31% respectively. In terms of energy management, the hydrogen consumption of SAC–OPT-based energy management strategy reaches 95.52% of that of the DP algorithm, and the fluctuation range is reduced by 32.65%. Compared with SAC strategy, the fluctuation amplitude is reduced by 15.29%, which effectively improves the durability of fuel cells. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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18 pages, 11183 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Longitudinal Wind on Hydrogen Leakage and Hydrogen Concentration Sensor Layout of Fuel Cell Vehicles

by Xingmao Wang, Fengyan Yi, Qingqing Su, Jiaming Zhou, Yan Sun, Wei Guo and Xing Shu

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10712; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310712 - 07 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 892

Abstract

Hydrogen has the physical and chemical characteristics of being flammable, explosive and prone to leakage, and its safety is the main issue faced by the promotion of hydrogen as an energy source. The most common scene in vehicle application is the longitudinal wind generated by driving, and the original position of hydrogen concentration sensors (HCSs) did not consider the influence of longitudinal wind on the hydrogen leakage trajectory. In this paper, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software STAR CCM 2021.1 is used to simulate the hydrogen leakage and diffusion trajectories of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) at five different leakage locations the longitudinal wind speeds of 0 km/h, 37.18 km/h and 114 km/h, and it is concluded that longitudinal wind prolongs the diffusion time of hydrogen to the headspace and reduces the coverage area of hydrogen in the headspace with a decrease of 81.35%. In order to achieve a good detection effect of fuel cell vehicles within the longitudinal wind scene, based on the simulated hydrogen concentration–time matrix, the scene clustering method based on vector similarity evaluation was used to reduce the leakage scene set by 33%. Then, the layout position of HCSs was optimized according to the proposed multi-scene full coverage response time minimization model, and the response time was reduced from 5 s to 1 s. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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20 pages, 6295 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Control of Oxygen Excess Ratio for a PEMFC Air Supply System by Intelligent PID Methods

by Peng Yin, Jinzhou Chen and Hongwen He

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8500; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118500 - 24 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1399

Abstract

The hydrogen fuel cell is a quite promising green device, which could be applied in extensive fields. However, as a complex nonlinear system involving a number of subsystems, the fuel cell system requires multiple variables to be effectively controlled. Oxygen excess ratio (OER) is the key indicator to be controlled to avoid oxygen starvation, which may result in severe performance degradation and life shortage of the fuel cell stack. In this paper, a nonlinear air supply system model integrated with the fuel cell stack voltage model is first built, based on physical laws and empirical data; then, conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controls for the oxygen excess ratio are implemented. On this basis, fuzzy logic inference and neural network algorithm are integrated into the conventional PID controller to tune the gain coefficients, respectively. The simulation results verify that the fuzzy PID controller with seven subsets could clearly improve the dynamic responses of the fuel cells in both constant and variable OER controls, with small overshoots and the fastest settling times of less than 0.2 s. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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15 pages, 4937 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Minimal-Cost Power Allocation Strategy for Fuel Cell Hybrid Buses Based on Deep Reinforcement Learning Algorithms

by Kunang Li, Chunchun Jia, Xuefeng Han and Hongwen He

Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 7967; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15107967 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1303

Abstract

Energy management strategy (EMS) is critical for improving the economy of hybrid powertrains and the durability of energy sources. In this paper, a novel EMS based on a twin delayed deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm (TD3) is proposed for a fuel cell hybrid electric bus (FCHEB) to optimize the driving cost of the vehicle. First, a TD3-based energy management strategy is established to embed the limits of battery aging and fuel cell power variation into the strategic framework to fully exploit the economic potential of FCHEB. Second, the TD3-based EMS is compared and analyzed with the deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm (DDPG)-based EMS using real-world collected driving conditions as training data. The results show that the TD3-based EMS has 54.69% higher training efficiency, 36.82% higher learning ability, and 2.45% lower overall vehicle operating cost compared to the DDPG-based EMS, validating the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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23 pages, 6064 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Thermal Performance Optimization of Multiple Circuits Cooling System for Fuel Cell Vehicle

by Hao Huang, Hua Ding, Donghai Hu, Zhaoxu Cheng, Chengyun Qiu, Yuran Shen and Xiangwen Su

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3132; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043132 - 08 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1763

Abstract

Due to its advantages of high efficiency, high power density at low temperature, fast start-up and zero emission, fuel cells are of great significance in automobile drive application. A car powered by electricity generated by an on-board fuel cell device is called a fuel cell vehicle (FCV). Fuel cells have a large demand for heat dissipation, and the layout space of automotive cooling modules is limited. Based on this situation, a parallel arrangement of multiple radiators is proposed. Using numerical simulation means to verify and optimize the designed multiple circuits cooling system (MCCS), from the original layout scheme based on the Taguchi method to establish the objective function of the reliability design of the MCCS, select A2/B1/C1/D2/E1/F1. In the scheme, the outlet temperature of the fuel cell is finally reduced to 75.8 °C. The cooling performance is improved, and the spatial layout of the individual cooling components can also be optimized. The whole vehicle experiment was carried out under four working conditions of full power idling charging, half power idling charging, constant speed of 40 km/h and constant speed of 80 km/h, to verify the cooling performance of the MCCS and to prove the effectiveness of the MCCS designed in this paper. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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18 pages, 10725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Effective Force-Temperature-Humidity Coupled Modeling for PEMFC Performance Parameter Matching by Using CFD and FEA Co-Simulation

by Zhiming Zhang, Sai Wu, Kunpeng Li, Jiaming Zhou, Caizhi Zhang, Guofeng Wang and Tong Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14416; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114416 - 03 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1386

Abstract

High-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) vehicles are important for realizing carbon neutrality in transportation. However, the optimal power density of the fuel cell performance is difficult to achieve due to the internal complex operating conditions of a fuel cell stack. Moreover, there is a lack of effective models to solve the coupled multi-physical fields (force, temperature and humidity, etc.) in the PEMFC, particularly considering the gas diffusion layer (GDL) compression. Thus, a force-temperature-humidity coupled modeling method is introduced to evaluate the effects of key operating conditions for the fuel cell performance parameter matching. Firstly, the interfacial contact resistance and GDL porosity are obtained by a force-temperature coupled simulation using a finite element analysis (FEA) modeling, then the obtained results are introduced into a temperature-humidity coupled simulation using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. An iteration algorithm is proposed to realize the force-temperature-humidity coupled simulation for the PEMFC performance. The main characteristics of the PEMFC performance parameters are revealed and the optimum matching criteria of the main performance parameters (temperature, stoichiometric ratio and relative humidity) are determined. The presented co-simulation method is significant and effective for realizing the PEMFC performance parameter matching condition, and it provides a design direction for an optimal power density of a fuel cell stack. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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19 pages, 5830 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of the Adaptability of the Fuel Cell Vehicle Waste Heat Utilization Subsystem to Extreme Cold Environments

by Dagang Lu, Fengyan Yi and Jianwei Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11570; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811570 - 15 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1221

Abstract

In extremely cold environments, the fuel cell vehicle (FCV) waste heat utilization subsystem can only exchange a small amount of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) waste heat into the warm air circuit for cab heating, which has poor adaptability to extremely cold environments. The first step in this study was to build a test bench for the waste heat utilization subsystem of fuel cell vehicles. Secondly, the PEMFC heating capacity and liquid–liquid exchanger heat transfer capacity were analyzed using experimental data to assess the ability of FCV waste heat utilization subsystems with different rated powers to adapt to extremely cold environments. Then, the optimization mathematical model of the liquid–liquid exchanger was established, and the heat transfer performance of the liquid–liquid exchanger was orthogonally optimized based on the Taguchi method. Finally, the optimized liquid–liquid exchanger was installed in the waste heat utilization subsystem for experimental tests. The results show that when the ambient temperature is −20 °C, −25 °C or −30 °C, in the optimized waste heat utilization subsystem, the inlet and outlet temperatures of the PEMFC are reduced, and the power consumption of the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) is reduced by 57.6% and 48% and 34.3%, respectively, improving the utilization rate of PEMFC waste heat, and thereby improving the adaptability of FCV in extremely cold environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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16 pages, 5798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Contact Pressure with Thermo-Mechanical Coupled Action for a Full-Dimensional PEMFC Stack

by Zhiming Zhang, Jun Zhang, Liang Shi and Tong Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8593; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148593 - 13 Jul 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1718

Abstract

The contact pressure between bipolar plates (BPPs) and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) has a key impact on Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) performance. However, it is difficult to obtain the contact pressure combined with operating temperature action via the finite element analysis (FEA) model, resulting in limited calculation resources for the problem of multiscale and thermo-mechanical coupled action in a full-dimensional fuel cell stack. This paper establishes an equivalent stiffness model for contact pressure, which could be predicted simply and quickly compared with the FEA model. Then, this presented model is validated by experimentation with a full-dimensional fuel cell stack assembled with 10 cells using pressure-sensitive film. The error between the presented model and the experimentation of the full-dimensional stack is a maximum of 4.41%. This work provides important insight into thermo-mechanical coupled action, as less empirical testing is required to identify the contact pressure in a full-dimensional fuel cell stack. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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19 pages, 6131 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation the Resistance Growth of Aged Vehicular Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack by Distribution of Relaxation Times

by Dong Zhu, Yanbo Yang and Tiancai Ma

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5677; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095677 - 08 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1769

Abstract

The aged stack results in resistance growth and power decline. At present, most of the analyses of resistance growth are qualitative or identified by complex mechanism models. For more effective identification, the distribution of relaxation times (DRT) method is applied to the aging analysis of the stack. The individual polarization process of the stack corresponding to each DRT peak is determined by appropriate experimental conditions and the impedance of the individual polarization process is characterized by the peak area. The three DRT peaks from low frequency to high frequency are identified as the mass transport, the charge transfer of oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs), and the proton transport in the cathode catalyst layer (CCL) and anode side. The stack’s voltage recession rate is 15% at the rated current density of 800 mA cm⁻² after running for 2000 h in the driving cycle. Mass transport is the main reason accounting for 66.1% of the resistance growth. The charge transfer resistance growth cannot be ignored, accounting for 30.23%. The resistance growth obtained by the DRT can quickly and accurately identify the main reason for stack decline and therefore promises to become an important diagnostic tool in relation to aging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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16 pages, 3588 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Heat Dissipation Performance of Battery Liquid Cooling Plate Based on Bionic Structure

by Bo Li, Wenhao Wang, Shaoyi Bei and Zhengqiang Quan

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5541; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095541 - 05 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2261

Abstract

To provide a favorable temperature for a power battery liquid cooling system, a bionic blood vessel structure of the power battery liquid cooling plate is designed based on the knowledge of bionics and the human blood vessel model. For three different discharge rates of 1C, 2C, and 3C, FLUENT is used to simulate and analyze the heat dissipation performance of the liquid cooling plate with a bionic vascular structure. The influence of the pipe distance (A1 and A2) at the coolant outlet, the thickness of the liquid cooling plate, the inner pipe turning radius R of the pipe in the channel, and the mass flow of coolant on the heat dissipation performance are studied. The results show that the pipe distance (A1 and A2), plate thickness, and inner pipe turning radius R have significant effects on the heat dissipation of the liquid cooling plate, especially under a 3C discharge. In addition, the channel area at the coolant outlet also has great influence on the heat dissipation performance of the liquid cooling plate, and the variable width optimization of the channel area at the outlet greatly improves the heat dissipation performance of the liquid cooling plate. Increasing the inlet mass flow rate can improve the heat dissipation capacity, but at the expense of a pressure drop. A verification experiment is designed for 3C discharge. The results show that the error between the experiment and simulation results is within 9.8%; therefore, the simulation is accurate, and the liquid cooling plate has a significant heat dissipation effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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13 pages, 4931 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Endplate Design and Topology Optimization of Fuel Cell Stack Clamped with Bolts

by Zhiming Zhang, Jun Zhang and Tong Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4730; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084730 - 14 Apr 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2409

Abstract

The endplate plays an important role in the performance and durability of fuel cell stacks, and also to mass power density. Aiming at a lightweight endplate and uniform deflection of the endplate, the purpose of this study is to model the endplate including the supply, discharge ports and the distribution manifolds. The stress and displacement distribution of the endplate are also analyzed by numerical simulation. After that, the three optimized topologies aiming to minimize compliance, uniform stress distribution and two objectives coupling are discussed, and the intake endplate and blind endplate are individually reconstructed. The mass of optimized intake endplate is reduced by 35%, and the mass of optimized blind endplate is reduced by 46% for the goal of attaining a lightweight endplate, while maintaining the uniformity of the stress distribution of the first cell next to the endplate. Considering these factors, optimized endplates are obtained, which are valuable to fuel cell stack design. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontier Technology of Hydrogen Energy Application in Transportation Field)

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