Modeling and Simulation for A Fuel Cell Powered Scooter

This paper discusses the modeling and simulation of a fuel cell powered scooter. There is other, more detailed modeling which is more complex as existing modeling methods limit what can be simulated in a study, yet not more difficult to solve numerically. In most simulation studies, the influence of non-linearity (for example, saturation, losses, and reluctance effects) of the high-powered electronics and electrically-powered machines are neglected. Therefore, the simulation results are only valid in ideal cases. Especially the influence of losses, harmonics, saturation, reluctance and time delay for new control settings to take effect can be decisive factors in the design. The influence of the magnetic saturation issue and reluctance in electrically-powered machines and the impact on the overall system performance as well as the influence of the field-oriented-control (FOC) should be considered. The simulation data are also compared with the data from the Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technology (APFCT) fuel cell powered scooter. Good matching results were found for maximum speed, acceleration, range, slope-climbing ability, and fuel consumption. Not only can the overall performance based on the drive cycle be easily calculated, but also the influence of the non-linear components in the total system can be taken into account in one simulation without spending too much time on the simulation.