Volume 53

Research on Vehicle Thermal Management Control Strategy for Fuel Cell Vehicles under High-temperature Conditions Based on Model Predictive Control Huitao Zhang, Fengxiang Chen *, Yaowang Pei

Abstract

To ensure the safety of fuel cell vehicles and enhance overall vehicle performance, comprehensive thermal management is essential. Currently, thermal management for fuel cell vehicles mainly focuses on low-temperature environments, with relatively little research on high-temperature conditions. This paper proposes an integrated vehicle thermal management solution that includes thermal management for the fuel cell, lithium-ion battery, motor, and cabin. Additionally, a vehicle thermal management system model is built and the control strategies for high-temperature conditions are developed. Model predictive control algorithm is designed to settle down the air conditioning system cooling both the cabin and the lithium-ion battery in high-temperature environments. Simulation results demonstrate that this comprehensive thermal management solution exhibits excellent temperature control capabilities under extreme high-temperature conditions with lithium-ion battery response time of 2324s and cabin response time of 60.13s. And lithium-ion battery temperature is robust to variations of cabin temperature. Additionally, the temperatures of the fuel cell and motor are effectively controlled within the reference range.

Keywords Model Predictive Control, Fuel cell vehicles, Vehicle thermal management, Automotive air conditioning