scholarly journals Sizing and Dynamic Modeling of a Power System for the MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Using a Fuel Cell and Batteries

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed M. Albarghot ◽  
M. Tariq Iqbal ◽  
Kevin Pope ◽  
Luc Rolland
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power System ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Hydrogen Gas ◽  
System Capacity ◽  
Li Ion Batteries ◽  
Li Ion ◽  
Battery Bank ◽  
Bank System

The combination of a fuel cell and batteries has promising potential for powering autonomous vehicles. The MUN Explorer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) is built to do mapping-type missions of seabeds as well as survey missions. These missions require a great deal of power to reach underwater depths (i.e., 3000 meters). The MUN Explorer uses 11 rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries as the main power source with a total capacity of 14.6 kWh to 17.952 kWh, and the vehicle can run for 10 hours. The drawbacks of operating the existing power system of the MUN Explorer, which was done by the researcher at the Holyrood management facility, include mobilization costs, logistics and transport, and facility access, all of which should be taken into consideration. Recharging the batteries for at least 8 hours is also very challenging and time consuming. To overcome these challenges and run the MUN Explorer for a long time, it is essential to integrate a fuel cell into an existing power system (i.e., battery bank). The integration of the fuel cell not only will increase the system power, but will also reduce the number of batteries needed as suggested by HOMER software. In this paper, an integrated fuel cell is designed to be added into the MUN Explorer AUV along with a battery bank system to increase its power system. The system sizing is performed using HOMER software. The results from HOMER software show that a 1-kW fuel cell and 8 Li-ion batteries can increase the power system capacity to 68 kWh. The dynamic model is then built in MATLAB/Simulink environment to provide a better understanding of the system behavior. The 1-kW fuel cell is connected to a DC/DC Boost Converter to increase the output voltage from 24 V to 48 V as required by the battery and DC motor. A hydrogen gas tank is also included in the model. The advantage of installing the hydrogen and oxygen tanks beside the batteries is that it helps the buoyancy force in underwater depths. The design of this system is based on MUN Explorer data sheets and system dynamic simulation results.

The PEM Fuel Cell System for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satoshi Tsukioka ◽  
Taro Aoki ◽  
Ikuo Yamamoto ◽  
Hiroshi Yoshida ◽  
Tadahiro Hyakudome ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Metal Hydride ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles ◽  
Storage System ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Hydrogen Gas ◽  
Fuel Cell System ◽  
Control Electronics

An ocean-going autonomous underwater vehicle powered by a polymer electrode membrane fuel cell system was completed by The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The fuel cell system generates 4kW of electric power for the control electronics and propulsion system. Hydrogen gas is stored under low pressure in the metal hydride. Heat generated by the fuel cell is used to discharge hydrogen gas into the metal hydride. This paper presents the test results of the fuel cell, storage system and the 317km sea test.

Conceptual Design and Key Technology Development of a Long-Range Underwater Vehicle Traveling Over Thousands Kilometers

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Yoshida ◽  
Sawa Takao ◽  
Tadahiro Hyakudome ◽  
Shojiro Ishibashi ◽  
Hiroshi Ochi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Long Range ◽  
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Underwater Vehicle ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell ◽  
Power Sources ◽  
Long Time

The underwater platform which has enough ability to cruise globally and freely in vast deep sea will allow us to make the survey of entire oceans. We aim to develop an underwater platform which travels and surveys across entire oceans for the research into the global change, ocean-trench earthquake, and biodiversity and so on. We have developed the first prototype underwater platform or the long-range cruising autonomous underwater vehicle (LCAUV) named Urashima since 1998. The vehicle powered by a polymer electrolyte fuel cell system marked the world record of cruising distance of 317 kilometers in 2005. The vehicle has the following specifications: length; 10 m, weight; 10 tons, maximum depth ratings; 3500 m, maximum cruising speed; 3.2 knots, and endurance; 60 hours. This large vehicle has large user payload of a few hundreds kilograms. In 2007, we started research and development of the elemental technologies which will be utilizes for development of the second generation LCAUV to achieve cruising range of over 3000 kilometers. The technologies under research and development are power sources, navigation methods, communication methods, vehicle controllers, materials for body, and advanced sensors for highly resolution survey. The fuel cell and secondary battery hybrid system is had to improve at energy efficiency to generate electricity as possible for long time running with limited energy. A high accuracy inertial navigation system and an underwater positioning system being covered area of over 1000 km are under development. A synthesized aperture sonar is also under development.

scholarly journals Kilowatt-Scale Fuel Cell Systems Powered by Recycled Aluminum

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Godart ◽  
Jason Fischman ◽  
Douglas Hart
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Power System ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Hydrogen Gas ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Hydrogen Fuel Cell ◽  
Cell Systems ◽  
Scrap Aluminum ◽  
Exchange Membrane

Abstract Presented here is a novel system that uses an aluminum-based fuel to continuously produce electrical power at the kilowatt scale via a hydrogen fuel cell. This fuel has an energy density of 23.3 kW h/L and can be produced from abundant scrap aluminum via a minimal surface treatment of gallium and indium. These additional metals, which in total comprise 2.5% of the fuel’s mass, permeate the grain boundary network of the aluminum to disrupt its oxide layer, thereby enabling the fuel to react exothermically with water to produce hydrogen gas and aluminum oxyhydroxide (AlOOH), an inert and valuable byproduct. To generate electrical power using this fuel, the aluminum–water reaction is controlled via water input to a reaction vessel in order to produce a constant flow of hydrogen, which is then consumed in a fuel cell to produce electricity. As validation of this power system architecture, we present the design and implementation of two proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell systems that successfully demonstrate this approach. The first is a 3 kW emergency power supply, and the second is a 10 kW power system integrated into a BMW i3 electric vehicle.

scholarly journals Non-isolated Boost Charger for the Li-Ion Batteries Suitable for Fuel Cell Powered Laptop Computers

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Van Sang ◽  
Woojin Choi ◽  
Dae-Wook Kim
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Li Ion Batteries ◽  
Laptop Computers ◽  
Li Ion
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