Input-Output Linearization-Based Controller Design for Stand-Alone Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Power Plant

Application of input-output linearization control for improving the dynamic response of a stand-alone solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system is presented in this work. The proposed controllers are incorporated in the study system to eliminate the sluggishness in the hydrogen and oxygen partial pressure responses due to variations in the SOFC reference current. Temperature dynamics of SOFC is taken into consideration to replicate the impact of temperature variation on the system dynamics. Eigenvalue study of the linearized zero dynamics is conducted to determine the stability of the unobservable part of the system, and the remaining dynamics is considered for designing the input-output linearization-based controllers. Pole placement technique is adopted to obtain the controller gains which give the desired dynamic response. The performance of the proposed technique is compared with that of the optimized proportional-integral (PI) controller. The proposed controller efficiency is also tested under varying operating conditions and measurement noise. Simulation results show the efficacy and supremacy of the proposed method in improving the dynamic response of the study system.