Efficiency and Energy–Emissions Optimization of Hydrogen–Fuel Cell Power Systems Using Multi-Objective PSO Strategy for Sustainable Marine Vessel Propulsion
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Hydrogen–Fuel Cell (HFC) systems have become one of the most promising zero-carbon shipping solutions, with high energy-conversion efficiency, silent operation and potential for full decarbonization when coupled with renewable hydrogen production. Yet, the operational efficiency of HFC marine power systems is significantly affected by nonlinear electrochemical kinetics, interactions between subsystems and extremely wide fluctuating load profiles typical for naval service missions. The resulting complex multi-variable control laws open up trade-offs between efficiency, hydrogen consumption, dynamic response and emission of auxiliary by-products like NOx, unconverted hydrogen and water vapor exhaust. To tackle these issues, the present work puts forward a complete Multi Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) framework for the combined performance and emissions optimization of hydrogen marine–FC propulsion systems. The MOPSO technique is used to optimize decision variables such as fuel cell operating current density, stack temperature, air stoichiometric ratio, compressor control and the proportion at which ESS is lead on hybrid with a Pareto-optimal trade-offs between: (i) system efficiency, (ii) hydrogen consumption, (iii) emissions and by-product reduction, and (iv) component degradation and thermal stress reduction.
A high-fidelity dynamic simulation model has been developed, combining PEM fuel cell electrochemical kinetics, onboard power demand information and compressor-humidifier dynamics with marine propulsion load cycles for patrol, ferry and tugboat duties. Results show that the MOPSO optimized control strategy increases net fuel cell efficiency by 12-18%, decreases hydrogen consumption by 15-27%, and decreases auxiliary emissions and stack temperature excursions by up to 35% as compared with the baseline, rule based, and single-objective tuning approaches. Moreover, degradation parameters such as voltage decay rate and membrane hydration instability were dramatically mitigated which enabled extension of the projected stack life time by 20–30%.
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