Model Reference Gain Scheduling Control of a PEM Fuel Cell Using Takagi-Sugeno Modelling

In this paper, a solution for the oxygen stoichiometry control problem for Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells is presented. The solution relies on the use of a reference model, where the resulting nonlinear error model is brought to a Takagi-Sugeno (TS) form using the non-linear sector approach. The TS model is suitable for designing a controller using Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI)-based techniques, such that the resulting closed-loop error system is stable with poles placed in some desired region of the complex plane. Simulation results are used to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In particular, the PEM fuel cell can reach asymptotically the oxygen stoichiometry set-point despite all the considered stack current changes.