10.57647/spre.2026.1001.04

Robust Combined Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Equipped by Boost Converter

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  • Hassan Khosh Kholgh Sima1,
  • Alireza Sahab*1,
  • Abdolreza Tawakli1,
  • Hussein Mahdi Nia1,
  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, La.C., Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran

Received: 2025-06-03

Revised: 2025-12-22

Accepted: 2026-02-19

Published in Issue 2026-03-31

Copyright (c) 2026 Hassan Khosh Kholgh Sima, Alireza Sahab, Abdolreza Tawakli, Hussein Mahdi Nia (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Khosh Kholgh Sima, H., Sahab, A., Tawakli, A., & Mahdi Nia, H. (2026). Robust Combined Control of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Equipped by Boost Converter. Signal Processing and Renewable Energy (SPRE), 10(1). https://doi.org/10.57647/spre.2026.1001.04
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Abstract

Given the critical role of energy in modern life, this article introduces a novel approach to enhance and optimize the power output of PEM fuel cells. The study focuses on a PEM fuel cell system equipped with a boost converter and proposes a robust hybrid control strategy for the boost converter to maximize power extraction from the PEM fuel cell source. The proposed hybrid robust method combines two well-known techniques. The first is the reset control technique, which, despite its simplicity, excels in eliminating regulatory errors, improving transient and steady-state responses, and overcoming the limitations of linear controllers. The second is the sliding mode control (SMC) technique, specifically the Adaptive Super-Twisting Sliding Mode Control. This method ensures robustness and fast controller performance against uncertainties and disturbances. The proposed control strategy enhances the boost converter's efficiency, thereby increasing the power extracted from the PEM fuel cell. Additionally, it stabilizes the output voltage of the PEM fuel cell, achieving higher power output compared to alternative methods. Implementation results in the MATLAB environment, along with comparisons to the adaptive sliding mode-PI method, confirm the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed robust hybrid approach.

Keywords

  • Fuel cell,
  • PEM fuel cell,
  • Boost converter,
  • Reset control,
  • Adaptive super twisting sliding mode control,
  • Uncertainty,
  • Lyapunov,
  • Output power
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