Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are a promising dual-mode technology for the production of hydrogen through high-temperature water electrolysis, and the generation of power through a fuel cell reaction that consumes hydrogen. Switching between these two modes as the price of electricity fluctuates requires reversible SOC operation and accurate tracking of hydrogen and power production set points. Moreover, a well-functioning control system is important to avoid cell degradation during mode-switching operation. In this article, we apply nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) to an SOC module and supporting equipment and compare NMPC performance to classical proportional-integral (PI) control strategies, while switching between the modes of hydrogen and power production. While both control methods provide similar performance across various metrics during mode switching, NMPC demonstrates a significant advantage in reducing cell thermal gradients and curvatures (mixed spatial-temporal partial derivatives), thereby helping to mitigate long-term degradation.

中文翻译：

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可逆固体氧化物电池系统模式切换操作的非线性模型预测控制


固体氧化物电池（SOC）是一种很有前途的双模式技术，可通过高温水电解生产氢气，并通过消耗氢气的燃料电池反应发电。当电价波动时在这两种模式之间切换需要可逆的 SOC 操作以及准确跟踪氢气和电力生产设定点。此外，功能良好的控制系统对于避免模式切换操作期间电池退化非常重要。在本文中，我们将非线性模型预测控制 (NMPC) 应用于 SOC 模块和支持设备，并将 NMPC 性能与经典比例积分 (PI) 控制策略进行比较，同时在氢气和电力生产模式之间切换。虽然两种控制方法在模式切换期间在各种指标上提供相似的性能，但 NMPC 在减少电池热梯度和曲率（混合时空偏导数）方面表现出显着优势，从而有助于减轻长期退化。