HEATT Team 2010 - 2011:

The transportation industry has yet to find an alternative fuel source with the efficiency and practicality necessary to lower oil use. In order to further this transition, this project bridges the gap between gasoline and fuel cell technology for vehicles. The prototyped power train for this project features a 288 olt battery system combined with an internal combustion engine generator and hydrogen PEM fuel cell to provide addition range. The current state of the power train allows charging for the batteries solely from a house hold socket. The projected range of the battery system is 60 miles; the combined range is 400 miles. To achieve the combine range, the ICE generator and hydrogen PEM fuel cell must be integrated into one system. Our focus is to design a Battery Management System (BMS) to charge the batteries either from a house hold socket, gasoline generator, or hydrogen fuel cell. This would require a charge algorithm that we will have to design. The BMS will be designed and simulated in LabVIEW. The BMS will optimize the performance of the batteries by monitoring the charge and discharge cycles, as well as protect the batteries from power surges and thermal failures.