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1
IoT-Based Battery Management System
for Hybrid Electric Vehicle
P. Sivaraman1* and C. Sharmeela2
1
Leading Engineering Organisation, Chennai, India
2
CEG, Anna University, Chennai, India
Abstract
The basic function of the BMS are to monitoring and control the battery process
such as charging and discharging cycle, ensure the healthy condition of the battery,
minimizing the risk of battery damaging by ensuring optimized energy is being
delivered from the battery to power the vehicle. The use of monitoring circuit in
BMS will monitor the key parameters of the battery like voltage, current, tempera-
ture during both charging and discharging situation. It estimates the power, State
of Charge (SoC), State of Health (SoH) and ensures the healthiness based on the
measurement. Balancing the cell is one of the important features of the BMS system.
It will monitor the individual cells/group of cells connected in parallel and balanc-
ing the cells online. It also conducts the diagnostics of the battery to ensure the safe
operation. If, BMS identified any one cell is weak, it will give intimation or alarm for
cell replacement. It also provides the protection against overcharging, undercharg-
ing, overcurrent, under voltage, short circuit and temperature variations (low and
high temperature). In recent years, Internet of Things (IoT) plays a major role in
monitoring and control, also it enables the remote data logging facility for battery
parameters, conditions, etc.
Keywords: Electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, batteries, internet of things,
battery management system, Li-ion batteries, SoC, SoH
1.1 Introduction
Lithium-Ion batteries are widely used in Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid
Electric Vehicle (HEV) due to its various advantages over other types of
*Corresponding author: psivapse@[Link]
Chitra A, P. Sanjeevikumar, Jens Bo Holm-Nielsen and S. Himavathi (eds.) Artificial Intelligent
Techniques for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles, (1–16) © 2020 Scrivener Publishing LLC
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batteries. It has the unique feature which requires a Battery Management
System (BMS) to actively monitor its parameters and also to ensure the
reliable, control and safe operation of battery during their charging/
discharging cycle [1, 16].
The basic function of the BMS is to monitor and control the battery pro-
cess such as charging and discharging cycles, ensure the health condition
of the battery, minimizing the risk of battery damaging by ensuring opti-
mized energy is being delivered from the battery to power the vehicle. The
monitoring circuit in BMS is used to monitor the key parameters of the
battery like voltage, current, temperature at both charging and discharg-
ing situations in order to ensure the safe operation. It estimates the power,
SoC, SoH and ensures the healthiness based on the measurement [17]. The
typical two-wheeler battery SoC status indication is shown in Figure 1.1.
It also monitors the EV and HEV ancillary systems like charger operations,
protection and safety devices (fuses and circuit breakers), thermal manage-
ment, etc. Balancing the cell is one of the important features of the BMS sys-
tem. It will monitor the individual cells and/or group of cells connected in
parallel and balancing the cells online. The diagnostics of the battery is con-
ducted to ensure the safe operation. If BMS identified any one cell is weak,
then it will give intimation or alarm for cell replacement. It will also provide
the protection against overcharging, undercharging, overcurrent, under
voltage, short circuit and tempera\ture variations (both low and high tem-
peratures) [20, 21], i.e. it will provide the signals to protection devices if any
Figure 1.1 Typical-two wheeler SoC status indication.
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IoT-Based BMS for HEVs 3
parameter monitoring value exceeds the pre-set value or threshold value and
will give the notification alarm [3, 4, 15]. It will control the charging, power
down, power up and it communicates all the parameters to the vehicle [2].
The BMS acts as the interface with other systems of the vehicle like
vehicle controller, motor controller, safety system, communication system
and climate controller [5, 6]. The two or more numbers of battery strings
are connected in parallel to a common DC bus. The BMS shall aggregate
the string monitored data and communicate it with the main host system
(vehicle master control system) [7, 8]. In recent years, Internet of Things
(IoT) plays a major role in monitoring and control of the equipment for
reliable and safe operation. IoT also enables the remote data logging facil-
ity for battery parameters, battery conditions, etc. [10, 16, 17].
This chapter explains the concept of IoT-based battery management
system for EV and HEV.
1.2 Battery Configurations
The battery packs are designed to deliver the higher voltage, higher current
or both. The number of cells to be connected in series and number of cells
to be connected in parallel is based on the voltage and current requirements
to powering the electric motor in the vehicle [13]. The multiple individual
cells are connected in series for higher voltage requirement. The battery
pack voltage is the product of number of cells connected in series and cell
voltage. The typical name plate details of Li-Ion cell are listed in Table 1.1.
Table 1.1 Typical name plate details of Li-Ion cell.
S. No. Specifications Value
1 Nominal voltage (V) 3.7
2 Maximum charge voltage (V) 4.2
3 Nominal capacity (mAh) 3,200
4 Maximum charge current (mA) 3,100
5 Maximum charge current C rating 1
6 Standard discharge current (mA) 620
7 Standard discharge current C rating 0.2
8 Maximum discharge current (A) 10
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The expression for voltage of the battery pack is given in Equation 1.1.
Vbattery pack = Ns × Vcell (1.1)
Where
Vbattery pack is voltage of the battery pack
Ns is number of cell connected in series
Vcell is cell voltage
Example 1: Calculate the battery pack voltage for 3.7 V, 3,100 mAh, 40
numbers of series connected cells.
The cell voltage is 3.7 V.
No. of cells is 40.
Applying the number of cells and cell voltage in Equation 1.1, the bat-
tery pack voltage is 148 V.
The series connection of individual cells is called as Series Cell Modules
(SCM) and is shown in Figure 1.2.
For higher current requirement multiple individual cells are connected
in parallel. The battery pack current is the product of number of cells con-
nected in parallel and cell current. The expression for current of the battery
pack is given in Equation 1.2.
Ibattery pack = Np × Icell (1.2)
Where
Ibattery pack is current of the battery pack
Np is number of cell connected in parallel
Icell is cell current
+ –
+ Cell − + Cell − + Cell −
SCM
+ Cell − + Cell − + Cell −
SCM
Figure 1.2 Series cell connection.
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IoT-Based BMS for HEVs 5
+ –
+ Cell – + Cell – + Cell –
+ Cell – + Cell – + Cell –
PCM PCM PCM
Figure 1.3 Parallel cell connection.
+ –
+ Cell 1 – + Cell 2 – + Cell 5 –
+ Cell 6 – + Cell 7 – + Cell 10 –
Figure 1.4 Series and parallel cell connection of 2P5S.
Example 2: Calculate the battery pack voltage for 3.7 V, 3,100 mA, 10
numbers of parallel connected cells.
The cell current is 3,100 mA.
No. of cells is 10.
Applying the number of cells and cell current in Equation 1.2, the bat-
tery pack current is 31,000 mA or 31 A.
The parallel connection of individual cells is called as Parallel Cell
Modules (PCM) is shown in Figure 1.3.
The series and parallel connection of multiple number of cells is used to
achieve the desired voltage and/or current. For an example, 2P5S module
has the total number of 10 cells with 2 cells in parallel and 5 cells in series.
Figure 1.4 shows the series and parallel configuration of 2P5S module.
1.3 Types of Batteries for HEV and EV
The types of battery has to be chosen by considering technical require-
ments such as power and energy requirements, commercials involved in it
[18, 19]. The different types of batteries for HEV and EV are listed below
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1. Energy battery
2. Power battery
3. Hybrid battery
- The energy battery is low C rating and economical.
- The power battery is higher C rating and expensive.
- Hybrid battery is a combination of small power battery with
active or passive coupling, energy battery with ultra-capacitor.
The important parameters of battery pack selection for HEV are
1. Energy (kWh)
2. Continuous discharge power (kW)
3. Peak discharge power (kW)
4. Continuous charge power (kW)
5. Peak charge power (kW)
6. Storage and ambient temperature
7. No. of charging and discharging cycle
8. Cooling requirements
9. Weight (kg) Safety
10. Disposal/Recycling procedures
11. Mounting direction
12. Dimensions
1.4 Functional Blocks of BMS
The basic function of the BMS is to monitor and control the battery process
such as charging and discharging, ensure the health condition of the bat-
tery and minimizing the risk of battery from damage. BMS also ensure the
optimized energy from the battery is being delivered to power the vehicle.
The monitoring circuit in BMS is used to monitor the key parameters of
the battery during both charging and discharging conditions such as
• Voltage
• Current
• Power
• Cell temperature
• Ambient temperature
It estimates the State of Charge (SoC) and Depth of Discharge (DoD) of the
battery based on the measurements.
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1.4.1 Components of BMS System
The following components are minimum essential for BMS system:
1. Voltage sensor
2. Current sensor
3. Cell temperature sensor
4. Ambient temperature sensor
5. Interface circuits to communicate with vehicle controller
6. Interface circuit to communicate with remote device
A. Voltage Sensor
The battery State of Charge (SoC) and State of Health (SoH) depends on
cell voltage. The accuracy of cell voltage measurement plays a major role
in estimation of battery SoC and SoH in travel. Inaccurate measurement
of every milli voltage has an impact in battery SoC and SoH in travel. The
selected/used voltage sensor shall have the better accuracy in cell voltage
measurements during charging and discharging time period.
B. Current Sensor
The current sensors are used to measure the current flowing in the circuit
i.e., current flow from the charger to battery during the battery charging
and current flow from the battery to vehicle electric motor during the dis-
charging. Current measurement of the battery pack is required to ensure
the safety during the operation, to log abuse conditions and estimate SoC
and SoH. The product of voltage and current is used to find the charging
and discharging power in and out to the battery.
The measurement of current by using current sensors is done by two
methods which are discussed below:
1. Shunt method
2. Hall effect sensor.
In shunt method, a shunt sensor (high precision resistor) of lower value
in milli Ohm is connected in series with battery pack to measure the cur-
rent flow. The current flow in the circuit is calculated as per Ohms law and
given in Equation 1.3.
= (1.3)
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Where
I is current flow in A
Vshunt is voltage drop (V) in shunt
Rshunt is shunt resistance in Ω
The typical block diagram showing the measurement of current using
shunt is represented in Figure 1.5.
The disadvantages of using shunt sensor for current measurement intro-
duced losses and it generates heat during their entire operation. Heat has
to be dissipated properly without affecting the other equipment’s perfor-
mance. The resistance of shunt sensor changing with respect to tempera-
ture changes. Shunt resistance has to be calibrated with temperature.
Hall effect sensors or Hall sensors are used to measure the current flow
in the circuit by measuring the magnetic field generated by current flowing
in a circuit or wire.
The typical block diagram of measurement of current by using hall sen-
sor is shown in Figure 1.6.
Battery Shunt
+ –
Pack Sensor
Amplifier
BMS
Figure 1.5 Measurement of current by using shunt sensor.
Battery Hall –
+
Pack Sensor
Conditioning
BMS
Figure 1.6 Measurement of current by using hall sensor.
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C. Cell Temperature Sensor
The battery pack characteristics and degradations during operation are
affected by temperature. Sometimes changes in temperature is leading to
cell failure. The cell temperature is measured by cell temperature sensor
installed in top of the cell. The BMS is measuring the actual temperature
on the cell during the charging and discharging time through this cell tem-
perature sensor. The accuracy of the measurement is important in order to
find the healthiness of the battery.
D. Ambient Temperature Sensor
The BMS is measuring the actual ambient temperature during the charging
and discharging through ambient temperature sensor installed in the bat-
tery stack.
E. Interface Circuits to Communicate With Vehicle Controller
All the measured and estimated parameters by BMS like SoC, SoH, power,
temperature, etc., are communicated to vehicle controller for user infor-
mation. Interface circuits are used between the BMS and vehicle controller
to transfer the data. From the vehicle display the users understand the SoC,
SoH, expected km of driving, nearest charging station through GPS, prob-
lems like over temperature in cell, battery under voltage, etc.
F. Interface Circuits to Communicate With Remote Device
This interface circuit enables the monitoring of vehicle parameters such
as SoC, SoH, power, battery voltage, cell temperature, etc., from remote
location. Various advantages are there for monitoring these parameters in
remote devices like storing the history of the vehicle performance, tracking
of vehicle location, etc.
G. State of Charge
This State of Charge (SoC) is expressed as the ratio of amount of battery left
at measurement time to amount of energy of the battery when it was new.
The expression for SoC is given in Equation 1.4.
Amount of energy left at measurement time in the battery
SoC =
Amount of energy of the battery when it was new
Battery residual AH (1.4)
=
Battery no minal AH capacity
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The SoC of the battery is estimated based on voltage and Coulomb
counting. The SoC, determines the usable capacity that is available for the
usage and estimate the vehicle mileage.
H. Depth of Discharge
The Depth of Discharge (DoD) of the battery is defined on the amount of
capacity that is discharged from its overall capacity [23, 24]. It also indi-
rectly says the SoC of the battery after the discharge. The DoD is the ratio
of discharged energy from the battery to overall energy capacity of the bat-
tery. The expression for DoD is given in Equation 1.5.
Disch arg ed energy from the battery ( kWh )
DoD = (1.5)
Overall energy capacity of the battery ( kWh )
Example 1: The battery pack overall capacity is 25 kWh of electric
energy and 20 kWh energy is discharged. The DoD is 80%. It means, 80%
of 25 kWh energy is discharged and 20% of 25kWh energy is available in
the battery.
Example 2: The battery pack overall capacity is 50 AH and battery man-
ufacturer recommending 80% of DoD. What capacity of energy is available
to discharge while considering the 80% DoD.
Answer: The energy availability for discharge by considering 80% DoD
is calculated from Equation 1.6.
Energy availability Overall energy capacity
from the battery (AH) = of the battery (AH) × DoD
= 50 × 80% (1.6)
Energy availability from the battery (Ah) = 40
The life of the battery depends on charging and discharging cycle of the
battery and battery discharge capacity.
I. Cell Diagnostics
During the vehicle operation, any of following things can go wrong and
shall lead to performance degradation or failure of equipment:
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IoT-Based BMS for HEVs 11
• Cell over temperature
• Higher current leakage
• Under voltage or over voltage.
The individual cell temperature may exceed the pre-set value during the
vehicle operation. In series configurations, voltage variations are widely
encountered and in parallel configurations, the leakage current problems
are widely encountered. Sometimes these will lead to catastrophic failure
of the equipment.
J. Cell Balancing
Li-Ion batteries should not be overcharged for safe operation because over-
charging the Li-Ion batteries affects its internal materials. The BMS is mon-
itoring the battery pack voltage actively and cuts off the charger once any
one cell reached the threshold value even others cells are not fully charged.
Whenever cells are connected in parallel tend to self-balance all the cells
that are connected in parallel, i.e., voltage in overcharged cells are balanc-
ing the undercharged cells results in self balancing. This cells balancing are
classified into two types.
1. Passive cell balancing approach
2. Active cell balancing approach
The passive cell balancing is achieved by depletion of overcharged cells
to make the cell Ah capacities to be equal.
The active cell balancing is achieved by diverting the overcharged cells
to lesser charged cells to make the cell Ah capacities to be equal.
K. Thermal Management for Battery Pack
The performance of the battery pack is depends on temperature and change
in temperature affects the vehicle mileage [22]. The typical operating tem-
perature of the battery pack during on board of the vehicle is 5 to 40°C. If
the temperature is high then battery performance is reduced and the tem-
perature is low then battery performance is increased.
1.5 IoT-Based Battery Monitoring System
In general, IoT is a mediator or medium of communication between the var-
ious sensors (hardware) and application (software). The important task of
IoT is to collect the data from the various hardware using different protocols,
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Application
Layer
Customer Data analytics
Application and storage
Middle
Layer
IoT Platform
Hardware
Layer
Sensors
Figure 1.7 General block diagram of IoT based system architecture.
remote location device configuration and its control [9, 11, 12, 14]. The gen-
eral block diagram of IoT-based system architecture is shown in Figure 1.7.
The voltage sensor, current sensor and temperature sensors are used to
measure the battery parameters such as voltage, current, cell temperature and
ambient temperature respectively used in the battery management system. The
measured parameters are used to estimate the power flow, SoC, SoH, Depth of
Discharge (DoD), etc., and communicate to vehicle master controller locally
Remote Device for
Analytics and
Data storage
IoT Platform
Voltage Current Ambient Cell
Sensor Sensor Temperature Temperature
Sensor Sensor
Battery Pack
Figure 1.8 Block diagram of IoT based battery monitoring system.
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IoT-Based BMS for HEVs 13
[12, 16, 17]. In an IoT-based system, these measured and estimated parameters
are communicated to remote location via wireless communication [27]. The
block diagram of IoT-based battery monitoring system is shown in Figure 1.8.
Wireless technology is a broad term. It includes necessary procedures
and formats of connection or communication between two or more devices
by using wireless signals [26, 27]. In literature, there are different types of
wireless technologies that are for monitoring the battery system. They are
1. ZigBee communication
2. Wi-Fi communication
3. GSM communication
4. Bluetooth communication
5. GPRS communication
6. GPS
A. Zigbee Communication
The Zigbee is a wireless communication is based on IEEE standard 802.15.4
and used for connectivity and networking. All the devices available near
the vicinity are connected via Zigbee communication. The advantage of
Zigbee communications is flexibility in network structure resulting in
higher number of devices connectivity. The disadvantage of Zigbee com-
munications are lesser coverage area and not secured network like Wi-Fi.
B. Wi-Fi communication
The Wi-Fi is one of the popular wireless communications used to connect
the multiple devices in lesser coverage area [25]. The advantages of Wi-Fi
communications are mobility and convenient transfer of data. The disad-
vantages of Wi-Fi communications are security and connectivity range.
C. Global System for Mobile Communication
Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication is one type of world-
wide popular wireless communication [28]. The frequency band for GSM
communication is either 900 MHz or 1,800 MHz. The advantages of GSM
communication are there are no roaming issues and it can be easy to imple-
ment. The disadvantage of GSM communication technology is license to
be obtained every time for usage of this technology.
D. Bluetooth Communication
The Bluetooth technology is widely used in mobile phone communication
for transferring the data between multiple devices. The main advantage of
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Bluetooth technology is that it is interference-free when used to transferring
both data and voice for short distance. The disadvantages of Bluetooth tech-
nology are they are highly unsecure and have limited connectivity range.
E. General Packet Radio Service Communication
The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is one of the wireless commu-
nication technologies widely used across the world particularly in mobile
phones.
Advantages of GPRS:
• It enables wireless access from any location and anywhere in
the network signal coverage
• It enables high-speed data transfer
• It supports various applications
• It provides higher bandwidth and point-to-point services
• The communication via GPRS in cheap as compared with
GSM.
Disadvantages of GPRS:
• Limited number of users and also it cannot be used at a time
in same location
• Limited in capacity for its users
• Small delay in transfer
• Not possible to use the GPRS outside the network coverage
area.
F. Global Positioning System (GPS) Communication
Global Positioning System (GPS) communication technology is
satellite-based to transfer the data to GPS receiver across the world [28].
It transfers the signal at speed of light and GPS receiver receives the sig-
nal with slightly small difference because of distance between the satellites.
The GPS-based system has an accuracy range of ±10 m.
References
1. Basu, A. K. and Bhattacharya, S. (Eds.), Overview of Electric Vehicles (EVs)
and EV Sensors, Singapore, Springer, 2019.
2. IEEE Standard Technical Specifications of a DC Quick Charger for Use with
Electric Vehicles, IEEE 2030.1.1, 2015.
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