Introduction

Whether you are an Electrical Engineer or not, you might have come across at least a couple of different types
of batteries in your life. Some of the common places where you use batteries are a wall clocks, alarms or
smoke detectors which uses small disposable batteries or cars, trucks or motor cycles which uses relatively
large rechargeable batteries.

Batteries have become a very important source of energy in the last decade or so. Even before that, they were
an integral part of our lives in powering several portable devices like transistor radios, Walkman, handheld
games, cameras etc.

But with the development in advanced smart phones, tablets, laptops, solar energy and electric vehicles, the
research into powerful batteries that can last longer and can deliver the necessary energy has been at its peak.

As a matter of fact, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists John B.
Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries.

What is a Battery?

A Battery is a chemical device that store electrical energy in the form of chemicals and by means of
electrochemical reaction, it converts the stored chemical energy into direct current electric energy. Alessandro
Volta, an Italian Physicist, invented the first battery in 1800.

The electrochemical reaction in a battery involves transfer of electrons from one material to another (called
electrodes) through an electric current.

Cell and Battery

Even though the term battery is often used, the basic electrochemical unit responsible for the actual storage of
energy is called a Cell. A Cell, as just mentioned, is the fundamental electrochemical unit that is the source of
electrical energy produced by conversion of chemical energy.

In its basic form, a cell typically contains three main components: two electrodes and electrolyte and also
consists of terminals, separator and a container. Speaking of electrodes, there are two types of electrodes
called the Anode and the Cathode.

The Anode is the negative electrode (also called the Fuel Electrode or the Reducing Electrode). It loses
electrons to the external circuit and in the electrochemical reaction, it gets oxidized.

Cathode on the other hand, is the positive electrode (also called the Oxidizing Electrode). It accepts electrons
from the eternal circuit and in the electrochemical reaction, it gets reduced. Hence, the energy conversion in a
battery is due to electrochemical oxidation-reduction reaction.

The third important component of a cell is the electrolyte. An electrolyte acts as medium for transfer of charge
in the form of ions between the two electrodes. Hence, the electrolyte is sometime referred to as Ionic
Conductor. An important point to be noted here that the electrolyte is not electrically conductive but just have
ionic conductivity.

A battery often consists of one or more “cells” that are electrically connected in either a series or parallel
configuration to provide the necessary voltage and current levels.
 Different Types of Batteries

Basically, all the electrochemical cells and batteries are classified into two types:

 Primary (non-rechargeable)
 Secondary (rechargeable)

Primary Batteries

A Primary Battery is one of the simple and convenient sources of power for several portable electronic and
electrical devices like lights, cameras, watches, toys, radios etc. As they cannot be recharged electrically, they
are of “use it and when discharged, discard it” type.

Usually, primary batteries are inexpensive, light weight, small and very convenient to use with relatively no or
less maintenance. Majority of the primary batteries that are used in domestic applications are single cell type
and usually come in cylindrical configuration (although, it is very easy to produce them in different shapes and
sizes).

The following table shows different types of primary batteries along with their characteristics and applications.

Battery Type Applications

Characteristics

Zinc – Carbon Common, low cost, variety ofRadios, toys, instruments

sizes

Magnesium (Mg/MnO2) Military and aircraft Radios

High capacity, long shelf life
 Medical (hearing aids,
Mercury (Zn/HgO) Very high capacity, long shelf
pacemakers), photography
life

Alkaline (Zn/Alkaline/MnO2) Very popular, moderate cost,Most popular primary batteries

high performance

Hearing aids, photography,

Silver/Zinc (Zn/Ag2O) Highest capacity, costly, flat
pagers
discharge

Wide range of applications with

Lithium/Soluble Cathode High energy density, good
capacity between 1 – 10,000 Ah
performance, wide temp range

Replacement for button and

Lithium/Solid Cathode High energy density, low temp
cylindrical cells
performance, long shelf life

Memory circuits, medical

Lithium/Solid Electrolyte Low power, extremely long shelf
electronics
life

Secondary Batteries

A Secondary Battery is also called as Rechargeable Battery as they can be electrically recharged after
discharge. The chemical status of the electrochemical cells can be “recharged” to their original status by
passing a current through the cells in the opposite direction of their discharge.

Common Secondary Battery Types

There are some other types of Secondary Batteries but the four major types are:

 Lead – Acid Batteries

 Nickel – Cadmium Batteries
 Nickel – Metal Hydride Batteries
 Lithium – Ion Batteries

Lithium – Ion Batteries

 The emergence of lithium-ion batteries in the last couple of decades has been quite phenomenal. More than
50% of the consumer market has adopted the use of lithium-ion batteries. Particularly, laptops, mobile phones,
cameras, etc. are the largest applications of lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries have significantly high energy density, high specific energy and longer cycle life. Other
main advantages of lithium-ion batteries are slow self-discharge rate and wide range of operating
temperatures.

Battery Applications

In the last few decades, the usage of small sealed batteries in consumer applications has been exponential.
Primary or rechargeable batteries in small form factor are being used in a huge number of appliances. Some of
them are mentioned below.

 Portable Electronic Devices: Watches, Cameras, Mobile Phones, Laptops, Camcorders, Calculators, testing
equipment (Multimeters).
 Entertainment: Radios, MP3 players, CD Players, all infrared remote controls, toys, games, keyboards.
 Household: Clocks, Alarms, Smoke Detectors, Flash lights, UPS, Emergency lights, tooth brushes, hair
trimmers and shavers, Blood Pressure Monitors, Hearing Aids, pacemakers, portable power tools (drills, screw
driver).
Types of Lithium Batteries

Degradation Mechanisms of Li-ion Cells

The other aspect of batteries as traction sources is the battery durability and life which is of much concern in
PHEVs. As the battery ages, it becomes less able to store and supply energy. The former is known as
“capacity fade” and the latter as “powerfade”. Knowledge about battery durability is also of much importance
from the customer point of view, i.e. knowing how far the battery will operate properly over a reasonable period
without needing a replacement and additional costs. Of course, it strongly depends on the operating conditions
and the environment that the battery is exposed to. In PHEV applications, the battery lifetime by convention is
defined as the time period that the battery loses 20% of its initial capacity. Batteries are designed for 8-10
years of service. However, battery lifetime is affected by several factors. High power imposed on the battery
during acceleration and braking, which could be up to ten times higher than the average power demand, as
well as driving behavior, extreme ambient temperature and charging habit all are known to be significant
factors on the battery state of health (SOH). To improve the battery performance and lifetime prediction models
these effects should be carefully taken into account. Also, thermal heating of the cell can significantly reduce
the lifetime of a battery.
Accelerated Degradation

During Cycling Stress factors like extreme temperatures, large C-rates and high SOC have negative impact on
the cell capacity and cause accelerated degradation. In the following each of these stress factors will be
described.

Depth of Discharge

The cycle life of a cell is strongly dependent on the DOD. The deeper the discharge, the more intercalation and
deintercalation takes place in the electrodes. The loss of lithium ions and active electrode material is higher for
larger DOD cycles. At high DODs, additional degradation mechanisms can occur resulting in decomposition
and dissolution of cathode material and capacity fading. DOD has no influence on the capacity fading of
LiFePO4 cells, but the charge or energy processed is the determining factor.

C-rate

High currents generate more heat and cause the temperature of the cell to rise invoking the high temperature
degradation mechanisms. High currents also cause local over potential of the electrodes; it means that the
maximum voltage for the cell is reached at an earlier stage at certain areas of the cell. High C-rates will also
cause the SEI layer on the anode to crack faster. More active anode material is exposed and the SEI layer will
restore itself, reducing lithium ions from the battery cell process. High C-rates will furthermore cause additional
strain on the electrode materials, resulting in increased deformation and loss of active material. These effects
will all result in capacity and power fading.

Temperature

Li-ion cells have an optimal temperature operating range; outside this range the battery cell undergoes severe
loss of capacity. High and low temperatures have different effect on the battery life.

At low temperature, due to the higher activation energy needed for the chemical reactions and lower ion
diffusion; there will be a loss of capacity and deliverable power. However, when the temperature is restored to
nominal level, the capacity and power capabilities will be recovered. Under normal discharge, low temperature
on its own does not have any permanent influence on capacity fading, but during charging, lithium plating is
likely to happen because the intercalation rate at the anode is inherently slower than the deintercalation rate.

High temperature, in the long term, may cause severe damages to the cell. Increasing temperatures results in
higher capacity fading. Due to high temperatures the SEI layer will slowly break down and dissolve into the
electrolyte. The active material of the anode will be partly exposed to the electrolyte again, causing the side
reactions. The damaged SEI layer will be restored due to the side reactions or a precipitation of the dissolved
SEI particles will take place. Also, parts of the cathode can dissolve into the electrolyte and incorporated into
the SEI layer. As a result, the intercalation at the anode will be more difficult and the ionic conductivity will be
lowered. The same degradation mechanism happens at the cathode side with the SPI layer. Another
degradation mechanism is the deformation of the anode and cathode. Detailed discussion of high temperature
effect is available in.

Overcharge

When the cell is charged over the specified voltage, a small increase in capacity is initially obtained, but the
cycle life is strongly reduced. This effect is stronger as the end of charge voltage increases. During overcharge
electrical energy is pumped into the battery, but more intercalation can hardly take place. This will be
represented by a sharp increase of internal resistance and the temperature. Decomposition of the binder and
electrolyte, forming insoluble products, blocking the pores of the electrodes, and causing gas generation
subsequently may take place.

Over discharge
When the cell is discharged under the specified cut-off voltage, two degradation mechanisms severely damage
the cell. 1- Corrosion of the copper current collectors on the anode side of the cell and dissolution into the
electrolyte resulting in loss of contact with anode and power fade. 2- Decomposition of the SEI layer on the
anode. The high anode potential will cause dissolution of the SEI layer. Upon recharge the exposed active
material will cause side reactions to restore the SEI layer and reducing lithium ions, causing capacity fading.

Battery Management System

A BMS is an embedded system (purpose-built electronics plus processing to enable a specific application). It
protects the safety of the battery, detects unsafe operating conditions and responds, protects cells of battery
from damage in abuse/failure cases, prolongs life of battery (normal operating cases), maintains battery in a
state in which it can fulfill its functional design requirements, and informs the application controller how to make
the best use of the pack right now (e.g., power limits), control charger, etc.

Battery pack topology

High-power battery packs deliver high voltage, high current, or both.

■ Chemistry of individual cells fixes their voltage range, so for high voltage packs, we must stack cells in
series:

Vpack = Ns x Vcell.

■ Cell construction places limits on cell current, so for high current packs, we must wire cells in parallel:

Ipack = Np x Icell.

The series/parallel design is generally determined by economic and safety factors—modules are usually kept
less than 50 V for safety, and packs are kept less than 600 V because power electronics begin to get very
expensive at higher voltages. Generally, we want to minimize current to keep wire diameter small and reduce
resistive I2.R wiring losses. Modules also minimize NRE, create reusable design. Extremes: Parallel-cell
modules (PCM), Series-cell modules (SCM). We can design battery packs and BMS for either—most often use
something in between these extremes.

e.g., a “3P6S” module has 18 cells: 3 in parallel and 6 in series.

BMS Functionality
BMS is interconnected with all battery-pack components and with vehicle control computer. Functionality can
be broken down into several categories:

1. Sensing and high-voltage control: Measure voltage, current, temperature; control contactor, pre-charge;
ground-fault detection, thermal management.

2. Protection against: Over-charge, over-discharge, over-current, short circuit, extreme temperatures.

3. Interface: Range estimation, communications, data recording, reporting.

4. Performance management: State-of-charge (SOC) estimation, power-limit computation, balance/equalize

cells.

5. Diagnostics: Abuse detection, state-of-health (SOH) estimation, state-of-life (SOL) estimation.

Battery-pack sensing: Voltage

All cell voltages are measured in a lithium-ion pack. It is an indicator of relative balance of cells and input to
most SOC and SOH estimation algorithms. It’s also a safety issue. Overcharging a lithium-ion cell can lead to
“thermal runaway,” so we can’t skip measuring any voltages.

Battery-pack sensing: Temperature

Battery pack operational characteristics and cell degradation rates are very strong functions of temperature. Do
not charge at low temperature; control thermal management systems to keep temperature in “safe” region.
Unexpected temperature changes can indicate cell failure or impending safety concern. Ideally, we measure
each cell’s internal temperature. But, with accurate pack thermal model, we can place sensors external to one
or more cells per module and calibrate internal temperatures. To measure temperature, we must produce a
voltage signal indicative of the temperature, which is then measured via an A2D circuit. Thermocouple directly
produces a (very small) voltage, which can be amplified and measured — needs “cold junction compensation.”
Probably best suited for lab tests. Thermistor (NTC/PTC) is easier to use in products. Resistance changes
significantly with temperature.
Battery-pack sensing: Current

Battery pack current measurements are required to ensure safety, and to log abuse conditions. By most state-
of-charge and state-of-health algorithms. There are two basic sensing methods: Shunt and Hall effect. Shunt
sensor is low-value (e.g., 0:1 mΩ) high-precision resistor in series with battery pack, usually at low-voltage
end.

Current computed by measuring voltage drop: I = Vshunt/Rshunt

Log book function

For warrantee and diagnostic purposes, BMS must store a log of atypical/abuse events. Abuse type: out of
tolerance, voltage, current, temperature, duration, and magnitude of abuse. A BMS can also store diagnostic
information regarding number of charge/discharge cycles completed, SOH estimates at beginning of each
driving cycle, and much more. . .Data is stored in memory in a “history chip” (e.g., FLASH memory) and
downloaded when required.

What really is state-of-charge (SOC)?

Charging a cell moves lithium from the positive to the negative electrode of the cell; discharge does the
opposite. Electrochemically, the cell state-of-charge (SOC) is related to average concentration of lithium in the
negative electrode solid particles. Define the present lithium concentration stoichiometry as θ = cs,avg/cs,max.
 This stoichiometry is intended to remain between θ (0%) and θ (100%). Then, cell SOC is computed as: zk =
(θ - θ (0%)) / (θ (100%) - θ (0%)).

Battery Health

Battery health can refer to several different things depending on the user and context. In all cases, a healthy
battery is one that meets the intended application. For instance, a cell phone battery is healthy when it
provides sufficient energy to meet the manufacturer’s claim of operational life. Battery health can fail
catastrophically, in steps, or gradually. An adequate SOH algorithm, therefore, needs to address all of these
possibilities and alert the user to replace the battery when the battery’s health is failing.12 Several examples of
poor battery health are:

 Loss of capacity due to cycle life. This is usually the first thought when battery health comes to mind, but it is
not the most common failure mode in larger battery systems.
 Loss of capacity due to cell-to-cell connection failures. Interconnect failures generally lead to a stepwise drop
in capacity.
 Battery failure due to internal connection failures. Internal weld or material failures often lead to a shorted
battery. This can lead to a fire, but more commonly causes capacity loss.
 Cell venting. Damaged cells can leak electrolyte. In worst-case scenarios, this can lead to battery fires but can
more commonly lead to apparent capacity loss through increased impedance

Equivalent-circuit models

One function of a battery management system is to compute estimates of a number of fundamental quantities,
including state of charge, state of health, state of life, available power, available energy (range). The best
methods require high-fidelity but computationally simple math models of cell input/output (current/ voltage)
dynamics. We believe that future applications will also require insight into cell internal dynamics (e.g., to
predict and minimize degradation). Equivalent-circuit models (ECMs): amounts to an empirical curve fit that
interpolates between data seen when fitting model (extrapolation not reliable). It can predict input/output
(current/voltage) behavior only, not internal electro-chemical states but yields fast, robust simulations.

Modeling Approach: Empirical

Current/voltage behavior of lithium-ion cell can appear very simple, and is often well approximated by an
equivalent circuit:
It is used extensively in real-time control algorithms. The (continuous-time) “enhanced self-correcting” (ESC)
cell model equivalent circuit is drawn above, modeling a single diffusion voltage via a single R–C pair.

R0, C1, and R1 are analogs of physical properties of diffusion processes, but do not directly describe
something physical. Values of R0, C1, and R1 are chosen to make model fit cell-test data. Values do not come
from direct physical measurements. Parameters are typically a function of SOC and temperature.

The ESC model comprises the following terms:

SOC Estimation Methods

Coulomb Counting Method

The Coulomb counting method measures the discharging current of a battery and integrates the discharging
current over time in order to estimate SOC. Coulomb counting method is done to estimate the SOC(t), which is
estimated from the discharging current, I(t), and previously estimated SOC values, SOC(t-1). SOC is
calculated by the following equation:
But there are several factors that affect the accuracy of Coulomb counting method including temperature,
battery history, discharge current, and cycle life.

Modified Coulomb Counting Method

To improve the Coulomb counting method, a new technique called modified Coulomb counting method is
proposed. The modified Coulomb counting method uses the corrected current to improve the accuracy of
estimation.

The corrected current is the function of discharging current. There is a quadratic relationship between the
corrected current and discharging current of battery. By practice of experimental data, corrected current is
calculated by the following form:

Where k2, k1 and k0 are constant values obtained from the practice experimental data.
In modified Coulomb counting method, SOC is calculated by the following equation:

The experimental results show that the accuracy of the modified Coulomb counting method is superior to the
conventional Coulomb counting method.

State of Health

As a battery cell ages, its total capacity decreases. This is primarily due to unwanted side reactions and
structural deterioration. This phenomenon is often referred to as capacity fade.

Cell Balancing

Causes of imbalance

We’ve now explored the basic estimation tasks performed by a BMS. This section focuses on balancing or
equalizing a battery pack. Balancing or equalizing is the process of modifying the level of charge in cells on a
cell-by-cell basis. There are two basic approaches to balancing: Passive balancing which drains charge from
cells having too much charge and dissipates drained energy as heat, and active balancing which moves
charge from “high cells” to “low cells,” attempting to conserve energy in the battery pack.
Passive: Fixed shunt resistor

The simplest electronics designs are for passive balancing systems. The general idea is that a resistor is
placed in parallel with each cell, and used to drain charge from that cell. The energy removed from the cell is
dissipated as heat. The simplest design of all is the “fixed shunt resistor design.” ...The idea is that high-voltage
cells will have greater balancing current, and so will self-discharge more quickly than low-voltage cells.
However, note that the circuit is always dissipating charge, even when the pack is perfectly balanced.

Passive: Switched shunt resistor

A variation on the above idea, which works for lithium-ion chemistries as well, is to replace the zener diode with
a BMS-controlled switch. This switch is some kind of transistor circuit.

Active: Multiple switched capacitors

Active balancing circuits break down into three general categories: Move charge via switched capacitors; Move
energy via transformer/inductor designs; Use dc-dc converter techniques to discharge high cells and charge
low cells (we don’t look at these in this course as the designs are quite expensive, with no clear benefit at this
point). We look first at capacitor-based designs. In the circuit below, there is one fewer capacitor than there are
battery-pack cells. The single-pole-double-throw (transistor circuit) switches repeatedly back and forth (no
intelligence in the switching). Consider two neighboring cells. The higher-voltage cell charges the capacitor to
its voltage, and then the lower-voltage cell discharges the capacitor to its voltage: charge moves to equalize
cell voltages.
Active: One switched capacitor

An alternate design uses a single switched capacitor, with intelligent control: This allows direct movement of
charge from a high-voltage to a low-voltage cell. A serious drawback of all capacitor-based designs is that they
rely on a voltage difference between cells in order to work.

Active: Switched transformer

An alternative approach, which can move a great deal of charge at once, is to use a transformer. Rapidly
switching the primary creates an approximate AC waveform, reproduced at the secondary. Primary is
connected across n cells; Transformer is wound with a n:1 ratio. Output of transformer is decreased in voltage
by factor of n, but increased in current by factor of n. The diode plus switches select into which cell to dump the
charge.

Active: Shared transformer

Finally, a simplified variation of the prior scheme is to use a transformer with custom winding and a diode
circuit. The control rapidly switches the primary; diodes route the current. Balancing is automatic without
sophisticated algorithms
Organic Decomposition of The System

As we have seen already, the circuitry of the system under study consists of two main parts: the battery pack,
and the battery management system BMS. There are other systems such as temperature control system that
cooperate to function. The figure below shows an example of the BMS used to implement the SOC/SOH
algorithms with noting its principal parts.

In the following figure, we see the basic blocks of how a BMS can look while serving the function of preventing
major battery malfunctions.
Each of the following sections explains a part of the BMS and its role in the overall circuitry.

Fuse

When a violent short circuit occurs, the battery cells need to be protected fast. In Figure 5, you can see what's
known as a self-control protector (SCP) fuse, which is mean to be blown by the overvoltage control IC in case
of overvoltages, driving pin 2 to ground.

Current Sensing/Coulomb Counting

Here is implemented a low side current measurement, allowing direct connection to the MCU.
Thermistors

Temperature sensors, usually thermistors, are used both for temperature monitor and for safety intervention. In
the figure, you can see a thermistor that controls an input of the overvoltage control IC. This artificially blows
the SCP (the fuse) without MCU intervention.

Main Switch

To act as switches, MOSFETs need their drain-source voltage to be Vds≤Vgs-Vth. The electric current in the
linear region is Id=k.(Vgs-Vth).Vds making the resistance of the switch Rmos=1/ k.(Vgs-Vth)

It's important to drive the Vgs accordingly to ensure low resistance and hence low losses.

Balancer

Battery cells have given tolerances in their capacity and impedance. So, over cycles, a charge difference can
accumulate among cells in series. If a weaker set of cells has less capacity, it will charge faster compared to
others in series. The BMS has to therefore stop other cells from charging, or else the weaker cells will get
overcharged, as seen in the figure below.
Conversely, a cell can get discharged faster, risking that cells going under its minimum voltage. In this
instance, a BMS without a balancer has to stop the power delivery earlier, as seen in the following figure.

A circuit like the one in the next figure will discharge the cell with higher SOC (state of charge) as shown in the
previous figure at the level of the other cells in series. This is accomplished by using a passive method of
balancing called charge shunting.

How to Install?

There are two main sets of wires you need to install, the thick wires and the thin wires. The thick wires are your
charging/discharging wires and the thin wires are your balance wires.

Not every BMS is the same, but most are similar. Your BMS will likely have 3 thick wires, or 3 pads to solder
on your own heavy gauge wires. These are the B-, P- and C- wires (or pads for adding wires).

If your BMS comes with the thick wires already soldered to the BMS board, then the hardest step is already
done for you. If not, you’ll need to solder a length of wire to the B- pad on your BMS. Be very careful not to let
the solder blob touch any other components on the BMS board, as many BMSs have very small solder pads
that are close to other components.

You generally want to use a fairly heavy gauge wire here such as 12 or 14 AWG. This wire will carry the full
power of your battery during discharge.
Installing the B- wire
Now you’ll take the free end of your B- wire and connect it to the wire clamps on your battery, which should be
bolted onto the negative terminal of your first row of cells. If you used a single wire clamp, just crimp the wire
inside of the clamp using a wire crimper (preferred) or a pair of pliers (less ideal, but it works). If you used
multiple wire clamps, you can either strip a section of wire further down the B- wire, or you can use two wires
spliced together, with one end crimped in each connector and the other ends reaching back to the B- pad or B-
wire on your BMS.

Now your BMS is connected to the negative terminal of your battery. It’s generally a good idea to mount your
BMS on your battery at this point, if you haven’t done so already.

Installing the balance wires

These are the thin wires with the white connector. Your BMS will either have the same number of balance
wires as series cells in your battery, or one more. Our BMSs sold in our shop have one more wire than the
number of cells in series. If your BMS has one more wire than the number of cells in series, then all the
balance wires will connect to the positive ends of the parallel cell groups except for the very first one which will
connect to the negative end of the first parallel cell group. If your BMS has the same number of balances wires
as series cells, then each balance wire will connect to the positive end of each cell group only.

For our BMSs, you’ll start with the thin black wire, which connects to the negative end of the first cell group (the
same place where the thick B- wire connected). But if you have a BMS with the same number of balance wires
as series cells, you’ll start on the positive end of the first cell group, which is the opposite side of the first cell
group from where the thick B- wire was connected.

It is best to connect the thin balance wires by removing the nut on one cell in the group, lifting the bus bar and
then wrapping the wire around the threaded post. Then place the bus bar back on top of the cell, ensuring that
it contacts the balance wire, and finally replace the nut and tighten everything down. This will clamp the
balance wire between the busbar and the plastic cap. You could also clamp the balance wire between the
busbar and the nut, but this would add some resistance to the flow of electricity through the battery, as the
electrons flow through the threaded post, into the nut and then into the busbar. By placing the balance wire
below the busbar instead of between the busbar and the nut, you allow the main flow of electricity to bypass
the sense wire during pack discharge, while still allowing it to remain in electrical connection. Essentially,
you’re wiring the balance wire in parallel to the flow of electricity and not in series.

Alternatively, you can also solder the balance wires directly onto the busbars. That way you don’t have to worry
about making a clamped connection. Either way works just fine.

Continue with each successive balance wire by connecting it to the positive end of each successive cell. For
our BMSs, the second balance wire (the first thin red wire) will be connected to the positive terminal of the first
cell group. Then the third balance wire connects to the positive terminal of the second cell group, and so on.
The last balance wire should connect to the positive terminal of your last cell group.

Installing the P- wire

Now that you’ve completed all of your balance wires, you can move on the remaining thick wires. The P- wire
is the negative discharge connection, so that will plug into whatever device you are powering, such as an
electric bicycle or skateboard controller, an inverter, etc.

Our BMS already has this wire soldered to the BMS, so you are essentially done at this point, unless you want
to lengthen that wire by soldering on a longer piece. If you use another BMS, you’ll need to carefully solder this
wire to your BMS’s P- pad. Remember to use a fairly thick wire, such as 12 or 14 AWG.
You’ll need to add your discharge connector too. You can use any discharge connector you like, as long as it is
rated to handle the current that you plan to draw from your battery. If you are using a connector that has
male/female polarity, the female connector should go on your battery. This is so that any male prongs don’t
accidentally short against something, draining or damaging your battery.

Installing the C- wire

Next you need to install your C- wire. Again, if you used one of our BMSs, this wire is already installed for you
on the BMS. Unless you want to lengthen the wire, you’re done. For any other BMS, carefully solder this wire
to your BMS’s C- pad. You can use a somewhat thinner wire here, as the charger generally provides less
current compared to discharging. Anything from 14-18 AWG is common for the C- wire, depending on your
loads.

Next, you’ll want to install your charger connector here. Again, any charger connector will work as long as it
can handle your loads. Common connectors for charging are XT-60, Anderson Power Poles, XLR and DC 2.5
mm barrel connectors, but anything that can carry the load will work.

Installing the positive charge and discharge wires

At this point your BMS is completely connected, but you’re not quite done yet. Your positive charge and
discharge wires usually won’t connect to the BMS. Instead, they usually connect directly to the battery. They
will both connect to the positive end of your last cell group, which is the positive terminal of the entire battery.
Just like when you connected the B- wire, crimp the positive charge and discharge wires onto the wire clamps
on your VRUZEND battery.

For the discharge wire, you’ll want to use the same thickness wire you used for the B- and P- wires, usually 12
or 14 AWG. The charge wire can be thinner, from 14-18 AWG. If you used a single wire clamp on your battery,
make sure your discharge wire is firmly crimped. If there isn’t enough room for both the positive charge and
discharge wire, you can always solder the smaller charge wire onto the wire clamp. If you used two wire
clamps on the positive terminal of your battery, you can either use two discharge wires that splice together, or
just strip the discharge wire further back to clamp it in two places. It’s always better to use two or three wire
clamps on the terminals of your battery, when possible. This spreads the load between the cells on the ends of
your battery.

The charge wire is less important to connect in multiple places. Because it carries lower current, it can connect
in a single place without worrying about spreading the load out between cells, as the load is much smaller.

Lastly, you’ll need to add your connectors. You probably already installed connectors on your C- and P- wires.
You’ll use the same connectors on your C+ and P+ (positive charging and positive discharging) wires that you
just connected in this step.

One last tip is to install your connectors before you connect the wires to the battery, if possible. This means
that if you fudge up the connector or otherwise have a difficult time installing the connector, you can restart
without having it connected to the battery. It’s also a bit safer as it means the bare ends of the wires won’t be
connected to electricity while you’re installing the connectors.

Devices and Tools for BMS Measurement and Testing

A battery stack design can have infinite combinations of good and bad cells and will be subject to a huge range
of environmental conditions. These variations and usage scenarios necessitate battery pack simulation for
development and qualification of effective BMSs. They also can influence the type of testing used in a
production environment.
 The BMS is therefore a critical component of hybrid electric vehicle, electric vehicle, and plug-in electric vehicle
electric drive systems. A typical BMS controls all functions of the energy storage system (ESS), including
battery-pack voltage and current monitoring, individual cell voltage measurements, cell-balancing routines,
pack state of charge calculations, and cell temperature and health monitoring as well as ensuring overall pack
safety and optimal performance.

The BMS modules and related submodules must read voltages from the cell stack and inputs from associated
temperature, current, and voltage sensors. From there, the BMS must process the inputs, making logical
decisions to control pack performance and safety and reporting input status and operating state through a
variety of analog, digital, and communications outputs.

Effectively testing a BMS involves two primary functions:

 Accurately simulating the required sensors and battery cell stack inputs to the BMS.
 Measuring, collecting, and processing the digital and analog outputs produced by the BMS as a result of those
inputs.

One of the examples of the tools used to test the behavior of BMS is a Desktop BMS Tester with Computer
TMAX-BC-T. The device is shown in the figure.

The integrated test equipment for finished batteries is a fast and accurate equipment for testing the
performance of finished batteries. The main test items are: open circuit voltage, AC internal resistance,
discharge test, discharge overcurrent test, short circuit protection test, charging test and charging protection
test. The system uses 32-bit ARM processor and 16-bit AD converter for voltage and current. Compared with
similar devices, the system has fast test speed, high test precision and supports multiple devices to operate at
the same time. Widely used in automotive electronics, aerospace, ships, solar energy storage, electric
bicycles, electric motorcycles, backup power batteries, communications power and other power battery
production and scientific research and experimental testing.
Test Items

1. Open circuit voltage: test the voltage at both ends of the open circuit positive and negative electrodes of the
battery.

2. Ac internal resistance: test the resistance values at both ends of the battery discharge circuit.

3. Discharge test: test the battery's carrying capacity, and make the battery discharge for a certain time to
check the voltage drop.

4. Discharge overcurrent test: test the battery's high-current discharge protection function, and the high-current
discharge of the battery triggers the discharge overcurrent protection function of the battery's protection plate.

5. Short-circuit protection: test battery positive and negative pole short battery cut off protection time
(microsecond level).

6. Charging test: test the continuous charging function of the battery, and test whether the battery charging
function is good.

7. Charging overcurrent test: test the charging protection function of the battery with high current, which
triggers the charging current protection function of the battery protection plate.

Another example is shown below.

 The BMS Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Test System is a high performance platform providing all necessary
input signals used for battery pack simulation. A real-time operating system executes complex cell and pack
models commonly used for BMS algorithm development and firmware regression testing.

 Over 200 series connected cell voltage simulation

 Pack voltage simulation up to 1000Vdc
 Current and temperature sensor simulation
 BMS control IO and communication simulation
 Fault insertion and auxiliary system measurements
 Custom cell and pack model integration (Simulink, C++, LabVIEW, etc.)
 Software application for manual operation, automated test, and reporting

The BMS HIL Test System is the ideal platform to use when developing and testing a real-time embedded
controller, benefits include:

 Provides a safe and efficient method of simulating a high voltage battery

 Implements irregular and dangerous physical battery conditions
 Improves quality of testing with repeatable stimulus
 Reduces test duration and cost by not using physical batteries
 Shortens development process through executing known test scenarios
 Major application features:

 Graphical User interface: to ensure you get the most out of the system, a customized interface is provided to
view full system status and perform all system control, test, report viewing, and configuration.
 Manual Control: complete operation of system channels and allows for value forcing, alarming, calibration,
and stimulus generation.
 Automated Test: fully automated test environment, providing the ability to generate stimulus profiles (drive
profiles) and test scenarios to complete BMS firmware regression testing.
 Communication Integration: integrate standard CAN and LIN automotive diagnostics or implement custom
communication protocols used as feedback into models or measurement and reporting channels.
 Reporting: create test reports for system IO, communication capturing during manual or automated control.
 System Configuration: store all necessary hardware configuration information, software variables, IP
address, report folders, model location, test stimulus profiles, and other critical station information.
 Model Execution: save, recall, and load custom models. Model execution is dependent on system IO, channel
count, feedback, and the model itself. Typical pack model execution (complete system IO) is between 10Hz
and 500Hz. Benchmarking is available.

Battery Testing
We will give an overview about 2 devices that are used for pack testing.

First, starting with battery burning tester:

Battery Burning Tester is suitable for lithium battery, battery pack, mobile phone, notebook computer and other
small electronic consumer products battery fire resistance/flammability testing. The main function is to observe
a series changes and the impact force size produced by exploding after being heated by flames.
Second, the thermal abuse test system.

This Thermal Abuse Case Stress Test Chamber can be used for module case stress at high ambient
temperatures as well as thermal abuse and thermal testing. After the battery (pack) is charged, test it at
ambient temperature of 70±2°C for 7h, then shift it out from the oven, cool to room temperature, and the
battery case required free from physical deformation that causes the internal components to be exposed.
Place each fully charged cell in a natural convection or forced air oven. The oven is raised to an average
heating rate of 5 ± 2 ° C to 130 ± 2 ° C. The battery is maintained at this temperature for 30min, the battery
does not explode, no fire is qualified.
Battery Pack Improvements

Big technology and car companies are all too aware of the limitations of lithium-ion batteries. While chips and
operating systems are becoming more efficient to save power, we're still only looking at a day or two of use on
a smartphone before having to recharge.
While it may be some time before we get a week's life out of our phones, development is progressing
well. We've collected all the best battery discoveries that could be with us soon, from over the air charging to
super-fast 30-second re-charging. Hopefully, you'll be seeing this tech in your gadgets soon.

 Vertically aligned carbon nanotube electrode: NAWA Technologies has designed and patented an Ultra
Fast Carbon Electrode, which it says is a game-changer in the battery market. It uses a vertically-
aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) design and NAWA says it can boost battery power ten fold, increase
energy storage by a factor of three and increase the lifecycle of a battery five times. The company sees
electric vehicles as being the primary beneficiary, reducing the carbon footprint and cost of battery
production, while boosting performance. NAWA says that 1000km range could become the norm, with
charging times cut to 5 minutes to get to 80 per cent. The technology could be in production as soon as
2023.
 A cobalt-free lithium-ion battery
 Silicon anode lithium-ion batteries
 Lithium-Sulphur batteries: Monash University researchers have developed a lithium-Sulphur battery
that can power a smartphone for 5 days, outperforming lithium-ion. The researchers have fabricated
this battery, have patents and the interest of manufacturers. The group has funding for further research
in 2020, saying that continued research into cars and grid use will continue. The new battery
technology is said to have a lower environmental impact than lithium-ion and lower manufacturing
costs, while offering the potential to power a vehicle for 1000km (620 miles), or a smartphone for 5
days.
 Sand battery - three times more battery life: This alternative type of lithium-ion battery uses silicon to
achieve three times better performance than current graphite li-ion batteries. The battery is still lithium-
ion like the one found in your smartphone, but it uses silicon instead of graphite in the anodes.
Scientists at the University of California Riverside have been focused on nano silicon for a while, but it's
been degrading too quickly and is tough to produce in large quantities. By using sand, it can be purified,
powdered then ground with salt and magnesium before being heated to remove oxygen resulting in
pure silicon. This is porous and three-dimensional which helps in performance and, potentially, the life-
span of the batteries. We originally picked up on this research in 2014 and now it's coming to fruition.
Silanano is a battery tech startup that's bringing this technique to market and has seen big investment
from companies like Daimler and BMW. The company say that its solution can be dropped into existing
lithium-ion battery manufacturing, so it's set for scalable deployment, promising 20 per cent battery
performance boost now, or 40 per cent in the near future.
 Capturing energy from Wi-Fi
 Gold nanowire batteries
 Solid state lithium-ion
  Grabat graphene batteries
 Laser-made micro supercapacitors
 Foam batteries: Prieto believes the future of batteries is 3D. The company has managed to crack this
with its battery that uses a copper foam substrate. This means these batteries will not only be safer,
thanks to no flammable electrolyte, but they will also offer longer life, faster charging, five times higher
density, be cheaper to make and be smaller than current offerings. Prieto aims to place its batteries into
small items first, like wearables. But it says the batteries can be upscaled so we could see them in
phones and maybe even cars in the future.
 Foldable battery
 Transparent solar charger

Worked Example

A battery pack is built from a number of 3.7V cells to get an overall output voltage of 96V. There are many
connections that can be shown and studied. The following connection is assumed for this case. We have 26
cells connected in series. Then, we have 32 branches in parallel.

Temperature

As previous research has shown, battery performance is highly dependent on the working ambient
temperature. Batteries have a higher request in the working ambient temperature. For example, the battery
state of health (SOH) is influenced by temperature significantly. Battery life may be reduced by 2/3 in hot
climates during aggressive driving and without cooling. If a lithium-ion battery operates at a lower ambient
temperature long-term, high specific surface area lithium dendrite form on the anode of the battery, resulting in
a rapid decrease in the battery’s SOH. With a battery temperature exceeding the stable point, severe
exothermic reactions occur uncontrollably. In addition, if a battery approaches thermal runaway, only 12% of
the total heat released in the battery is enough to trigger thermal runaway in adjacent batteries. This is the
biggest risk during the use of lithium-ion batteries.
Therefore, the pack will have certain temperature range that is preferable for regular function.

A BTMS is a necessary component of lithium-ion battery systems, especially at high ambient temperatures.
There are two main functions of BTMSs: 1) to keep batteries working under suitable conditions and improve
the electrical performance and battery life and 2) to prevent thermal runaway from occurring and improve
safety. Most battery thermal management methods, such as air cooling, liquid cooling, and phase change
material (PCM) cooling, will be reviewed. Furthermore, different cooling/heating methods and optimization
strategies will be discussed, and the relevant cooling/heating performances were analyzed. In general, there
are two demands for BTMSs: 1) the maximum/minimum temperature of batteries must remain within the
operating temperature range limit and 2) the non-uniform temperature distribution must remain within the range
of the reference limit.

To prevent thermal runaway from occurring and maintain a favorable working performance, serial
measurements should be made to cool/heat batteries appropriately, and designing the thermal path to expel
the combustion of electrolyte away from adjacent cells. There are three main types of heat transmission
patterns, heat conduction, heat convection, and radiation, which determine the cooling/heating performance.
For example, natural convection and forced convection are two different heat convection modes. In the former
mode, the battery system can operate well with a low heat generation rate. However, failure occurs at a high
heat generation rate because the heat of the battery system cannot be removed quickly enough. In the latter
mode, the maximum temperature of the battery system can be reduced, but it may increase the temperature
deviation

A non-uniform temperature distribution is related to the battery/pack geometric features, charge/discharge rate,
ambient temperature, and cooling rate. For a single battery, the battery’s surface area to volume ratio has a
significant effect on the non-uniform temperature distribution. Different locations of battery current collecting
tabs and the ratio of the battery’s length and width distinctly affect the uneven distribution of the current
density. An appropriate battery geometry design can produce a uniform temperature through parameters such
as the length to width ratio, location of current collecting tabs, and the ratio of volume and surface area. In a
pack, the position of the battery may cause slight differences in the cooling effect and operating current, which
may lead to a non-uniform temperature distribution. Less temperature uniformity results in the rapid decay of
the cycle life of the battery pack. Even worse, the non-uniform temperature distribution may aggravate the
unbalanced discharging phenomenon and decreases the available energy for the battery packs.

The preceding figure shows various battery pack characteristics from OCV to SOC to capacity…

Temperature has a great influence on a battery. Generally, a higher temperature can speed up the chemical
reaction. However, according to the thermal characteristics of specific batteries, charging/discharging for
batteries in more comfortable ambient contributes to the process of electrochemical reaction; any excessively
high or low temperature may encourage undesired side reaction or structure damage.

Lithium-ion batteries heat generation rate is strongly related to the working environment and their own state. In
addition, the higher charging/discharging rate, the fiercer the battery temperature increase. The published
literatures have presented two approaches to obtain battery heat generation rate: theoretical calculation and
experimental measurement. Bernardi first purposed a computational method to predict battery temperature and
heat generation rate, according to energy-balance equation and Gibbs function, it presented that batteries
temperature changed with electrochemical reactions, phase changes, mixing effects and joule heating. And the
battery heat generation equation can be simplified as irreversible heat (enthalpy changes) and reversible heat
(entropic-heat). 𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑄𝑖𝑟𝑟 + 𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑣 (1), 𝑄𝑖𝑟𝑟 = 𝑅int𝐼2 (2), 𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑣 = −𝐼𝑇(𝜕𝐸𝑒𝑞/𝜕𝑇) (3), where 𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡 is battery total
heat generation rate; 𝑄𝑖𝑟𝑟 and 𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑣 are the heat generation rate of irreversible and reversible, respectively;
𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡 is battery equivalent internal resistance; 𝐼 is working current; 𝑇 is battery temperature; and 𝐸𝑒𝑞 is
equilibrium electromotive force at specific SOC.

The following table shows some lithium-ion batteries with their thermal characteristics.

Considering composition of the battery, previous studies calculated battery heat capacity and thermal
conductivity according to the parameters of different materials and its ratio composed for batteries,
respectively. In the meantime, many researchers identify the battery heat properties by experiments as well.
Damay wrapped prismatic LFP battery with insulating materials for adiabatic. It is being heated by ±1C
rectangular current with a period of 20 seconds, and then the heat capacity is determined by Eq. (4). 𝐶𝑝 = 𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡
(𝑑𝑇⁄𝑑𝑡) (4), where 𝐶𝑝 is battery heat capacity; 𝑑𝑇⁄𝑑𝑡 is the variation rate of battery internal temperature with
time. According the first law of thermodynamics, Christophe calculated cylindrical LFP battery 𝐶𝑝 by Eq. (5).
However, there is an obvious question that it is hard to acquire the heat resistance accurately. The calculate
result is significantly different with the increase of current pulse magnitude. 𝑑𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓/𝑑𝑡 =
(𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏−𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓)/𝐶𝑝(𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡−𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡) + 𝑄𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡/𝐶𝑝(𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡−𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡) (5), where 𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓 is battery surface temperature;
𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏 is test ambition temperature; 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡 is thermal conductivity resistance from the core of battery to surface;
𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡 is heat convection resistance from the battery surface to ambient.

And finally acquired the heat capacity of LiC6/Li(Ni1/3,Mn1/3,Co1/3)O2 pouch batteries and fitted by the heat
balance equation (Eq. (6)). Cp = 0.96 + 0.005T-1.86 ∙ 10 -5.T2 [J⁄g ∙ K], (6) where the limitation of 𝑇 is in
25~60℃. Further studies about lithium-ion battery heat capacity and thermal conductivity were summarized in
the above table.

During the period of cooling after full discharge, comparing with the temperature of cylindrical batteries about
axial direction or radial direction, it is shown that removing the thermal in the core of battery is more difficult
than surface. Al-Hallaj has observed that there is a significant temperature gradient inside the battery at high
outer cooling rate. Based on the thermal resistance theory, Forgez elicited Eq. (7) and confirmed the
relationship between battery surface temperature and the core. 𝑇𝑖𝑛 = 𝑇𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑓(1 + 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡/𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡 ) − 𝑇𝑎𝑚𝑏(𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡/𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡)
, (7) where 𝑇𝑖𝑛 is temperature of the battery core; Based on the heat transfer theory, the 𝑅𝑖𝑛𝑡⁄𝑅𝑜𝑢𝑡 is just the
Biot number, and if the Biot number is smaller than 0.1, it is suitable to ignore the temperature difference
between internal and surface. And lumped-parameter thermal model can be used to simulate the thermal
behavior of battery.

Thermal Management Strategies

Various cooling strategies can be used as battery thermal management, such as air cooling, liquid cooling and
PCM. The cooling strategies of some new-energy automobiles BTMS were summarized in a table below.
Every thermal management strategy has its own advantages. For example, in terms of the system’s cooling
performance, a liquid cooling system exhibits stronger cooling performance, and phase change materials
possess an outstanding ability in control temperature differences. In this section, different merits of cooling
strategies are reviewed, various optimization methods of BTMS are summarized, and battery heating
strategies are noted.

Air cooling

According to whether a cooling fan is needed, air cooling strategies can be categorized as natural cooling and
forced cooling. The corresponding heat transfer methods are natural convection and forced convection,
respectively. Radiation heat exchange always plays an important role in natural cooling and must not be
ignored. Air cooling strategies can be used in special application conditions. Differing from other methods, air
cooling could ensure the batteries are working at a comfortable environment temperature when the ambient
temperature nears 0°C. Furthermore, the structure of an air-cooling system is considerably simple and without
a sealing problem. Al-Hallaj compared cooling performance of force air-cold with PCM (paraffin wax-graphite),
and showed that at a low ambient temperature and discharge rate, an air-cooling system has the same cooling
effect with PCM but has lighter structures.

In order to improve the cooling performance of the system, according to Newton’s law of cooling (Eq. (9)),
three methods can be selected: increasing convective heat transfer, increasing heat transfer area, and
increasing the temperature difference between batteries and the cooling medium. Ф = hA∆T (9). Where ℎ is
convective heat transfer coefficient, 𝐴 is heat transfer area.

Liquid cooling

Compared to the air-cooling strategy, a liquid type thermal management system could reduce more energy
consumption and provide a better cooling effect. For liquid cooling plate structure (the following figure), many
cooling systems are designed as indirect cooling plate at the middle of two batteries. Generally, simply physical
structure of cooling plate is usually insufficient to achieve excellent thermal management goal. The physical
dimension of the channel, such as its length, width, or route influences the effect of cooling plates, obviously. In
order to control the maximum temperature and the difference of local battery temperature, many optimization
methods about liquid cooling plate channel quantity, mass flow rate, flow direction and entrance size shall be
investigated.

Further study is necessary to solve problems of a direct cooling system, such as: (1) The viscosity of cooling
media. It should be heeded because it concerns energy consumption of BTMS and weight of packs; (2) The
stability of cooling media. It should exhibit excellent electrical insulation, flame retardant, and chemical stability.
In addition, it should not corrode with batteries and packs; (3) The sealing property of cooling system. The
direct liquid cooling structure should be sealing well and benefit operational maintenance.

Heat pipe cooling

The established technology of heat pipes can be divided into three sections: evaporator section, isothermal
section, and condenser section. The working process of heat pipe is that: Firstly, liquid cooling medium
absorbs heat and evaporates at evaporator section. Secondly, the liquid cooling medium moves from the
isothermal section to condenser section, releases its heat, and changes into liquid. Finally, the liquid flows to
evaporator section and continues to endothermic like the former. Due to the special heat conduction
performance, lightweight and compact size, it also can be used to remove heat from the internal battery pack
to outer. The heat pipe transfer heat from evaporator section to the cooling media, and the heat must be
absorbed from the cooling media to outer at condenser section to ensure it can work continuously. In turn, it is
necessary to couple this with other methods to cool the condenser section of the heat pipe, such as forced air,
thermostat, or water spray.

Phase change material cooling

PCM has a more robust temperature controlling effect in battery thermal management. It could afford more
uniform battery temperature distribution, and minimize the impact to surrounding batteries when thermal
runaway occurred.

Paraffin is always used in phase change materials, attributed to price and latent enthalpy. In consideration of
low thermal conductivity, previous research proposed to meliorate paraffin composited with other materials,
such as composite paraffin with nanoparticles, metal foam, Cu mesh, expanded graphite, and carbon fiber.
Compound paraffin exhibits higher thermal conductivity and better temperature uniformity, oppositely lower
latent enthalpy. PCM with higher latent enthalpy can work at higher ambient temperature. Also, it could meet
the particularly requirements for battery pack with the most appropriate thermal properties. Other materials with
appropriate phase transition temperatures also can be applied to battery thermal management such as pure
octadecane. Due to the time constant, the battery temperature was always higher than phase transition
temperature when the phase change process occurred. Therefore, the rational utilization of phase change
temperature and latent enthalpy of PCMs could keep batteries working at the appropriate temperature range.
To ensure the battery is working well under stressful conditions, the capacity of battery pack should be
considered when the BTMS is designed to prevent thermal runaway. Immersing battery into PCM and isolating
them from each other could prevent the propagation of thermal runaway to adjacent ones.

Other cooling strategies

Some novel battery thermal management strategies were studied in recent years. Mercedes Benz S400 was
first introduced refrigerant-based BTMS, which added a direct evaporator plate to the refrigerant circuit, and
linked with the batteries. The most significant merit of the system is more compact and lightweight, but the
obvious drawback is various components and complex control.

Battery heating strategies

Lithium-ion batteries exhibited poor performance in cold climates: the available capacity of batteries
decreased, batteries resistance increased dramatically, charge/discharge became increased difficultly, and
severe degradation led to poor cycle life. Battery heating equipment plays an important role to keep Li-ion
battery working better at a lower temperature environment. There are three types of battery heating methods:
self-internal heating, convective heating, and mutual pulse heating (Figure). Self-internal heating is obviously
simple and efficient. It based on the batteries heat generation during charging/discharging to heating
themselves.
The figure shows heating strategies using battery power (a) self-internal heating, (b) convective heating, and
(c) mutual pulse heating.

System evaluation criteria

There are rarely rigorous and universal standards used to evaluate the performance of specific BTMS before.
Most previous research was merely concerned about the maximum temperature and maximum temperature
difference of batteries. However, ambiguous comparisons may lead to incorrect directions toward optimization.
Parameters reviewed below could be used as evaluating criteria, which merits further research in the future.

(1) The maximum temperature and maximum temperature difference of batteries. Generally speaking, the
upper limit of temperature is 45℃ during charging and 60℃ during discharging. The temperature difference is
5℃. The location with maximum temperature may trigger thermal runaway. Uniform temperature distribution
can ensure the aging speed of batteries homogeneously and prolong the cycle life of the pack.

(2) Variance and distribution function of battery temperature. The maximum temperature difference of batteries
could not indicate the thermal uniformity level of pack. It is necessary to analyze temperature deviation
statistically. Accordingly, uniform performance of different pack structures could be compared by variance and
distribution function. Other algorithm parameters may also be used to evaluate a pack’s thermal uniformity. For
instance, uniformity index 𝑇𝑢𝑛𝑖 could be calculated by Eq. (10). 𝑇𝑑𝑖𝑓 is the biggest temperature differences of
batteries, 𝑇𝑎𝑣𝑔 is the average temperature of batteries. Generally speaking, high ambient temperature always
leads to a lower heat generation rate and temperature deviation, but it also damages the battery’s life
simultaneously. According to the definition, the smaller 𝑇𝑢𝑛𝑖 may meet the better cooling effect. 𝑇𝑢𝑛𝑖 =
𝑇𝑑𝑖𝑓/𝑇𝑎𝑣𝑔 (10)

(3) Energy density or volume ratio of pack. The cooling system took up extra space and increased the mass
and volume ratio of BTMS which may promote the cooling performance slightly, with the costs volume of pack
increased and volume energy density decreased. For a PCM cooling system, the latent enthalpy and reliability
of system could be increased with more PCM which may burden the battery power system. Contrasting
different BTMSs with energy density or volume ratio of pack is very helpful for a pack design that targets
lightweight and compact characteristics.

(4) Cooling effectiveness of BTMS. It is defined as the ratio of practical heat exchanger capacity and theory
maximum heat exchanger capacity. As seen Eq. (11), where 𝑇𝑙 is location temperature of pack; 𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 is the
biggest temperature of pack. The use of cooling effectiveness can significantly indicate the cooling
performance of designed strategies in different locations. In addition, adjusting cooling effectiveness by inlet
cooling medium temperature, and thus BTMS may work for high efficiency. η𝑐 = (𝑇𝑙−𝑇𝑎𝑣𝑔)/(𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥−𝑇𝑎𝑣𝑔) (11)

(5) Energy consumption. For liquid cooling, increasing the flow rate of cooling water may improve the cooling
effect and this change trends to weakness gradually. Meanwhile, the energy consumption of the pump
increased dramatically. Moreover, high power required by BTMS also leads to high load and extra heat
generation for batteries. As a result, the proper design of energy consumption also should be considered.
Normally, energy consumption includes system resistance loss and outer cooling system load.

(6) Thermal runaway risk (TRR) score. The concept of TRR score is proposed used to evaluate the safety of
batteries with different materials under the same testing conditions. The robustness of BTMS designed for the
pack according to the current quality and safety standards is also assessed by TRR score. Generally, the TRR
score can also describe the severity rating if battery thermal runaway occurred; the higher TRR score always
means that the battery process had greater endurance in abusive conditions, lower energy released during
explosion, or narrower spread range when thermal runaway occurred. The TRR score contributes to evaluate
the security performance of the pack.

System Configuration

The battery pack to be controlled has the following dimensions: 820x570x250mm. It is shown in the figure
below.

The configuration and the connections of the packs as proposed are in the following manner. We will have 26
cells in series each of 3.7 volts to obtain a total branch voltage of 96.2V. In order to have 300A current, there
will be 26 branches in parallel.
The figure above shows all five packs. Each of the first four will contain five parallel branches apart from the
fifth pack that will contain six branches.

Temperature Control

As stated in the preceding pages, two systems are mainly used for maintaining certain levels of temperatures
for the system to function properly. In this section we will study the behavior of both systems and find which
one forms the optimum choice.

Battery power losses during charge and discharge occur due to internal resistance and concentration losses
due to transport of species. In addition, the energy of electrochemical reactions within the cells is converted
into heat during discharge, but it is less than 1% of the total thermal losses, thus it is not taken into account in
the calculations. Thermal power losses of one cell:

Q = I2 Rin

where I  current flowing through the cell, Rin  cell internal resistance.

The specs of the cells give us that I = 2.6 A and Rin = 0.07 Ω

 Q = 0.4732 W

Air Cooling

The figure below shows the air flow in a certain manner as well as possible positions of inlets and outlets. The
air come in contact with each cell cooling it.
The heat generated by each pack is to be calculated as follows:

For packs that have 5 branches in parallel: Q5 = Qx5x26 = 61.516 W

For pack that has 6 branches in series: Q6 = Qx6x26 = 73.8192 W

As calculated in the excel file, the obtained mass flow rate of air is 0.0123032 kg/s for pack 5 and 0.01476384
kg/s for pack 6.
The figure below shows the specs of different cooling fans.

The fan of part number 612J/2H-RS0 has a flow of 70 m3/h = 0.01944 m3/s. This is the chosen fan for cooling.
Therefore, there will be one fan for each pack.

Water cooling

The liquid cooling plate is a component that contacts directly with the battery cell, and its structure directly
affect the heat dissipation efficiency of the battery. There are two kinds of traditional liquid cooling pipes: U-
shaped structure and snake-shaped structure, which are generally integral cooling structure, or special
structures for battery cell. However, there exist problems of coolant entry sequence. Take U-shaped structure
as an example which is shown in the figure.

The coolant enters from point A and then flows through B, C, and D to complete the cooling. Assuming that the
temperature of coolant reaching point A is the original temperature, the temperature of coolant increases
continuously during it flows through B, C and D. But for batteries in groups, because of the heat radiation
between the cells and the heat generated by the cells themselves, the temperature at the center of the battery
cell is high and the temperature at the battery edge is relatively low. Therefore, when the coolant reaches the
center position through A and B, the temperature of the coolant begins to rise, and the heat that can be taken
away at this time is limited; The more backward the coolant flows, the less heat it can take away, which leads
to the problem of local temperature inhomogeneity in the cooling process.

In order to solve this problem, we propose another configuration for the pipes.

Each branch will now attain cooling from both sides due to placement of two pipes for each. This permits a
more efficient cooling and in turn a longer cell life. Each pipe will take a bending shape around the cells for
better surface of contact as shown in the figure below.

After calculating the total mass flow rate of the fluid through the cooling pipes which is 0.0152 kg/s, we shall
determine the overall head loss through the pipes to deduce the size of the needed pump.

The number of pipes is n+1 for dual side cooling. Each cell will be close to three 60° bends except for the cells
on the pack extremities which will have two bends each. So, the number of bends for each pipe will be m+m-1.

Thus, for a pack that has 5 branches and 26 series cells we have (5+1)x(26+26-1) = 306. For a pack that has 6
branches and 26 series cells we have (6+1)x(26+26-1) = 357. All bends: (4x306)+357 = 1581 bends. Also we
will have 2x(4x(5+1)+(6+1)) = 62 elbows.
As per the calculations in the excel file, the pressure loss through the pack is about 3 Pa. The head loss is thus
considered to be negligible.

Total head loss is 1.6 m by using bend losses strategy. Neglecting the bends head loss, the total head to be
supplied is about 20 m. So, the pressure of the pump is 197.7 kPa.

References

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How To Install A BMS – VRUZEND DIY Battery Kit

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Search Bms Tester At Www.batterymaking.com

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Battery Testing Equipment Manufacturer (gester-instruments.com)

Future batteries, coming soon: Charge in seconds, last months a (pocket-lint.com)

Optimal Design of an Air-Cooling System for a Li-Ion Battery Pack in Electric Vehicles with a Genetic Algorithm
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