BATTERY MANAGEMENT OF SYSTEM

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 NAME: SIDDHARTH SHEKHAR
COLLEGE: NIT ROURKELA
BRANCH: ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

CONTENTS
SUBJECT PG.NO.
ABSTRACT 3
HISTORY 4
WHAT IS A BATTERY? 5
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF BATTERIES 8
OTHER IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE SYSTEM 10
NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES 11
FUTURE BATTERIES SYSTEM 13
BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 14
CELL BALANCING METHODS 16
CELL BALANCING TOPOLOGIES 22
SELECTING RIGHT TECHNIQUES 23
CONCLUSION 24
REFERENCES 25

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ABSTRACT
The advancement of modern electric and hybrid electric vehicles have led researchers to develop better technologies in the vehicles for a safe and convenient ride.
This development in different sections that determine the quality of the vehicle. One of these sections is the battery of the system. And to keep this major source of
power safe and efficient a battery management system built. This battery management system is a combination of mechanical and electronic parts to control the
environment around the battery. It ensures the safe running of the battery while giving maximum output. It controls various factors such as:

 Voltage
 Temperature
 State of charge (S.O.C)
 State of health (S.O.H)
 State of power (S.O.P.)
 State of safety (S.O.S)

It consists of sensors and controllers which control the above-mentioned individual aspects of the system. The performance of the system depends largely on the
communication between the different modules. It should be in proper sync with the user interface and the output facility. Any fault or delay in this operation can
cause a lot of unwanted damage. One of the important factors in the system is the topology. Topology is the arrangement of the different components in the circuit
like the battery, capacitors etc. Battery management system (BMS) are categorized into three main topologies

 Centralized topology
 Distributed topology
 Modular topology

Another important aspect is the cell balancing technology. It is important for better efficiency and longer battery life. There are two ways for cell balancing:

 Energy recovering or active cell balancing

 Energy dissipating or passive cell balancing

Different switching techniques are also important in smooth functioning of the system. Finally, the SOC, SOH, SOP and the charging-discharging techniques greatly
influence the SOS of the system. For the improvement in the field of electric and hybrid vehicles, all these factors are to be revised and made more efficient and safer
so the user would be convinced in investing in this non-conventional technology.

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HISTORY

Mankind has always been creative when it comes to thinking of ways to make the lives of people easier. A technology is developed and it evolves with time and new inventions. One of the major
aspects of our daily life that the human race has strived to improve is the mode of transport. Starting from the simple wooden cart with wheels rolling on an axle, our mode of transport has gone
through many stages of development. The first invented car had a steam engine which was highly efficient but it caught up on the speed too quickly so it was abandoned. Then came the hydrogen
powered car. It was compact and quick but being powered by hydrogen, the risk of an accident was always there so people were not really convinced. Then after experimenting with a number of
sources of fuel. The one which appeared to be the most promising was fossil fuel: petrol, gasoline, diesel. The fuels were abundant, easily available, and economically friendly. The engines,
called the IC engines, that made these fuels to use, were also improved to improve the efficiency and the safety factor. This idea was an instant hit in the market of automobiles. The vehicles
powered by fossil fuels were affordable, user-friendly and had a longer running life compared to its earlier versions. But the problem that came out to be faced in the future was the depletion of
these resources. As we know that fossil fuels take millions of years to be enriched in the earth’s core, it can be termed as a non-renewable source of energy. With the increase in demand of fossil
fuels powered vehicles, these sources started to run out at an exponential rate. Another major problem was the emission of these engines. An engine running on fossil fuels gives a lot of residue
in the forms of gases and particulate matter. These are generally Carbon dioxide and water vapor which are also greenhouse gases. And thus, with the increase in their concentration in the air, it
led to global warming. This was a major issue that needed to be sorted out otherwise the very existence of the human race was in danger.

So, the brilliant minds of the generation came up with a brilliant idea. Electric vehicles. These vehicles used a battery as a source of energy. The energy obtained was clean, without any harmful
residue. The battery can be recharged and so it had a low cost on maintenance. With some minor arrangements, another efficient mode of energy conversion was developed: hybrid electric
vehicles. These vehicles combined the conventional IC engine, with a rechargeable battery and inverter arrangement, which ultimately delivered power to a suitable electric motor. They proved
to be better than the conventional IC engine vehicles because of some reasons such as:

 Very minimal emission of gases

 Low noise factor
 Reliable
 Portable
 Safer and simpler design
 Higher output

But the buyers were still not quite convinced with the idea. The main and probably the only reason that was stopping them to do so was the cost factor. An average electric vehicle with basic
facilities costs 60%-75% more than the average conventional IC engine car with the same facilities. And in all of this cost, the major portion of investment goes to the battery. So it becomes a
high priority to prepare the section that constitutes the battery with utmost safety. And thus, the need of a better battery management system.

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WHAT IS A BATTERY?

Before we dive into the topic of battery management system, first we need to understand about a battery.

A Battery is the main source of power in an electrical or hybrid electrical vehicle. It has two terminals, the positive terminal or the anode and the negative terminal or the cathode. Inside the
battery, there is an electrolyte. The right combination of electrodes and electrolytes, produce a chemical reaction which releases a lot of chemical energy in the form of electrons. And by directing
these electrons through a well devised path, we convert this chemical energy to electric energy. As the chemical process continues, the capacity of the battery to produce energy decreases. To
regain this ability the concept of rechargeable batteries is implemented. A battery can be recharged by supplying electricity for a given period of time. The characteristics that are to be taken care
of while selecting a battery for the vehicle are:

 The capacity of the battery (Ah)

 Life of the battery
 Durability
 Size and weight of the battery
 Temperature dependence
 Charging/discharging time
 Power density

The different types of batteries those are used generally and their properties are:

 Lead acid batteries:

 Rechargeable
 Can provide higher current
 Used when surge current is not important

Basic lead acid battery (researchgate.com)

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 Ni-metal hydride:
 High energy density
 Bipolar design
 Prevents short circuits
 Not ideal for hot environments

Basic Ni-metal hydride battery(electricalvoice.com)

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 Li-ion battery:
 Specific energy and energy density
 Low self-discharge rate
 Expensive battery technology
 Major safety concern
 Thermal runaway can cause explosions

Charging and discharging of a Li-ion battery(azom.com)

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COMPARATIVE EVALUATION

 Li-ion has high energy density

 It has better power/mass, charge/weight ratio
 Better battery life
 High temperature operability
 The only short come is the high production cost

Various types of batteries can be summarized as follows:

Table 1 (PVEducation)

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OTHER IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE SYSTEM

Capacitors and transistors are other important elements of the circuit in which the battery is set. They are used to implement a major process called the modelling of the battery. In this
process, capacitors and transistors are arranged to form a network that is used to control the output, discharge etc. They along with other components like inductors, give rise to suitable
impedance that controls the flow of current and ultimately the vehicle. The dependence can be shown by the following diagrams:

(Andrea,2010)

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NON-CONVENTIONAL SOURCES

Apart from all the batteries that we have seen till now, some other non-conventional sources have also been recognized. These are:

FUEL CELLS

The development of fuel cells dates back to the early 19 th century. They seem to have a promising future in the field of automobiles. Fuel cells have the following advantages over the
Li-ion batteries:

 Weight is less
 Size is more compact
 No harmful emissions or residue
 Cheaper cost
 Refueling time is very low

The basic working principle in the working of the fuel cell is the reversible electrolysis reaction of water

A basic fuel cell (powerelectronics.com)

As it can be seen in the diagram, Hydrogen which is supplied at the anode of the cell, reacts with the electrode surface and forms H + ions and electrons. These produced electrons move
through the electrodes and react with the Oxygen at the cathode to form water. So the only by product of this process is water which is obviously of much importance than any other by
product which is produced by some conventional methods.

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LI-POLYMER BATTERY

Li-polymer batteries can also be understood as a safer version of Li-ion batteries. They can have a higher battery life and are also considerably lightweight. These are also expensive to
manufacture and compared to the Li-ion batteries, they have low energy density.it uses two electrolytes: one with the polymer and another one the organic electrolyte. Because of the
flexibility in the materials involved in its manufacture, it can be made into a lot of sizes and capacities. The charging life of the Li-po battery is also high as compared to Li-ion battery.

The main difference arises when we consider the topic of security. The following points give the advantage to Li-po batteries over Li-ion in terms of security:

 The aluminium plastic covering over the battery prevents from explosions.
 It also prevents leakage of any electrolyte
 The heat capacity of the battery is very high

Li-po batteries are not that popular in the automobile field because of certain reasons. Cost of manufacture still remains the main concern. And with time Li-ion batteries have gained
enough popularity and it is not easy to replace a product that has been working good enough only for a few advantages.

Working of a Li-polymer battery (batteryuniversity.com) A Li-polymer battery in casing

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FUTURE BATTERIES

With the rapid development in the battery technology, we are also looking forward for better battery manufacturing techniques. Which can give us more efficient batteries at a lower cost
so the buyers will consider shifting from the conventional mode to the electric vehicle for once. A lot of factors has to be kept in mind to design such a battery. Like the breakeven point,
the raw materials and their transportation, their applications, etc. Researchers have been completely invested in this work and we also have some interesting results. For example, if we
consider the development in the Li-ion batteries we can see the following data.

Different Li-ion batteries that can be expected to replace the current ones

(Birke, Keller, and Prague, 2010)

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BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Now that we are well aware of the fact that the battery is the most important part of the electric vehicles, it also becomes important for us to devise ways to keep it safe and functioning
efficiently. And to do so what we need is a battery management system. A battery management system is a combination of electronics to manage a battery and control its environment. It
makes sure that the battery stays in a favorable condition so maximum output can be obtained from it. The various aspects that it controls are:

 Voltage
 Temperature
 State of charge (SOC)
 State of health (SOH)
 State of power (SOP)
 State of safety (SOS)

It consists of several elements and all these elements are interconnected for a better synced functioning. A number of processes make sure that the battery in use is in the best possible
condition and gives feedback to the user, informing about the current state so any further arrangements can be made.

A simple battery management system in an electric vehicle (diyguru.com)

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WHY DO WE NEED A BMS?

We know that there is a desperate need for a good BMS in an electric vehicle. But what functions does a BMS really perform? The BMS performs a lot of functions to control all the
parameters which are involved in the working of the vehicle such as:

 Controlling discharge of the battery:

Many operations take place when a battery goes under discharge. Charge is drawn out from it at a rate and at the same time there are functions that recharge it simultaneously. There are
a lot of chances in which the charge drawn exceeds a safe value, thus causing accidents. To prevent this the BMS has a controlling center which controls the amount of current supplied
with the help of an IC. This IC is the master controller of almost every operation that takes place in the battery circuit. The IC analyses every situation and commands every element of the
circuit to work in a proper manner.

 Controlling charge of the battery:

The battery is charged by many methods. Some are static methods while some are dynamic. As the working of the whole vehicle depends on the charge contained in the battery, it
becomes a big responsibility to charge it in a proper way. Whether the battery is charged over its limits or under its limits, either way its unsuitable for its health. The BMS ensures that the
charging process remains in its limits. It uses switching techniques to implement the best method.

 State of charge (SOC) analysis:

The SOC is one of the most important characteristics of the battery. It determines how much charge is left in the battery and at what rate it is being spent.

It can be calculated in the following ways:

 Connecting a voltmeter across the battery

 Integrating the current drawn from the battery with respect to time
 The two methods can be combined to produce a more accurate result

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  State of health (SOH) analysis:

It's really important that the battery health is taken care of with all the operations taking place. While driving in city roads the vehicle is turned on and off repeatedly. This makes the
battery connections weaker with time and eventually affect the battery health.

The BMS tackles this problem by monitoring the changes that occur in the different elements of the circuit. If the battery becomes weak, the inductances and capacitances receive less
current as compared in a healthy circuit. And the BMS monitors this change and determines the health of the battery.

 State of power (SOP) analysis:

The SOP is the amount of power available in a specified time interval. As it must be clear it depends mostly on the battery output. The BMS monitors the supply of power by its
controlling center. It only supplies the exact amount of power that is demanded. If more power is supplied then it is wasted and if less, then it is not efficient.

 State of safety (SOS) analysis:

As the BMS controls so many aspects, it becomes more than necessary that it also takes care of the safety factor. The safety is ensured with a cooling system, insulating system etc. It also
uses switching techniques to protect the battery from any over-loading. The over-charging issue is also sorted with the help of SOS.

 Information system:

The BMS performs a lot of functions but all of it is useless if the user doesn’t' be aware of the current status of the battery. So the information system of the BMS plays a big role here. It
displays the current status of the system from all the analysis on a display panel of the vehicle which can be viewed by the user so appropriate steps can be taken. The charge available, the
discharge rate, the current drawn etc. can be viewed by user and then the decisions like charging it or servicing it can be made. The information can be displayed in an analog method or
digital method

There's one more aspect that needs to be discussed here. Cell balancing. But as it is quite a defining feature, it needs to discussed separately.

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CELL BALANCING METHOD

The batteries in a vehicle are arranged in many ways. Some of them are in parallel, while some are in series. They also vary in sizes and capacities. So when power is drawn from the
batteries each battery drains at a different rate. Also, during charging the batteries are charged at a different rate. In a series combination the battery capacity is denoted by the capacity of
the cell with the lowest potential. So, to utilize the cells to their full potential, cell balancing is a must.

Cell balancing ensures that the cells in the battery are having equal charges. In the multi-celled batteries, cell capacities because of the following reasons:

 Manufacturing defects
 Temperature dissimilarity
 Impedance changes
 Capacity reduction with time

Cell balancing can be done by two basic methods, under which some sub-methods can be implemented:

 Energy dissipation or passive balancing method:

In energy dissipation method, the cells of the battery are connected with variable resistances to adjust the amount of charge present in the cell. It is generally implemented in Ni-Cd or

Ni-MH batteries. The energy in the cells is dissipated through the shunted resistances, to maintain the desired charge. It cannot be regarded as efficient as the stored energy is wasted in the
form of heat.

Passive balancing circuit.

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 Energy recovering or active balancing method:

In active cell balancing methods, the cells are balanced dynamically without wasting any charge. Energy from one cell is transferred from one cell to another and a proper balance is
created among them. So the level of complexity also increases in this case. There are different ways to implement active cell balancing in a system:

 Capacitive shunting: in this method capacitors are used to store the charge from batteries in a higher level and transferring it to the ones in a lower level. Thus, no energy is
wasted. It can be implemented with the following sub methods:
 Switched capacitor
 Single switched capacitor
 Double switched capacitor
 Modularized switched capacitor

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 Inductive cell balancing: In this method inductors are used to direct the charges to flow from a higher charged cell to a lower charged cell. And in this way the balance is
maintained. Some filtering capacitors are also used to implement this method smoothly. Its sub methods are as follows:
 Only inductor cell balancing: only inductors are used in this method
 Single windings transformer: it uses only one transformer to direct the energy, operated by switches.
 Multi-windings transformer:
♦ Multiwinding transformer
♦ Multiple transformer

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 Multiple winding transformer

 Energy converter-based cell balancing: in this method different elements are used to convert and transfer the energy to maintain a proper balance among the cells. It has many
sub methods such as:’
 Cuk converter: in this method two cells are balanced with two inductors, two switches and one capacitor. The balancing time in this method is high and the efficiency is
low

Cuk converter representation

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 Buck boost or DC/DC converter: in this method the energy from high voltage cells is distributed among the other lower voltage cells. MOSFETs are used as controllers in
the system.

 Flyback converter: energy from higher voltage cells is stored in a transformer and then distributed throughout the system.

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All these cell balancing methods can be made to sum up in the following representation.

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Different cell balancing techniques

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CELL BALANCING TOPOLOGIES

The components in the BMS are arranged in different topologies. These topologies have their functions and properties. They can be categorized into three basic types:

 Distributed topology: in this topology, each cell is governed by the monitors like discharge balancers and voltmeters. The circuit is very simple and highly reliable. The mounting
time is quite high.

 Modular topology: in this topology a number of cells are governed by a controlling monitor and the final output is fed to a master controller. This master controller commands the
slave monitors.

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  Centralized topology: In this topology the master controller is connected to every cell and it monitors the functioning of every cell. There is no second level slave monitor. The
only troubling issue here is the heat generated in the master controller.

SELECTION OF THE RIGHT TECHNIQUES

All this knowledge of ours is of no use if we don’t know how to use to use the right combination of techniques. We can improve the efficiency of the whole battery system by
choosing the right techniques. So it becomes a big duty of us to know how to use our knowledge of components and topologies and make an efficient system while not compromising
with the safety of the whole vehicle.

 TOPOLOGY SELECTION:

The topology of the system greatly determines the working efficiency of the system. Keeping all the advantages and disadvantages in mind, the topology has to be selected. If we don’t
care about the complexity of the system then modular topology can be used. If the system is to be kept as simple as possible then distributed topology can be used. And if the overheating
is not an issue then the centralized topology can be used.

 FRONT IC SELECTION:

The front IC is an important tool. And with its increasing importance it becomes essential that the front IC is selected in an appropriate manner to suit the requirement.

The factors that should be taken care of are

 Flexibility
 Reaction time
 Temperature tolerance
 MASTER CONTROLLER SELECTION:

It is micro-controller and it is to be selected with proper consideration.

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CONCLUSION

In this work an attempt has been made to understand the BMS of an electric vehicle in a closer perspective. We can conclude that for the buyers to consider electric vehicles as a viable option in
competition with conventional IC engines we need to focus more on the BMS. As battery being the most important part of the vehicle assembly, an improvement in the BMS can have a
considerable influence in its efficiency which can be reflected in the price. The factors that we need to improve in the future are:

 Reducing the self-discharging rate.

 Temperature effect on the cells
 Improving the supply rate
 Increasing charging efficiency

In the recent years, we have seen increasing demands for electric vehicles in India. With the ever-rising prices of fossil fuels and alarming pollution rate in many places, people are adopting this
non-conventional method. In the future, with better technology in an affordable rate, we are expecting the roads to be largely occupied by electic powered vehicles.

The current situation and future expectations of electric vehicles in India

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REFERENCES:

In this work several information were borrowed from various earlier research works. The images were taken from many websites.

RESEARCH PAPERS USED:

 Battery Management System For Electric Vehicle Applications by Rui Hu, university of Windsor
 Electric vehicle battery management system by Adeepa Palidawana, La trobe university

IMAGES USED:

 Lead acid battery pg5: Researchgate.com

 Nickel MH battery pg6: electricalvoice.com
 Li-ion battery pg7: azom.com
 Table 1 pg8: PVEducation
 Important parts of the system pg9: from the research paper Electric vehicle battery
 Fuel cell pg10: powerelectronics.com
 Li-po battery pg11: batteryuniversity.com and Banggood.com
 BMS system pg13: diyguru.com
 Cell balancing methods: from the research paper Electric vehicle battery
 Cell balancing technologies: from the research paper Battery management system for electric vehicle applications
 Future expectations pg 24: semanticscholar.com

-THANK YOU-

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