Zhi Cao

Dr. Zhi Cao

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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4 July 2024 in Energies
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Zhi CaoZhi Cao
Zhi Cao
WEI GaoWEI Gao
WEI Gao
YFYuhong Fu
Yuhong Fu
Chris MiChris Mi
Chris Mi
With the growing adoption of battery energy storage systems in renewable energy sources, electric vehicles (EVs), and portable electronic devices, the effective management of battery systems has become increasingly critical. The advent of wireless battery management systems (wBMSs) represents a significant innovation in battery management technology. Traditional wired battery management systems (BMSs) face challenges, including complexity, increased weight, maintenance difficulties, and a higher chance of connection failure. In contrast, wBMSs offer a robust solution, eliminating physical connections. wBMSs offer enhanced flexibility, reduced packaging complexity, and improved reliability. Given that wBMSs are still in a preliminary stage, this review paper explores their evolution, current state, and future directions. A comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art wBMS technologies, including academic and commercial solutions, is elaborated in this paper. We compare wireless communication technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Zigbee, Near-Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, and cellular networks in the context of wBMSs. We discuss their performance in terms of efficiency, reliability, scalability, and security. Despite its promising outlook, wBMSs still face challenges such as data security, signal interference, regulatory and standardization issues, and competition from the continued advancement of wired BMS technologies, making the advantages of wBMSs less evident. This paper concludes with guidelines for future research and development of wBMSs, aiming to address these challenges and pave the way for a broad adoption of wBMSs across various applications. This paper aims to inspire further research and innovation in the field, contributing to developing an industry-ready wBMS.

10 August 2021 in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
Zhi CaoZhi Cao
Zhi Cao
Yunkai HuangYunkai Huang
Yunkai Huang
BGBaocheng Guo
Baocheng Guo
FPFei Peng
Fei Peng
JDJianning Dong
Jianning Dong
AHAhmed Mohammed Abdelmoneam Hemeida
Ahmed Mohammed Abdelmoneam Hemeida
To facilitate the active magnetic bearing (AMB) design and analysis, an accurate and fast model that considers both rotor eccentricity and the saturation effect is necessary. In this article, a novel hybrid analytical model (HAM) for effective calculation of the magnetic field of the AMB is proposed. Eccentricity and local saturation are considered in the proposed HAM. In the proposed HAM, the stator and rotor are modeled by elementary subdomains (ESDs) and the air-gap is modeled by magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC). Direct coupling between the solutions in the ESD regions with MEC completes the whole model matrices. Compared to the existing literature, the proposed model considers both the rotor eccentricity and material nonlinearity. The effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed HAM are validated by both the finite element model and experimental results. The results show that the proposed HAM can accurately predict the magnetic quantities of the AMB.

30 August 2024 in Batteries
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Zhi CaoZhi Cao
Zhi Cao
WEI GaoWEI Gao
WEI Gao
YFYuhong Fu
Yuhong Fu
CTChristopher Turchiano
Christopher Turchiano
Naser Vosoughi KurdkandiNaser Vosoughi Kurdkandi
Naser Vosoughi Kurdkandi
Chris MiChris Mi
Chris Mi
LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries are well known for their long cycle life. However, there are many reports of significant capacity degradation in LFP battery packs after only three to five years of operation. This study assesses the second-life potential of commercial LFP batteries retired from electric vehicles (EVs) by evaluating their aging characteristics at the cell and module levels. Four LFP cells and four modules were subjected to aging tests under various conditions. The results indicate that LFP cells exhibit long life cycles with gradual capacity degradation and a minimal internal resistance increase. Module-level analysis reveals significant balance issues impacting capacity recovery. Incremental capacity analysis (ICA) and post-mortem analysis identify the loss of active materials and lithium inventory as key aging mechanisms. This study provides the optimal working conditions of second-life LFP batteries and suggests that, with proper balancing systems, LFP batteries can achieve extended second-life use in stationary energy storage applications, emphasizing the importance of effective balance management for sustainable battery utilization.

12 June 2024 in Journal of Power Sources
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
WEI GaoWEI Gao
WEI Gao
Zhi CaoZhi Cao
Zhi Cao
YFYuhong Fu
Yuhong Fu
CTChristopher Turchiano
Christopher Turchiano
NKNaser Vosoughi Kurdkandi
Naser Vosoughi Kurdkandi
CMChirs Mi
Chirs Mi

3 August 2022 in IEEE Sensors Journal
Verified
Journal Article
Closed access
Zhi CaoZhi Cao
Zhi Cao
Yunkai HuangYunkai Huang
Yunkai Huang
FPFei Peng
Fei Peng
JDJianning Dong
Jianning Dong
Position sensing is one of the crucial parts of the active magnetic bearing (AMB) system. The printed circuit board (PCB) eddy current position sensor is a new type of position sensor for the AMB system, which makes a compact structure, high sensing quality, and is low cost. In this article, an improved driver circuit is proposed for this new sensor. The driver circuit includes an excitation circuit and signal conditioning circuits. A crystal oscillator circuit with a power stage is used to provide the excitation coil with a stable excitation source of high stability and good precision of frequency. The analog demodulation circuit is designed for signal conditioning circuits to extract the rotor displacement information from the sensing coil outputs. Compared with the state-of-art driver schemes, the proposed method reduces the circuit complexity and cost. Accordingly, the experimental results show that the designed sensor has good linearity and sensitivity, and it can ensure AMB stable operation at the rated speed.