In this paper a method is introduced to find out the optimal charge pattern (OCP) of the multistage constant current (MSCC) charge method based on the equivalent circuit model of a Li-Ion battery. Unlike the conventional methods the proposed one does not require several kinds of time-consuming and labor-intensive experiments. The OCP can be simply calculated by the developed equations with the results obtained by a simple experiment. The validity of the proposed method has been verified through the experimental results and it shows that the charge time and the charge energy can be reduced by 12% and 1.8%, respectively, and the charge efficiency of a Li-Ion battery can be improved by 0.54 % as compared to the conventional CC-CV method. A lower temperature rise during the charge can be regarded as an additional advantage of the proposed method.

This paper proposes a unique method to find the optimal charge pattern (OCP) of multistage constant-current charging (MSCCC) method by using RC based equivalent circuit model for Li-Ion batteries. Both 3 and 5 stages based MSCCC methods are discussed. The method of finding the equivalent circuit model and optimal charge pattern by equations are also explained. Experimental results with a 2.6 Ah Li-ion battery are used to validate the proposed method. The proposed method is unique in that it can charge the battery upto 100 % capacity in a shorter time. Compared with conventional CC-CV method, the charging time (CT) and the charging efficiency by the proposed method are improved by approximately 12% and 0.54% respectively.

State of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) are key issues for the application of batteries, especially the absorbent glass mat valve regulated lead-acid (AGM VRLA) type batteries used in the idle stop start systems (ISSs) that are popularly integrated into conventional engine-based vehicles. This is due to the fact that SOC and SOH estimation accuracy is crucial for optimizing battery energy utilization, ensuring safety and extending battery life cycles. The dual extended Kalman filter (DEKF), which provides an elegant and powerful solution, is widely applied in SOC and SOH estimation based on a battery parameter model. However, the battery parameters are strongly dependent on operation conditions such as the SOC, current rate and temperature. In addition, battery parameters change significantly over the life cycle of a battery. As a result, many experimental pretests investigating the effects of the internal and external conditions of a battery on its parameters are required, since the accuracy of state estimation depends on the quality of the information regarding battery parameter changes. In this paper, a novel method for SOC and SOH estimation that combines a DEKF algorithm, which considers hysteresis and diffusion effects, and an auto regressive exogenous (ARX) model for online parameters estimation is proposed. The DEKF provides precise information concerning the battery open circuit voltage (OCV) to the ARX model. Meanwhile, the ARX model continues monitoring parameter variations and supplies information on them to the DEKF. In this way, the estimation accuracy can be maintained despite the changing parameters of a battery. Moreover, online parameter estimation from the ARX model can save the time and effort used for parameter pretests. The validation of the proposed algorithm is given by simulation and experimental results.

In recent years, electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) have become very popular. Therefore, the use of secondary batteries exponentially increased in EV systems. Battery fuel gauges determine the amount of charge inside the battery, and how much farther the vehicle can drive itself under specific operating conditions. It is very important to provide accurate state-of-charge (SOC) information of the battery module to the driver, since inaccurate fuel gauges will not be tolerated. In this paper, a model-based approach is proposed to estimate the SOCs of multiple lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells, connected in a module in series, by using a nonlinear state observer (NSO) and an online parameter identification algorithm. A simple method of estimating the impedance and SOC of each cell in a module is also presented in this paper, by employing a ratio vector with respect to the reference value. A battery model based on an autoregressive model with exogenous input (ARX) was used with recursive least squares (RLS) for parameter identification, in an effort to guarantee reliable estimation results under various operating conditions. The validity and feasibility of the proposed algorithm were verified by an experimental setup of six Li-ion battery cells connected in a module in series. It was found that, when compared with a simple linear state observer (LSO), an NSO can further reduce the SOC error by 1%.

An accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation of the battery is one of the most important techniques in battery-based power systems, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs). The Kalman filter is a preferred algorithm in estimating the SOC of the battery due to the capability of including the time-varying coefficients in the model and its superior performance in the SOC estimation. However, since its performance highly depends on the measurement noise (MN) and process noise (PN) values, it is difficult to obtain highly accurate estimation results with the battery having a flat plateau OCV (open-circuit voltage) area in the SOC-OCV curve, such as the Lithium iron phosphate battery. In this paper, a new integrated estimation method is proposed by combining an unscented Kalman filter and a particle filter (UKF-PF) to estimate the SOC of the Lithium iron phosphate battery. The equivalent circuit of the battery used is composed of a series resistor and two R-C parallel circuits. Then, it is modeled by a second-order autoregressive exogenous (ARX) model, and the parameters are identified by using the recursive least square (RLS) identification method. The validity of the proposed algorithm is verified by comparing the experimental results obtained with the proposed method and the conventional methods.

This paper proposes a low cost, small ripple, and fast balancing circuit for Lithium-Ion battery strings. The proposed topology uses isolated Cuk converter to transfer energy directly from high voltage cells to low voltage cells to achieve high balancing speed. The current and voltage at both input and output of the Cuk converter have small ripple. The cell selecting switches are developed by using relay circuit to implement a low cost balancing circuit. The experimental circuit is implemented for 12 Lithium-Ion batteries in a string to verify the performance of the proposed topology.