LITHIUM-ION BATTERY TESTING, FAILURE ANALYSIS, AND ESTIMATION OF STATE OF CHARGE, STATE OF HEALTH, AND REMAINING USEFUL PERFORMANCE
CALCE’s Battery Team has recently installed new battery testing equipment provided by Neware as part of a collaborative effort. The BTS4000 battery test system is Neware’s 4th generation tester with almost a decade of reliable service in the field. It is extensively used in both academia and industry. The BTS4000 is fully customizable with the option of adding multiple independent channels for cell, module, and pack formation and cycle life testing. Precise measurements are possible with 0.05% full-scale accuracy for both current and voltage. Additional auxiliary voltage and temperature channels are also available, making the BTS4000 a complete battery testing solution.
Test procedures can be programmed into a simple computer user interface, allowing for a variety of constant or variable current charge and discharge routines. In addition to standard charge/discharge testing, the BTS4000 can also perform electric vehicle (EV) pulse tests, hybrid pulse power characterization (HPPC) tests, and DC Internal Resistance tests.
The BTS4000 at CALCE is capable of testing 60-Volt battery modules with 100 Amperes of current, greatly expanding the test capabilities available at CALCE. Lithium-ion batteries are used in increasingly complex pack configurations, making it necessary to research cell imbalance and degradation issues. With this new test equipment and a partnership with Neware, CALCE will continue to develop algorithms and models for state of charge and state of health estimation for lithium-ion cells, modules, and packs.
David Chen from Neware recently visited CALCE and helped foster talks about further collaboration between the two groups. Neware offers a wide range of testers for various voltage and current requirements, allowing researchers at CALCE to continue life cycle testing of batteries under numerous stresses.
CALCE is assisting Neware by evaluating their equipment for use in the United States and providing a showcase for research groups interested in high quality battery testing equipment. For a demonstration of the test equipment performance or for information about purchasing test equipment from Neware, please contact Prof. Michael Pecht at pecht@calce.umd.edu.
http://www.calce.umd.edu/batteries/