A Thesis
for
The Department of Electrical Engineering in fulfilment of the requirements for the
Magister Technologiae degree in electrical engineering,
at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / The purpose of this thesis was to design and develop a measurement system that would allow
accurate measurement of individual cell voltages in a series cell stack.
The system was initially proposed to be used in conjunction with an active cell balancer. This would
allow for the efficient equalising of cells as well as provide detailed information on the cell stack and
how the stack operates over time. Having a system that measures voltages accurately, with which
the active cell balancer can be controlled would allow for peak cell lifetime and performance.
Current battery management systems are large, complex and inefficient and a new way of battery
management had to be investigated.
To accurately measure individual cells in a series stack, the high common mode voltage must be
negated. Different techniques that are currently used to create galvanic isolation were reviewed;
circuits were designed and were simulated to find the most suitable design.
The traditional methods used to create galvanic isolation did not provide adequate results. The
methods were too inefficient and not accurate enough to be used. The methods that had the
required accuracy were too complicated to connect in a useable system.
This led to the investigation of integrated circuits created to measure voltages in large cell stacks. An
integrated circuit from Linear Technology was chosen and a system was built. A system was thus
designed that fulfilled the most desirable design specifications while delivering excellent results.
The system allowed accurate, individual voltages to be measured in the presence of high common
mode voltages. Accuracies and measurement time were well below the required system
specification. Power consumption was high, but different component choice will lower power
consumption to within specification. Excellent results were obtained overall with most, although not
all results well below the design specifications.
By including current measurements, as well as other technologies such as wireless communication,
USB connectivity and a better data processor, this system will be at the forefront of current battery
management technology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/1163 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Prinsloo, Nick |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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