Battery charge controller characteristics in photovoltaic systems

Typical strategies for battery charge regulation and load control in stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) systems are presented. Several charge algorithms (methods of controlling current to the battery) are presented, along with terminology used by the PV industry for battery charge controllers. Information gained from an extensive evaluation of commercially available charge controllers and data collected from tests on PV systems in the field are discussed. An overview of battery performance characteristics needed for the successful design and long-term operation of PV systems is presented with the intent of soliciting feedback on the information presented from the battery industry     

天宫号目标飞行器氢镍蓄电池压力-容量充电控制研究简

作为在轨管理的关键部分,良好的充电控制是保证蓄电池长寿命的重要因素.对于氢镍蓄电池,压力-容量充电控制是最理想的充电控制方式,但存在压力检测难度大、控制策略复杂等困难.天宫一号目标飞行器氢镍蓄电池通过大量的压力测量地面可靠性试验,解决了压力传感器的测量稳定性及一致性问题;同时提出柔性充电控制策略,给出了压力-容量标准曲线、不同荷电态下的充电电流及压力控制点修正系数.在轨数据表明,天宫一号目标飞行器氢镍蓄电池压力-容量充电控制稳定,满足设计要求.     

Global avionics in the future

The following topics are discussed: new batteries for old airplanes; new charge controls for lengthening battery life; fast methods for batteries charging; AC conductance measurement based battery testing; pulse power; bipolar lead-acid batteries vs supercapacitors; Ni electrode cells for spacecraft; worn-out battery disposal; recycling technology; vehicle batteries cost; high energy content batteries; and energy storage for electric utilities     

Fast intelligent battery charging: neural-fuzzy approach

This paper focuses on the design of a super fast battery charger based on National's proprietary neural network based NeuFuz technology. In this application, we have used a NiCd battery pack as the test vehicle. However, this technology can be extended to other chemistries such as Ni-MH, Li-ion, etc. This technology allows the designer to accurately model the charge controller using a neural network, based on battery charge characteristics provided by the manufacturer. This approach continuously monitors the battery status, and modifies the charge current accordingly. It also eliminates the need for standard charge termination methods used in today's conventional chargers. The result is super fast charging in 20 to 30 minutes, and increased battery life. A low cost embedded controller (COP8) performs all the fuel-gauging and charge control functions by processing data obtained from the battery circuitry     

A microcontroller-based intelligent battery system

State-of-charge indication for a secondary battery is becoming increasingly important for battery-operated electronics. Consumers are demanding fast charging times, increased battery lifetime, and fuel gauge capabilities. All of these demands require that the state of charge within a battery be known. One of the simplest methods employed to determine state of charge is to monitor the voltage of the battery. However, this method alone is not a good indicator of battery energy, since both NiMH and NiCd batteries have voltage-versus-energy curves that are essentially flat. This paper presents a more effective method of determining the state of charge in secondary cell batteries. A NiMH battery is used as our test vehicle, since it is one of the more difficult batteries to determine state of charge. This method monitors the battery's temperature, voltage, and discharge/charge rate. A microcontroller then manipulates the information, using look-up tables to determine the state of charge. Also, by modifying the look-up tables, this technique can be employed in many other battery technologies and is not limited to NiMH     

Hubble Space Telescope at twelve years of age

The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery into a 380-mile high Earth orbit on April 25, 1990. It subsequently made outstanding astronomical discoveries with its 8-foot (2.4-meter) telescope and other scientific instruments. Critical to the successful observations was continuous availability of power from its solar arrays during sunlit periods, and from nickel-hydrogen batteries when the satellite was in the Earth's shadow. The adopted nickel-hydrogen batteries were carefully selected and tested to confirm their depth-of-discharge and operating temperature that delivered the longest life in charge/discharge cycling service. These batteries had a design life of 7 years. At 12 years after launch the Hubble batteries have delivered more charge/discharge cycles than any other batteries in low-Earth orbit. However, the Hubble batteries have been subjected to many unexpected stresses, and peculiar reductions in battery capacity have been observed. Battery replacement requires a costly trip to the Hubble Space Telescope by astronauts, so the remaining useful life of the batteries must be predicted. Already in four servicing missions, astronauts have replaced or modified optics, solar arrays, a power control unit, and various science packages. A fifth servicing mission is scheduled in 2004. This paper discusses battery charging hardware and software controls, history of battery events in Hubble, cell performance model and spare battery tests, and capacity walkdown.     

Charge equalization for an electric vehicle battery system

Charge equalization for series connected battery strings has important ramifications on battery life. It enhances the uniformity of the battery cells and hence improves the life of the battery as a whole. A new charge equalization technique for a series string of battery cells has been recently proposed by the authors. The basic technique utilizes a simple isolated dc-to-dc converter with a capacitive output filter along with a multiwinding transformer. The possibility of integrating the trickle charge function with the charge equalization function is potentially very attractive, as it can lead to an efficient and low cost implementation     

Charge equalization for series-connected batteries

A novel nondissipative charge equalization circuit is proposed for charge equalization control of series-connected batteries. Each battery associates with a subcircuit, which is essentially a buck-boost converter acting as a current diverter to redistribute the excessive energy from more affluent batteries to the hungry ones. By dynamically redistributing the charging current, charge equalization can be achieved more quickly and efficiently. The applicability of this approach is confirmed by experiments.     

Design and testing of spacecraft power systems using VTB

A study is presented on the design and testing of spacecraft power systems using the virtual test bed (VTB). The interdisciplinary components such as solar array and battery systems were first modeled in native VTB format and validated by experiment data. The shunt regulator and battery charge controller were designed in Simulink according to the system requirements and imported to VTB. Two spacecraft power systems were then designed and tested together with the control systems.     

Hubble performance on-orbit

A summary of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nickel-hydrogen (NiH/sub 2/) battery performance from launch to the present. Over the life of HST vehicle configuration, charge system degradation and failures, together with thermal design limitations, have had a significant effect on the capacity of HST batteries. Changes made to the charge system configuration to protect against power system failures and to maintain battery thermal stability resulted in undercharging of the batteries. This undercharging resulted in decreased usable battery capacity as well as battery cell voltage/capacity divergence. This cell divergence was made evident during on-orbit battery capacity measurements by a relatively shallow slope of the discharge curve following the discharge knee. Early efforts to improve battery performance have been successful. On-orbit capacity measurement data indicates increases in the usable battery capacity of all six batteries as well as improvements in the battery cell voltage/capacity divergence. Additional measures have been implemented to improve battery performance, however, failures within the HST Power Control Unit (PCU) have prevented verification of battery status.     

Electric-vehicle batteries

Electric vehicles that can't reach trolley wires need batteries. In the early 1900's electric cars disappeared when owners found that replacing the car's worn-out lead-acid battery costs more than a new gasoline-powered car. Most of today's electric cars are still propelled by lead-acid batteries. General Motors in their prototype Impact, for example, used starting-lighting-ignition batteries, which deliver lots of power for demonstrations, but have a life of less than 100 deep discharges. Now promising alternative technology has challenged the world-wide lead miners, refiners, and battery makers into forming a consortium that sponsors research into making better lead-acid batteries. Horizon's new bipolar battery delivered 50 watt-hours per kg (Wh/kg), compared with 20 for ordinary transport-vehicle batteries. The alternatives are delivering from 80 Wh/kg (nickel-metal hydride) up to 200 Wh/kg (zinc-bromine). A Fiat Panda traveled 260 km on a single charge of its zinc-bromine battery. A German 3.5-ton postal truck traveled 300 km with a single charge in its 650-kg (146 Wh/kg) zinc-air battery. Its top speed was 110 km per hour     

Charge measurement circuit for electric vehicle batteries

Calculating the state of charge (SOC) of an electric vehicle (EV) battery is an inherently error prone process that depends on several variables. However, the accuracy of the required charge flow measurements can be greatly improved by using a voltage to frequency (V/F) converter in conjunction with a digital counter to integrate the measured battery current.     

基于直流微电网的混合储能协调控制策略仿真研究

针对直流微电网中光伏发电单元出力的波动性和间歇性造成系统内部功率不平衡的问题,混合储能系统可以同时发挥蓄电池高能量密度和超级电容高功率密度的优势,根据直流母线电压进行混合储能单元间的协调控制策略。该策略将直流母线电压进行分层控制,采用四个电压阈值共分成五个控制区域,以直流母线电压为信息载体,决定储能系统的运行状态,实现对混合储能单元的充电、放电模式间自主切换。电压分层控制有效地避免了蓄电池由于电压波动而频繁进行充放电切换,从而延长了电池的使用寿命。最后,MATLAB/Simulink的仿真结果验证了所提控制策略的可行性。     

Real-time expert systems for advanced power control (a statusupdate) [aerospace power system testbed]

The most recent developments in the Boeing Aerospace Autonomous Power System (APS) testbed are presented. The APS testbed is a 28-VDC system with 3-kW capability, assembled for use in developing improved control, techniques for aerospace electrical power systems. The main emphasis is on the development of a sophisticated programming environment to control concurrent execution of multiple autonomous algorithms coupled with a continuous input/output data flow. The integration of high-level control algorithms used for battery charge control into a real-time execution environment is discussed. This includes methods that allow several functions to respond to real-time input, affect/maintain expert system (shared) memory, and control the electrical power system configuration. Sophisticated schemes for scheduling these expert system control functions are required to allow real-time multitasking     

Charging the new batteries-IC controllers track new technologies

Demands for portability have fueled significant developments in new battery technology. These developments have resulted in many more options in selecting the battery type for use in a particular project, but since most applications today are opting for rechargeable battery systems, the availability of battery charging solutions can become an equally important criteria in the selection process. Complicating this process are the demands for fast-but safe-charging with charge algorithms easily implemented with low-cost hardware. With the higher levels of complexity attendant with these more demanding algorithms, solutions have come primarily from the integrated circuit industry and the purpose of this paper is to provide a few examples of the latest efforts in this arena, specifically as addressed to lead-acid, nickel metal-hydride, and lithium-ion technologies     

Spacecraft energy storage systems

Flywheel Energy Storage Systems represent an exciting alternative to traditional battery storage systems used to power satellites during periods of eclipse. The increasing demand for reliable communication and data access is driving explosive growth in the number of satellite systems being developed as well as their performance requirements. Power-on orbit is the key to this performance, and batteries are becoming increasingly unattractive as an energy storage media. Flywheel systems offer very attractive characteristics for both energy storage, in terms of energy density and the number of charge/discharge cycles, and the important side benefit of spacecraft attitude control     

燃料电池无人机动力系统方案设计与试验

针对燃料电池为主能源的无人机（UAV）动力系统,设计了纯燃料电池动力系统、燃料电池/蓄电池（简称燃蓄）被/主动混合动力系统3种拓扑结构方案。以空冷质子交换膜燃料电池为例,搭建了燃料电池动力系统方案一体化试验平台。考虑阶梯型和阶跃型2种加载形式,试验研究了燃料电池自身的动态特性和启动特性。以阶梯型功率剖面的加载形式,试验研究了纯燃料电池动力系统放电特性;以无人机典型任务剖面作为加载形式,开展燃蓄被/主动混合动力系统对比试验研究。试验结果表明：纯燃料电池动力方案适用于低机动小型无人机,燃蓄被动混合方案可满足小型无人机大机动飞行,燃蓄主动混合方案系统可适应中大型无人机更长航时飞行。     

Battery charger design for the Columbus MTFF power system

A novel pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) dc-dc converter topology is proposed for the battery charge regulator (BCR) of the Columbus Man-Tended Free-Flyer (MTFF) power system. The system is a regulated bus system. Bus voltage control is implemented at the input of the BCR. The use of a conventional buck topology with PWM conductance control at the input results in a second-order behavior. A study of new PWM dc-dc converter topologies has been made to attain a suitable topology. The proposed converter topology is designed and a breadboard including the control loop has been built and tested. The experimental results show that the converter operates according to the design constraints.     

燃料电池无人机能源管理与飞行状态耦合

开展了燃料电池/锂电池（简称燃锂）混合动力无人机的能源管理与飞行状态耦合研究。综合顶层飞行任务规划与底层能源系统管理,以动力系统模型为耦合点联立能源系统与无人机运动方程,建立能源状态与运动状态耦合模型。针对燃锂混合最紧密的爬升过程,以迎角、转速和燃料电池的放电功率作为控制变量,建立了燃料消耗最小的能源管理与航迹规划耦合最优控制问题,研究不同爬升高度对最优控制过程的影响,并与模糊控制能源管理策略进行对比分析。针对大功率短时爬升和小功率长时巡航的典型任务特点,建立了燃锂最优混合问题。研究了最优的锂电池容量和燃料电池功率水平的混合量,以及爬升和巡航两阶段最优功率分配和飞行状态,分析了不同巡航目标高度对最优混合量和飞行状态的影响。结果表明：采用能源与航迹耦合的最优控制策略在给出最优功率流分配的同时,能够很好地兼顾飞行状态控制;对燃锂混合和飞行状态的综合优化可以有效地处理爬升和巡航阶段的能源需求矛盾,在给出最优燃锂混合量和飞行状态的同时,降低整个任务过程的燃料消耗。     

Stochastic battery discharge in portable communication devices

The objective of this work is to explore ways in which performance of battery systems can be enhanced through the use of energy-efficient battery management techniques. The phenomenon of charge recovery that takes place under pulsed discharge conditions is identified as a mechanism that can be exploited to enhance the capacity of a cell in a portable communication device. The bursty nature of many data traffic sources suggests that data transmissions in communication devices may provide natural opportunities for charge recovery. We model the data source as a stochastic process and let the cell discharge be driven by such a process. We use a model of a dual lithium ion insertion cell to identify the improvement to cell capacity that results from the stochastic discharge. The insight from this study leads us to propose discharge shaping techniques that tradeoff energy efficiency with delay in the required current supply