dSpace takes a modular approach to battery management systems
Battery systems with overall voltages of up to 1,500V can be tested using the modular systems introduced by dSpace. The modular concept makes the system scalable and flexible, confirmed the company.
The core component for the powerful battery management system (BMS) is a high-precision cell voltage emulation board, said the company. The BMS integrates seamlessly into the Scalexio technology and can be configured to meet the requirements of individual customers. When combined with the simulation software ASM Electric Components, which provides a comprehensive library of battery models, it can be used immediately to develop and validate a range of battery systems from electromobility to energy storage systems for modern power grids.
Battery management systems are crucial for the smooth operation of lithium-ion batteries as they manage the use of available capacity, ensure optimum temperatures and avoid overcharging and deep discharges, to ensure safe operation and long life times. High-performance energy storage systems are used in e-mobility and industrial applications, where increasingly demanding performance requirements call for battery systems with ever higher voltages.
The dSpace modular system design has low-latency and is capable of real time integration of the cell voltage emulation to the Scalexio system via Iocnet. It offers fast updates of individually emulated cell voltages independent of the number of cells and size of the battery. It is also possible to integrate FPGA applications for faster interaction with the BMS under test. This opens up new ways to emulate technologies such as online electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, with high precision.
The cell voltage emulation board ensures cell voltage generation with high precision, down to 300 microV. Peak currents are up to 20A per channel and the system also provides high precision current measurement, said dSpace, to emulate “even the most sophisticated cell balancing scenarios”. Integrated fault simulation lets users simulate electrical faults, such as short circuits or cable breaks, as well as defective battery cells.
dSpace said it will complement the modular system design with additional emulation boards, for example, for emulating temperatures and high voltages.
The company also announced a new safety compartment concept claimed to make it easy to wire the cell channels and which reduces the length of the wires to the test system and allows for easy calibration of the individual cells.
