A Novel RC-Based Architecture for Cell Equalization in Electric Vehicles

• Main Authors: Alfredo Alvarez-Diazcomas, Adyr A. Estévez-Bén, Juvenal Rodríguez-Reséndiz, Miguel-Angel Martínez-Prado, Jorge D. Mendiola-Santíbañez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-05-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: electric vehicles; cell equalization; capacitor-based equalizers; battery management system
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/9/2349

Nowadays, research on electric vehicles is increasing because they have the potential to decrease greenhouse-gas emissions dramatically in the transport sector. For these types of vehicles, the battery is one of the main components. The traction system needs a cell series connection to fulfill the energy requirements. Nevertheless, batteries differ from each other due to a normal dispersion in their capacity, internal resistance, and self-discharge rate. This paper presents a novel battery equalizer circuit using an RC-based topology to equalize two adjacent cells of a battery pack. It has the advantage of merging a resistor-based equalizer, a capacitor-based equalizer, and an RC-based equalizer in one circuit. In this way, it is possible to limit the current stress in the components of the circuit. The proposed method increases the equalization time by 35% for a threshold current of 4 A. However, it is possible design the system for another threshold current. Finally, the complexity of the controller is not compromised in the proposed architecture. The operation, analysis, and design of the architecture are presented and compared to the classic schemes. The theoretical analysis is validated through simulation results.