Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

A new device for determining the level of charge in batteries

P Cappa; L Fedele; V Naso
Experimental Techniques; Sep/Oct 1999; 23, 5; ProQuest Science Journals
pg. 23
TECHNIQUES
by P Cappa, L. Fedele and V Naso
A NEW DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE LEVEL OF
CHARGE IN BATTERIE$
A
novel method to determine the leve l of battery
charge, based on an energy balance, bas been de-
veloped. Tbe proposed metbod has been tested on
a lead-acid cell also appropriate to any otber sec-
ondary cell. Tbe energy balance includes tbermal energy re-
leased by the cell and electric energy received/produced in
the cbarge l disc barge processes. An adiabatic calorimeter
has been used to measure tbe beat released. Several charge/
discharge tests bave been carried out to check the energy
balance metbod and tbe repeatability oftbe obtained results.
All tbey sbow typical battery charge/ discbarge trends and
tbe data spreading is in accordance witb tbe aging of the
battery; tberefore, only the diagrams of o ne cbarge l dis-
charge cycle are bere presented. The introduction of an in-
novative parameter (discharge coefficient, cd) allows some
assumed ideal conditions to be adjusted to represent battery
real working conditions.
INTRODUCTION
battery
ce! l
water
air
measurement is taken on-line, uncertainty values can reacb
over 20 per cent mainly due to electrolyte stratification pbe-
nomena.16 Tbe cell voltage measurement may differ witb tbe
crystallograpbic sbape of tbe active material depending on
tbe manufacturing process, celllife and use and, at its worst,
an uncertainty of about 50 m V can be expected. Considering
a total variation of 300 m V in tbe cell voltage, between a
cbarged and a discbarged battery state, total uncertainty
should not exceed a value of about 20 per cent
17
The mea-
surement cannot be carried out on-line as it depends beavily
on tbe discbarge current.
In order to overcome the previously indicated limitations, a
new experimental on-line device for more precise measure-
ments, us-z4, based on tbermal considerations, was recently
developed at the University of Rome "La Sapienza." The
rheo:l
J:=
battery l
charger
insulated
resisLor
me tal
plastic
container
practical utilization of tbe
device is to assist users of
electric apparatus in predict-
ing the battery autonomy by
through a constant on-line
monitoring. Tberefore, tbe
above mentioned device per-
mits the replacement of any
otber device for evaluating
tbe level of charge.
Tbe real time evaluation of
tbe level of battery cbarge
and tbe efficiency of lead/
acid batteries is of capital
importance in many mechan-
ical applications.
1
Today,
some of tbem are constrained
by tbe efficiency of tbe elec-
trocbemical accumulators as,
for example, in bybrid
and electrical means of
transportation,
2
-
4
hybrid and
electrical submarines
5
and
bio-medical systems and mil-
itary equipments.
6

7
As a
matter of fact, tbe level of
cbarge of the electrocbemical
accumulator is a function of
several variables not easily
controllable sucb as the en-
Fig. l: Schematic representation of the adiabatic calorimeter
First experiments were
made by using a water calo-
rimeter. Tbe walls of a 12 V
battery were maintained a t a
constant temperature by us-
ing cooling water, and mea-
suring tbe temperature dif-
ference between incoming
and outgoing fiuid. Tbis de-
vice was soon abandoned be-
cause it proved impossibility
to measure very small tem-
vironmental temperature and tbe discbarge current, tbe pre-
vious battery charge/ discharge cycles, and battery life.
Sucb measurements are usually based on tbe evaluation of
tbe electrolyte density and/ or tbe battery voltage.
8
-
11
Both
metbods present expressive limitations: tbese measure-
ments at typically off-line, meaning tbey bave to be taken
after tbe cell bas reached equilibrium conditions, i. e. usually
some bours after the dynamic processes bave been com-
pleted.8-15 Tbe measurement of density rises practical prob-
lems wben tbe current utilization is concerned, wbile tbe
statistica! elaboration of data adds furtber uncertainty. Ifthe
P Cappa ISEM Memberl is Associate Professar, L. Fedele is Contract Professar, and
V: Naso is Full Professar at University of Rome "La Sapienza" -Department of
Mechanical and Aeronautica/ Engineering.
The paper was presented at VIII lnternational Congresso n Experimental Mechan-
ics, Nashville, USA, June 10-13 1996.
perature differences. So a
new device, described in tbe next paragraph, was designed.
EXPERIMENTAL LAYOUT
To measure tbe beat produced inside the cell, an adiabatic
calorimeter bas been used, consisting of a metallic, sealed
cylinder containing the cell, placed inside a plastic cylinder
filled witb water (Fig. 1). Four electric insulated resistors (65
W eacb), dipped in tbe water, contro l tbe metal cylinder tem-
perature. The working principle of sucb a device is based on
zeroing tbe temperature difference between tbe external
wall of the cell and the surrounding wall of the metal cyl-
inder. In this ideal case, tbe beat cannot fiow from tbe cell
since, as i t is well known, tbe quantity of beat transmitted
(by conduction, convection and radiation) depends on the
temperature difference. To control these two temperatures,
an electronic device bas been designed and built. Sucb a con-
September!October 1999 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 2J
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DETERMINING LEVEL OF
CHARGE IN BATTERIES
trol works with two PtlOO resistance thermometers placed
on the external cell wall and on the internai metal-cylinder
wall (Fig. 2). The control is composed of an electronic differ-
entiator and an operational amplifier; the differentiator
gives approximately a 2.4 V output signal for a zero temper-
ature difference and 0.8 V for each Kelvin difference utilizing
a Wheatstone bridge in which two of the resistors are the
PtlOO temperature sensors. The operational amplifier con-
trols a relay opening and closing the electric circuit of the
heater resistors placed in the water.
To measure the thermal energy dissipateci, 4 Chromel-
Alumel thermocouples have been arranged inside the cell; a
constant k relates heat and temperature could be evaluated
by means of the following equation:
(l)
w h ere
E, is the thermal energy dissipateci, i.e. the heat released
in charging and discharging processes and
!1T is the temperature difference between the end and the
beginning of each test.
Another two thermocouples are placed besides the Pt 100
sensors to test the cell and metal cylinder wall temperatures
(Fig. 2).
lead acid
element
T6
metallic cylinder
16 thermocouples
celi box
Fig. 2: Displacement of the temperature sensors inside the
calorimeter
24 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES September/October 1999
The temperature signals and electrical data, i.e. the cell volt-
age and the charge/discharge currents, are acquired by an
integration voltmeter (NPLC = 1), via a multiplexer card
switches, and processed by a PC connected to the measure-
ment instrumentation via an IEEE-488 interface. The data
acquisition rate, controlled by software, is every 30 s.
The acquisition of thE cell voltage (V), current (!) and heat
released during charge/ discharge allows the following en-
ergy balance:
(2)
where:
Eb is the energy stored in the cell, to be evaluated,
E
1
is the electric energy addressed to the cell (charging pro-
cess),
E
2
is the electric energy withdrawn from the cell (discharg-
ing process),
E, is the thermal energy dissipateci, i.e. the heat released
in the charging and discharging processes, and, finally,
t; is the time between two data acquisition (30 s).
Equation (2) is based upon the following hypothesis: unno-
ticeable uncertainties associateci to the data and very low
discharge current, for not considering irreversible phenom-
ena.
EXPERIMENTAL ANAL YSIS
The tests have been carried out by connecting in series three
2 V 60 Ah C
20
nominal capacity lead/ acid cells in order to
have a 6 V voltage output, required to reach an acceptable
minimum value of the charging current.
First tests were carried out to calculate the k constant that
relates heat generateci by the cell and temperature inside of
it. An insulated electrical resistance placed inside the cell
between two lead grids has been used to generate a known
quantity of heat. The measurements of I and V, kept con-
stant (equal to 150 mA and 40 V, respectively), allowed the
calculation of the heat dissipateci inside the cell, i.e.
Q ="'VIt
L.; t l l
(3)
Thus, by measuring the temperature difference between the
end and the beginning of the test, the k constant is calcu-
lated by using the following formula, in which the interval
of uncertainty was evaluated by means of the error propa-
gation analysis:
25
Charging T est
k=_g_=3
t. T
J
20 oc
(4)
The cell was charged by using the "tapered" chargingmethod
(maximum charging current limited by the voltage of the
cell). To ensure the correct energy balance indicated by Eq.
2, the charging tests should be conducted by starting from a
known cell state of charge, i.e. cell completely discharged.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DETERMINING LEVEL OF
CHARGE IN BATTERIES
The initial value of the charging current, approximately
equal to 11 A, has been chosen as a compromise between the
theoretical suggested value, i.e. 0.1 A per each Ah of capac-
ity, and the duration of the test, interrupted after reaching
the 2.35 V on the cell inside the calorimeter. The 2.35 V
value marks the end of the efficient charge stage and the
beginning of the "mixed stage" in which the charging reac-
tions proceed simultaneously with the water decomposition
processes, thus reducing the charging efficiency and intro-
ducing energy losses not yet evaluated.
Figure 3 indicates temperature-time variations acquired by
the four thermocouples arranged inside the cell, as indicated
in Fig. 2. The final temperature difference with the initial
one is equal16.3 0.1 C. The diagram shows a significant
and regular temperature increasing demonstrating the pos-
sibility of batteries state of charge determination by means
of thermal measurements.
Figures 4-5 show the voltage-time variation and the charg-
ing current as a function of time, while Fig. 6 shows the
temperature of the cell (T
5
) and metal cylinder (T
6
) walls,
indicating the accuracy of the electronic device that controls
the temperature difference (T
5
- T
6
has been less than 0.6
oc during the whole test). The voltage and current diagrams
look typical of batteries charge processes.
8
-
10
Micro-
~ oo ~ ~ ~ ~ m ~ m
time(min)
Fig. 3: Temperature variations inside the celi during the
charging tests
2,40
2,35
2,30
2,25
~ 220
~ '
.:: 2,15
~
=
2,10
1::1
2,05
2,00
1,95
1,90
o 30 60 90 120 ISO 180 210 240 270
lime (min)
Fig. 4: Voltage of the celi inside the calorimeter during the
charging tests
6 - - 4 - - - 4 - - - ~ - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - ~ ~
30 60 90 120 ISO 180 210 240 270
time(min)
Fig. 5: Current during the charging tests
39
36
E 33
~
=
e 30
!t
s
~
"iii
27
~
24
21
o 30 00 90 120 150 180 210 240 270
time(min)
Fig. 6: Temperature of the celi external wall (TS) and
metallic cylinder internai wall (T6) during the charging tests
irregularities of the diagrams are due to the measurement
equipment noise; more relevant irregularities, moreover,
may be attributed to the electrochemical phenomena which
may act differently over time.
The ends of all diagrams, both in charging and in discharg-
ing tests, show discontinuities corresponding to the starting
and ending points of the tests.
Electric energy E
1
supplied to the cell is:
Et = 2: Vi Ii ti = 318 4 kJ (5)
Thermal energy En dissipated inside the cell is:
E
11
= k .:lT = 45 l kJ (6)
Therefore, the energy balance in charging test is:
E = E
1
- E
11
= 273 4 kJ (7)
Discharging Test
The discharge of the cell has been conducted at least 20
hours after the end of the charging process, i.e. after chem-
ical and physical equilibrium conditions have been reached,
in order to get significant density and voltage values.
September/October 1999 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 25
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DETERMINING LEVEL OF
CHARGE IN BATTERIES
A rheostat of 6 n maximum resistance has been used as
electric load. The cell has been discharged at a constant cur-
rent of approximately 6 A; to obtain such a current, the rhe-
ostat has been regulated at about l n. This value has been
chosen as a compromise between very low current, that en-
sures the maximum usage of the active material, and the
time length of the tests. The discharge has been interrupted
when the voltage value of the cell inside the calorimeter
reached l. 7 V.
As in Fig. 3, Fig. 7 indicates temperature-time variations
inside the cell during the discharging process. In this case,
however, Ti temperature values differ at the beginning and
a t the end of the test. Because only one value a t initial and
final conditions is required, the mean value T mis considered:
Final temperature difference is then:
j.,T = Tmr- T mi = 2.8 0.1 oc (8)
Figures 8-9 show the voltage of the cell inside the calorim-
eter and the discharge current variations as a function of
time; these diagrams are likely to be typical of such pro-
cesses.8-10 The negative peak in Fig. 8 is due to the battery
very low state of charge. Just after the discharge stop, the
voltage typically grows up.
25,5
l .
25,0 +--+---+-+--+--+-+--+--+-+--+/---J"-- ___-:c-1 ...
:::: _ .. --+- Q
?. ,-;;;:?:< 2
- ,
22
'
0
O 30 W 90 120 ISO 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
time(min)
Fig. 7: Temperature variations inside the celi during the
discharging tests
2,10
2,05
2,00
1,95
t,
j 1,90
1,85
=
1,81)
1,75
1,70
1,65
l
L
'
-
Q
"'
i
-
r---
-
----
r----.-
--.......
" \
lime (mio)
Fig. 8: Voltage of the celi inside the calorimeter plotted
against time, during the discharging tests
26 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES September!October 1999
(
7,0
6,5
l l
lf"\
s



J
c

J
W\.
..
'-t-\r,
fJ....r..
::
8 6,0
..


""
....
..
.c
.!!l
., 5,5
l
l
i
l
5,0
l
Q Q
:2:
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
:2:
..,

:::! :!l ;::;
..,.
.... Q
..,
N N
.., .., ..,
time(min)
Fig. 9: Current during the discharging tests
Electric energy withdrawn from the cell is:
E2 = 2:: Vi I; ti = 235 2 kJ (9)
Thermal energy dissipateci inside the cell is:
Et2 = k j.T = 8 0.3 kJ (lO)
Therefore, the energetic balance in the discharge test is:
E' = E
2
+ E
12
= 243 2 kJ (11)
OBTAINED RESUL TS
The energy values E and E', representing the charging and
discharging duty cycles (Eq. 7 and Eq. 11) show that energy
balances differ by about 29 kJ, that is a difference of about
10 per cent. This difference is mainly due to the fact that
the real working conditions differ from the ideal conditions
because of the high discharge current chosen, and because
of some undesirable, irreversible chemical processes.
The introduction of a new parameter, so called "discharge
coefficient" cd, is needed that is:
(12)
by which a new state of charge index can be defined based
on further consideration of the data. The discharge coeffi-
cient strongly depends on the discharge condition, and in the
experimental conditions we experienced, its value was found
to be:
cd = 0.89 0.02
(13)
Variations of cd values in all tests, with the same battery
and the same charging/discharging apparatus, always re-
sulted limited within 10 per cent.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by the Italian Company FAAM S.p.A.
from Monterubbiano (ltaly). The authors wish to thank Mr.
Francesco Rapanotti for the valuable assistance given in as-
sembling the experimentallayout.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DETERMINING LEVEL OF
CHARGE IN BATTERIES
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September!October 1999 EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES 27