Battery Management System (BMS)

for Electrical Vehicle (EV) – A brief Review

The greatest challenge in 21st century faced by humankind is global warming due to
environmental pollution. A major portion of this pollution is caused by fossil fuel-based
transportation system’s carbon emission. Motivated by this strong Research and Development
is going on in the field of Electric Vehicle (EV) worldwide. Though this domain is
multidisciplinary, from Electrical Engineering perspective there are mainly three research
areas: studies on Motor Drive System, studies on Power Electronic Converters for drive system
and studies on Battery Management System (BMS). In this literature review the focus is on
Battery Management System (BMS).
In Electric Vehicle (EV) a battery along with a Battery Management System (BMS) ensures
safe and optimal use of battery energy, provides accurate state of battery information [1]. A
review of the literatures shows interest of the researchers in the field of Battery Management
System (BMS) which are battery modelling, monitoring and estimation of battery State of
Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH), State of Power (SOP) capability, End of Life (EOL) or
Remaining Useful Life (RUL), prediction on battery ageing, reusability of batteries [1], [2].
Among other types of batteries Li-ion batteries have superior characteristics such as long life-
cycle, high power density, lower production cost [3]. Considering the potential world market,
researchers claim that Li-ion batteries will face substantial future demand for aerospace and
automotive applications [2]. Prediction of battery performance has been the focus of
researchers for a long time. Batteries for being a type of electro-chemical device show complex
nonlinear behaviour which depend on many internal and external factors. Existing battery
models include Electrochemical Model, Empirical Law/Tabulated Battery Models, Semi-
Empirical Models, Equivalent Circuit Network models. [4]. Apart from this many state-of-the-
art advanced battery models have been reported in the literature. Choosing right model for
experimentation requires the consideration of various factors as different kinds of models
achieve different degree of accuracy at different level of complexities. [4]. Equivalent Circuit
Model is widely used in BMS and vehicular energy management system. [1].
The SoC of a battery is defined as the percentage of the remaining capacity in its maximum
available capacity. State of Charge (SOC) estimation is similar to having a dash board for fuel
gauge that shows the level of fuel remaining in the tank using sensors. Battery being an electro
chemical energy storage system, there is no sensor to measure SOC directly. However, the
battery voltage, battery current and ambient temperature can be measured with appropriate
sensors which indirectly carry the information of the SOC. Therefore, an efficient and robust
method is required for the accurate estimation of SOC in real time utilizing the measured
terminal voltage, current and ambient temperature [5]. From 1960s academicians, researchers,
scientists have been engaging themselves in extensive research to carry out battery SOC
estimation. In literatures the reported SOC estimation methods include Look Up Table based
Method, Ampere-Hour Estimation Method, Model-Based Estimation Method, Data-Driven
Estimation Method. Look Up Table Method utilizes the direct relationship between battery
Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) and SOC. By measuring OCV, prediction of SOC is done.
However, it is hard to measure SOC with precision in real time because the measurement of
battery OCV requires cutting of the power and having the battery rested for an extended period
of time. This method is therefore more suitable for laboratory environment. By measuring the
current precisely and knowing the initial SOC, the current SOC can be estimated in Ampere-
Hour Estimation Method. But initial SOC knowing is difficult. With the advancement of
battery technologies, a large number of battery models have been reported. Therefore, a lot of
non-linear state estimation algorithms and adaptive filters such as Kalman Filter, Luenberger
Observe, PI (Proportional Integral) Observer, Sliding Mode Observer etc are employed to
estimate the battery internal state. The Kalman Filter has become a general technique for
nonlinear state estimation and machine learning applications. With advancement in
computational technologies data driven approach has become more popular in recent times.
Due to internal complex chemical reaction process and uncertain external operating conditions
it is very challenging to predict the battery internal state using other battery models. Since data
driven model do not require accurate plant model, the assumptions in plant modelling is
omitted. The data driven model has several potential benefits like parallel distributed
processing, high computation rates, fault tolerance and adaptive capability. Typically used
algorithms are Fuzzy Logic Controller, the Artificial Neural Network, the Support Vector
Machine, and a combination of these algorithms [1].
State of Health (SOH) of the battery is the remaining battery capacity with respect to the initial
capacity. It is the index of its aging which is the most crucial to determine the replacement time
of the battery or to calculate the driving mileage [6]. The residual capacity is computed by
Ampere Count Method which is based on recursive calculation of integral of the current
delivered by the battery over time. But in real operating condition the charge-discharge phase
is not often partial or not complete. Improved Ampere Count methods have been reported in
literature [6], [7].
A study on technical viability of battery’s second life from the perspective of aging claims that
Li-ion batteries preserve 70% to 80% of their initial capacities [8]. Using Recurrent Neural
Network (RNN) the aging estimation of the battery has been carried out [9]. These studies will
be helpful in predicting the battery’s End of Life (EOL) or Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of
Li-ion batteries.
Authors of [10] studied power flow management of grid tied PV-Battery system for electric
vehicle charging using the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Dynamic Programming
(DP), simulation and 1 kw prototype experimental which results fast charging.
Apart from all the above beneficial characteristics of Li-ion batteries, there’s negative is that
these are still costly. Market price of Li-ion batteries has decreased continuously since the time
of their introduction. Naturally Li-ion batteries have become more significant in battery
research and development and its application in EV. Most of the researchers throughout the
world are now concentrating on developing and modifying the lithium ion chemistry to achieve
better performance, considering the costs and other physical effects. This throws a challenge
in front of battery management, charge and discharge control, charge equalization techniques,
heat management, maintenance and safety issues, enhancement of life cycle, reusability etc [2].
All together they lead to advanced research and technology in Battery Management System
(BMS) for Electric Vehicle (EV).
References:
[1] Rui Xiong, Jiayi Cao, Quanqing Yu, Hongwen He, Fengchun Sun, “Critical Review on the Battery State
of Charge Estimation Methods for Electric Vehicles” Special Section On Battery Energy Storage And
Management Systems, IEEE Access, Volume: 6, Pages: 1832 – 1843, 2018

[2] M. A. Hannan, M. Hoque, Aini Hussain, Yushaizad Yusof, P. J. Ker, “State-of-the-Art and Energy
Management System of Lithium-Ion Batteries in Electric Vehicle Applications: Issues and
Recommendations”, Advanced Energy Storage Technologies and Their Applications, IEEE Access, Vol
6, March 2018.

[3] Kai Chin Lim, “Battery Management System for Electric Vehicles”, Ph. D. Thesis, The University of
Wollongong, Australia, June 7, 2017.

[4] Marie-Therese von Srbik, “Advanced Lithium-ion Battery Modelling for Automotive Applications”, Ph.
D. Thesis, Imperial College London, March 2015

[5] Venu Sangwan, Rajesh Kumar, Akshay K. Rathore, “Estimation of Model Parameters and State-of-
Charge for Battery Management System of Li-ion Battery in EVs”, IEEE Transportation Electrification
Conference, India, 2017.

[6] Sangdo Park, Gae-won You, Duk-jin Oh, “Data-driven State-of-health Estimation of EV batteries Using
Fatigue Features”, IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), 2016.

[7] Edoardo Locorotondo, Luca Pugi, Lorenzo Berzi, Marco Pierini, Alessandro Pretto Gruppo Pretto,
“Online State Of Health Estimation of Lithium-Ion batteries based on improved Ampere-Count Method”,
IEEE Industrial and Commercial Power Systems Europe (EEEIC / I&CPS Europe), 2018.

[8] E. Martinez-Laserna, E. Sarasketa-Zabala, I. Villarreal, D.-I. Stroe, M. Swierczynski, A. Warnecke, J.M.

Timmermans, S. Goutam, N. Omar, P. Rodriguez, “Technical Viability of Battery Second Life: A Study
from the Ageing Perspective”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Volume: 54 , Issue 3,
pages: 2703 – 2713, 2018.

[9] Amirthalakshmi Veeraraghavan, Viswa Adithya, Ajinkya Bhave, Shankar Akella, “Battery Aging
Estimation with Deep Learning”, IEEE Transportation Electrification Conference (ITEC), India, 2017.

[10] Mohamed O. Badawy, Yilmaz Sozer, “Power Flow Management of a Grid Tied PV-Battery System for
Electric Vehicles Charging”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Volume: 53 , Issue: 2,
pages: 1347 – 1357, 2017.