A Combined Health Estimation and Active Balancing Electronic System for the Life Enhancement of Batteries in Hybrid and/or All-Electric Propulsion Systems

NASA seeks intelligent monitoring for hybrid and/or all electric propulsion systems, and methods to significantly extend the life of electric aircraft propulsion energy sources and their safety. Active balancing is an attractive technique that can be used to increase battery pack life. If performed efficiently and accurately, active balancing can translate into longer battery life and more efficient battery utilization. Active balancers presently equalize either voltage or State of Charge (SOC) in a group of cells or super-cells in series. The more accurate in-operando SOC active balancers depend on on-line SOC estimation algorithms that are typically based on terminal voltage, current, and temperature. These algorithms (e.g., Coulomb counting, Kalman-based filter estimation, etc) accumulate errors and/or become unstable as a consequence of measurement errors, model simplifications, and the lack of an accurate battery parameter determination and tracking method, which is critical as the battery ages and/or operates under unforeseen conditions. To address this problem we propose an active balancing electronic system that can jointly balance the battery pack and measure battery health related parameters without additional hardware. We propose to use this efficient electronic system to demonstrate an improved active balancing system capable of battery life enhancement and safety operation.

NASA has great interest in methods and approaches for intelligent monitoring and innovative techniques that enable extended and safer operation of aircraft with electric propulsion systems. NASA is specifically interested in battery life and health improvement methods for fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly aircrafts. This includes the development of systems capable of improving battery utilization and safety via prognostics and fault detection.

The proposed system has many market applications in different industries such as exploration, defense, terrestrial hybrid and all-electric vehicles, unmanned vehicles, and energy sectors. Other government agencies, including DOD, DOE, DOT, and commercial sectors will benefit from this technology. Battery technologies are constantly being sought for renewable systems, such as solar, wind, and hybrid and electric vehicles. Besides propulsion systems batteries are used in commercial airplanes for auxiliary load support among others.

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