Real-time Reconfiguration-Based All-Cell Flexibility and Capacity Maximum Utilization of Second-Life Batteries
Journal article, 2024

The capacity underutilization caused by cell inconsistency hinders the efficient utilization of lithium-ion battery packs. This is particularly critical for the second-life battery utilization where high cell inconsistency exists. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multi-scale reconfiguration control method enabled by an efficient reconfigurable battery topology, aiming to maximize the pack’s capacity utilization. In this regard, a novel 4-switch reconfigurable battery topology is proposed, offering the advantages of all-cell flexibility and reasonable complexity. Building upon this, an all-cell equalization method is proposed, combining intra-module current sharing and three forms of inter-module energy distribution to achieve maximum pack capacity utilization. Moreover, real-time reconfiguration ensures effective charge transmission when the pack voltage deviates from the expected threshold. A lab-scale prototype of the reconfigurable battery pack is tested, and experimental results confirm that the proposed design and reconfiguration control can improve pack capacity utilization and efficiency by 10.96% and 14.34%, respectively, without any redundant design. This method provides a feasible solution for grouping and system management of second-life battery systems consisting of highly inconsistent cells.

reconfigurable battery

Switches

Batteries

voltage stabilization

All-cell flexibility

Topology

State of charge

Prototypes

maximum capacity utilization

Voltage control

Pulse width modulation

Author

Zhongbao Wei

Beijing Institute of Technology

Haoyong Cui

Beijing Institute of Technology

Xinghua Liu

Xi'an University of Technology

Yang Li

Chalmers, Electrical Engineering, Systems and control

Rui Wang

Northeastern University China

IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification

2332-7782 (eISSN)

Vol. In Press

Subject Categories

Energy Engineering

Vehicle Engineering

Other Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering

DOI

10.1109/TTE.2024.3399218

More information

Latest update

5/28/2024