Fast Charge Algorithm Development for Battery Packs under Electrochemical and Thermal Constraints with JModelica.org

Abstract

Strict operating boundaries on commercial lithium ion cells are defined to mitigate the effect of aging (loss of capacity and increase in internal resistance), as well as avoiding safety hazards, like the appearance of lithium plating during charge, which can lead to internal short circuit and subsequent thermal runnaway. Therefore, to develop fast charge algorithms that maximize charging speeds, electrochemical and thermal constraints must be considered. Most studies so far have focused on the single cell problem, whereas pack-level fast charge challenge has been tackled directly by the industry. The reason is that the temperature difference between cells within a battery pack is often considered small, and therefore that optimal charging profiles can be extrapolated from single cell investigations. In practice, temperature spread can reach up to 10 K from coldest to warmest points in the pack, and at least 5 K between same position of different cells. With this in mind, a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NLMPC) scheme is proposed that considers both electrochemical and thermal constraints at pack level, establishing, at least on a theoretical basis, the practical limits of fast charge. We demonstrate how active thermal management, i.e., controlling the fluid inlet temperature, is critical to reducing charging times below 40 min (from 0% to 80% state of charge), and discuss some challenges when using online optimization-based control techniques