NI myRIO for Battery Management System

[Paras312]

As lithium-ion batteries find thier way into more and more electronic devices, the need for a battery management system (BMS) becomes more and more critical. BMS systems are used to enusre that the batteries, which are all connected in series, are all charged uniformy ensuring that they are all at the same state of charge (SOC). Along these lines, the BMS is used to ensure that each cell is never charged or discharged beyond its safe operating point, thereby ensuring that the batteries are safely operated and that thier lifetime is maximized. Countless products, such as cell phones, laptops, and even electric cars utilize BMSs.

As part of our electrical engineering senior design project at The University of Texas at Arlington, performed during the Spring 2014 semester, we are designing a BMS that utiizes a NI myRIO as its control system and data collection HUB. In every BMS, each cell's voltage and current must be monitored and a number of MOSFET switches must be quickly controlled to ensure that the BMS functions properly. Many BMS systems utilize micro controllers as its control system however the users control over the BMS is minimized when this is the case. Using a myRIO along with LabVIEW will allow the user to accurately and quickly control the BMS while providing a simple and easy to use graphical interface that will make its use fun and informative for the user. Our BMS will be able to monitor each cell's voltage, current, and temperature. Its design will be modular initially consisting of 8 cells connected in series. The user will then be able to stack additional battery modules in groups of 8 as needed. The batteries used for this project will be 2.5 Ah Microvast lithium-ion phosphate batteries. The individual cell voltage and temperature will be reported to the host PC at a rate of no less than 10Hz/cell. The use of NI LabVIEW along with the use of NI myRIO will make the communication with the host PC versatile, simple, and user friendly.

Components used:

MyRIO

Thermocouples

MOSFETs

Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries

Multiplexers

During this project, we will be posting regular updates on the progress we are making. Once the system is built, we will post a video of the project here.

Thank you,

Paras Upreti, Abubakr Mohamed, Dhanik Ram Khadka, Baburam Sapkota, Paula Kawase

(All electrical engineer seniors)

[GuilhermeZat]

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