Battery management system implementation with the passive control method using MOSFET as a load

Abstract

In this study, a battery management system was implemented using the passive charge balancing method. The battery system was created with lithium ion battery cells commonly used in electric vehicles. Two main microprocessors were used as a master and slave for the management system. An STM32f103C8 microcontroller was used as a master, and a PIC18f4520 microcontroller was used as slave control units in the battery management system. Charge control of a battery pack consisting of four cells was performed. The information received from the current and voltage sensors was collected from each cell using a slave controller and sent smoothly to the master controller system. These experimental results indicated that the passive balancing method was implemented and the battery cells were charged successfully. The proposed method was applied to battery pack consisting of a four-cell LiFePO4 battery with a capacity of 40 Ah. This work incorporated original situation that have not been realized before. A digital to analog converter circuit was created using a buck converter topology. Thus, the MOSFET was used as an adjustable resistance. Also, it was one of the first studies in which the MOSFET was used as a regulated resistor in battery management systems.