Virtual Battery: A Battery Simulation Framework for Electric Vehicles

The battery is one of the most important components in electric vehicles. In this paper, a virtual battery model, which provides a framework of battery simulation for electric vehicles, is introduced. Using such a framework, we can model and simulate the performance of a battery during its usage, such as battery charge, discharge, and idle status, the impacts of internal and external temperature, the manufacturing quality on joints, the cell capacity and balance management, etc. Such a framework can provide a quantitative tool for design and manufacturing engineers to predict the battery performance, investigate the impacts of manufacturing process, and obtain feedback for improvement in battery design, control, and manufacturing processes. Note to Practitioners-Automotive battery manufacturing has become more and more important due to the need of alternative energy source to gasoline powered engines. Although substantial amount of attention has been paid to study both individual battery cells and the battery pack as a whole, a battery model which includes interactions of all its components (cells, joints, external inputs, etc.) is not available, and the impact of manufacturing quality on battery performance has not been investigated. In this paper, a virtual battery simulation framework is developed to evaluate battery performance under different circumstances, involving the issues of cell capacity, temperature, driving profile, the joint (manufacturing) quality, etc. Such a framework can help battery design and manufacturing engineers to evaluate battery performance, investigate the impacts of manufacturing practices, and provide feedback for improvement.