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Battery Management System
Table of Contents
A Battery Management System is responsible for managing and monitoring the health and performance of a battery. If battery is body then BMS is the brain.
Components of BMS
Battery monitoring unit (BMU) – The BMU can be called the brain of Battery Management System. It is responsible for monitoring the battery pack’s important parameters such as temperature, voltage, current etc. It gathers information from the system’s various sensors and transmits the data to the controlling unit.
Battery Balancing Circuitry – Just as the name suggests, the function of battery balancing circuitry is to monitor that the voltage level of each cell in the battery pack is uniform. It redistributes charge from cells with a higher voltage to those with a lower voltage. This process is carried out so that the whole system functions around its optimal range.
Control Circuitry – It examines the data gathered by the BMU to determine the optimum charge and discharge rates.
Sensors – These devices monitor the current and voltage of every single cell in a battery pack and transmit the information to BMU. This information is crucial for determining the battery pack’s state of charge and health.
Temperature sensors are distributed throughout the battery case to track the temperature of each individual cell. The Battery Management System then uses this data to modify both discharging/charging rates to avoid the battery pack from overheating/overcooling.
Interface – The communication interface allows the battery management system (BMS) to communicate and present vital battery stats to the user/ driver.
Importance of BMS
Extended Battery Life – It Ensures that the battery gets charged at an optimum efficient rate. This results in maximizing the battery’s capacity and extending the battery’s life.
Safety: The Battery Management System tracks the voltage, electric current, and temperature of the battery. The BMS functions as a control unit and lowers the charge rate to prevent battery damage.
Performance – Having an ideal charging/discharging rate minimizes battery degradation resulting in improved battery performance.
Sustainability – As battery life span is improved, the need to replace battery components frequently does not occur. This helps in reducing waste because battery disposal costs and environmental impact are quite significant.
The future electric vehicle race could very well boil down to how efficient are OEM’s Battery Management Systems. Those with reliable Battery Management System will be poised to capture EV market share. Bosch has developed cloud based battery management system.
Read More –
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