DMC has developed a modular Battery Test Platform specifically designed for testing entire battery packs, sub-modules, and BMS systems for HEV and EV companies, suppliers, and third party testing facilities. For this project, DMC leveraged the Battery Test Platform to produce a more cost-effective automated test system specifically designed for monitoring large battery packs through environmental, cycling, and endurance testing.
Specific requirements for this system were as follows:
- Simultaneous testing of 3 battery packs in parallel from a single test stand.
- Use of cost-effective hardware and design strategies, while maintaining hi-end performance.
- Live monitoring of over-voltage and under-voltage protection analog output signals.
- In-rush, parasitic, sleep, and wake current monitoring.
- Cell voltage and stack voltage accuracy measurements.
- Simulation of external current, voltage, and temperature sensor inputs to pack.
- Temperature sensor accuracy measurements.
- CAN communications performance.
- Safety system, isolation, and fault condition recognition.
- Integration of a simple graphical user interface for post-test viewing and analysis of data files.
This test system was built using DMC’s modular Battery Test Platform, incorporating proven software and hardware architectures, along with flexible and reliable subsystem components and instruments, to produce a customized test stand completely tailored to the end users' specifications. The DMC Battery Test Platform is built around high quality off-the-shelf hardware assembled from a variety of vendors, including National Instruments (NI), Pickering Interfaces, Measurement Computing, Lambda-TDK, and Agilent, among others. Selection of individual instruments in the DMC system is based completely on required performance, not allegiance to a single hardware vendor. This strict attention to specifications and performance provides DMC battery test system users with nothing less than best in class performance.
>> For more information on EV Battery Pack and BMS Testing see this DMC White Paper.