Battery Management System

Senior Project Design

6/6/2014
EE 463
Michael DeSando & Kyle Woody
Table of Contents
Preface
Figures & Tables……………………………………………………………………………………………………..ii

Acronyms……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ..iii

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………………...iv

Abstract…....................................................................................... ............................... ..........v

Project Description
Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..…...1

Chapter 2: Background…………………………………………………………………………………………… 3

Part I: Battery Data Acquisition

Chapter 3: Battery Analysis & Set up…………………………………………………..……………….…5

Chapter 4: Test Results for Battery Data……………………………………………………………..…8

Part II: Exercising the BQ76PL536 & GUI

Chapter 5: Utilization of GUI…………………………………………………………………………….…..21

Part III: BMS Application

Chapter 6: BMS Application Requirements…………………………………………………….…….29

Chapter 7: Design of BMS Application…………………………………………………………….……30

Appendices
Appendix D: Senior Project Analysis

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Figures & Tables
Figures
Figure 1: Comparison of various battery types……………………………………………………………………………………………...…………………….3
Figure 2: Charge and discharge schematic………………………………………………………………………………………………….……...………………5
Figure 3: Programmable DC Supply for charging……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………6
Figure 4: Programmable DC load for discharging …………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….6
Figure 5: Data acquisition device for extracting data from cells……………………………………………………………….….………….…………6
Figure 6: Calibration of shunt…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..……..………………..7
Figure 7: Test Charge characteristics of battery……………………………………………………………………………………….……...….…………….8
Figure 8: Datasheet charge characteristics of battery……………………………………………………………………………..…………….…………..9
Figure 9: Discharge of battery at 0.2C………………………………………………………………………………………………….….….….…….…………..10
Figure 10: Discharge of battery at 2C……………………………………………………………………………………………….……...…...…….……………10
Figure 11: Datasheet discharge characteristics of battery…………………………………………………………….…….…..…….…..……..………11
Figure 12: Temperature of battery at 1C discharge………………………………………………………………………….…….….…..…..…………….11
Figure 13: Benchlink data for 1C discharge interrupted to obtain Voc…………………………………………….…….….……....…..…….……12
Figure 14: 1C discharge interrupted to obtain Voc……………………………………………………………………………….…….……….….………..13
Figure 15: Open circuit voltage at 1C during discharge……………………………………………………………………..…………..…..…….………13
Figure 16: Internal resistance for different SOC…………………………………………………………………………………………….…..…………….14
Figure 17: Internal resistance increases exponentially as capacity is displaced……………………………………….……..…..…….………15
Figure 18: Open circuit voltage found from extrapolation………………………………………………………………….…….…….…..……………16
Figure 19: Digitized points for datasheet’s 1C discharge……………………………………………………………………………..….……….………16
Figure 20: Graph of digitized points for a 1C discharge……………………………………………………………………..…………....……....………17
Figure 21: Internal resistance of battery at 1C discharge…………………………………………………………………..…….……..….……………18
Figure 22: Comparisons of predicted vs actual battery voltages for 1C discharge………………….………………….…….…….…………18
Figure 23: Actual voltage compared to predicted voltage for 2C discharge………………………….………………….….…..…….…………19
Figure 24: Internal resistance for 1C discharge using actual data………………………………………………………………….………………..19
Figure 25: Actual voltage compared to predicted voltage from the 1C discharge using all actual data…………….….…..………20
Figure 26: System set-up for GUI operation……………………………………………………………………………………….………………….…….…..21
Figure 27: Cells dissipate to lowest SOC for passive cell balancing…………………………………………….……….…………….......…………22
Figure 28: Datasheet schematic of cell balancing portion of BMS……………………….…………………………….…………….………………22
Figure 29: Power resistor of 47 Ω labeled 470 across each cell…………………………….………………………….……..…..…..………….……23
Figure 30: Balancing cells 4-6 at approx. 3.582 V with cell 1 at 3.35 V…………………………………………………………..……..…………24
Figure 31: GUI main screen…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….…………….25
Figure 32: GUI interface of cell voltages and V BRICK………………………………………….………………………………………….....….……….26
Figure 33: Safety pins on GUI………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………….....………26
Figure 34: CB_CTRL and CB_TIME pins on the GUI…………………………………………………….………………………….…………….…………27
Figure 35: Toggling of the CB_CTRL pin……………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………….27
Figure 36: BMS block diagram……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………….…….….……..30
Figure 37: Battery pack containing 6 Li-Ion 18650s………………………………………………………….……………………….………...…….…31
Figure 38: BQ76PL536 EVM…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………32
Figure 39: BQ76PL536 BMS IC pinout………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………….………32
Figure 40: Cell balancing circuitry of EVM…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….…………33
Figure 41: MSP430fr5969 MCU LaunchPad…………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………34
Figure 42: Sharp LCD BoosterPack…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………....….……..35
Figure 43: State diagram of BMS application………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……….35
Figure 44: MCU on top of EVM……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..37
Figure 45: Project definition Gantt Chart (EE 460-Fall 2013)……………………………………………………………………….………………42
Figure 46: Gantt Chart for Winter 2013 (EE 463)……………………………………………………………………………..…..………..……….……42
Figure 47: Estimate Gantt Chart for Spring 2013 (EE 464)…………………………………………………………….……..……43
Figure 48: Actual Winter 2013 Timeline……………………………………………………………………………………….…..….……43
Figure 49: Actual Spring 2013 Timeline……………………………………………………………………………..….……..……………44

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Tables
Table I: Lithium Ion 18650 specifications…………………………………………………………………………….……………………….…………………3
Table II: Marketing requirements & engineering specifications……………………………………………..………………………………………29
Table III: Voltage to state of charge conversion………………………………………………………………………………….……..…………..………36
Table IV: Connection from battery pack to EVM………………………………………………………………………………….……...…………………37
Table V: Connection from EVM to MCU………………………………………………………………………………………..……….….……………………38
Table VI: Connection from MCU to LCD screen…………………………………………………………………………………….…..……………………38
Table VII: Cost Estimates………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………41

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Acronyms
BMS: Battery Management system

COV: Cell Overvoltage

CUV: Cell Undervoltage

EVM: Evaluation Module

IC: Integrated Circuit (chip)

LCD: Liquid Crystal Display

Li-Ion: Lithium Ion

MCU: Microcontroller Unit

SPI: Serial Peripheral Interface

SOC: State of Charge

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Acknowledgements
Thank you to Art MacCarley, Bridget Benson, and Texas Instruments.

A special thank you to John Dunning for his guidance and insight throughout the entirety of this project.
His experience and enthusiasm helped us realize our goals and we gained invaluable knowledge that
would not have otherwise been possible.

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Abstract
Problem Statement:
There have been recent reports of multi-million dollar companies having to recall entire projects due to
their BMS’s malfunctioning or operating incorrectly. The purpose of this project is to analyze the future
of batteries, the Lithium-Ion cell, and to exercise a BMS to better understand its capabilities and possible
cases for errors. Lithium ion batteries are intolerant of overcharge and overdischarge. Abuse of this kind
can result in high temperatures, venting of gases, fire, or explosion. Therefore battery management
systems have been devised to prevent such abuse. Recent events such as fires on the Boeing
Dreamliner and the Tesla Model S have shown that these dangers are real. These products do have
highly developed battery management systems, and the incidents were caused in spite of these
systems. This study was undertaken to illustrate how one system from Texas Instruments, functions to
monitor and control a simple battery pack.

Part I: Battery Data Acquisition

Preliminary battery tests were conducted to fully understand the operations of charging and discharging
the battery. These tests were essential to gain a better understanding of typical battery behavior and to
be able to perform calculations necessary in analyzing the characteristics of the batteries. Also, these
tests were ran to ensure that the Lithium-Ion batteries being used correctly corresponded to the graphs
and values provided by the datasheet. The knowledge gained from Part I was vital for a better
comprehension of the functions needed to balance the cells for Part II as well as the importance of
safety precautions necessary when dealing with multiple batteries.

Part II: Exercising the BQ76PL536 & GUI

The BQ76PL536 Evaluation Module (EVM) was tested using the BQ7PL536 BMS chips. An Aardvark
adapter acts as a link between the EVM and PC allowing the user to read data from the BMS chips on a
GUI. The BMS chips are validated by reading voltages of individual battery cells, pack voltage, and pack
temperature. The GUI allows for enabling cell balancing between the cells but this feature is not
automatic and must be engaged by the user.

Part III: BMS Application

A MSP430fr5969 microcontroller was implemented to create a BMS system that can read data from the
BMS chips such as cell voltage, pack voltage, pack temperature, fault statuses, alert statuses, and a
variety of other useful cell parameters. This data is displayed on a LCD screen through different menu
options. The user scrolls through the menus using a capacitive touch slider on the microcontroller and
selections a given option using the option select button. There is also a cell balance mode that will check
the cells to see if they are out of balance and then enable cell balancing if the cells are unbalanced. This
section is designed to remove the Aardvark adaptor and the GUI from the system.

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Chapter 1: Introduction
A battery management system is any system that monitors and/or manages batteries. Since batteries
are found in nearly all portable systems that require power, the need for battery management systems
is tremendous.

A Tesla Model S experienced a fire due to collision with a road hazard. A video of the incident went viral
on the internet and prompted a safety analysis. The battery management system was not able to
prevent the penetration of the pack by the road hazard, but the fire was contained.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner experienced at least two overheating incidents of their lithium ion batteries
causing destruction, fire, smoke, but did not cause a catastrophe. However, the fleet was grounded for
months causing much economic dislocation. An extensive investigation did not reveal the root cause of
the fires but the battery management system was not able to prevent the fires.

The requirement of this BMS is to monitor cell voltage, pack voltage, and pack temperature. Each cell
needs to be kept within a certain voltage through cell balancing. The cells need to be protected from cell
over-voltage (COV) and cell under-voltage (CUV) by performing the necessary tasks depending on the
statuses of the cells. This system also needs to mitigate the effects of fires in the cells by shutting the
system down if there are thermal excursions beyond the set temperature limits.

The first part of this project focuses on the characteristics of batteries’ charge and discharge. Knowing
what currents are needed and what voltages are expected at every step in the charge and discharge is
important when developing the BMS. The BMS is capable of alerting the user of cell over-voltage and
cell under-voltage which is only understood by testing the specific cells and comparing the results to the
datasheet specifications. Testing the batteries also provides the current which is used for draining the
cells for cell balancing. This current along with the power resistor value from the datasheet give an
estimation for how long cell balancing will take for a given voltage difference between cells.

The second part of this project focuses on the BMS chips. This design uses the BQ76PL536 which is a
three to six series cell Lithium-Ion battery monitor and secondary protection integrated circuit. This chip
supports all Li-Ion chemistries and has high-speed SPI for data communications. This chip has six cell
voltage measurements, one pack voltage measurement, two pack temperature measurements, along
with cell balancing pins which can be set to control external cell balancing circuitry. The BQ76PL536
Evaluation Module (EVM) used in this design includes three BQ76PL536 chips with the external cell
balancing circuitry. In the second part of this project, the BQ76PL536 EVM is exercised by connecting it
to a six-cell battery pack and using an Aardvark SPI to USB adaptor and a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
to monitor the cells and control the cell balancing as needed. The cell balancing through the GUI must
be controlled by a user and is not automatic.

The third part of this project is to create a fully functional BMS that can monitor the cells and display the
measurements to a LCD screen for the user to see. This portion of the project uses a MSP430fr5969

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microcontroller unit (MCU) with a Sharp LCD Boosterpack. The user uses the capacitive tough slider on
the MCU to access several features. Using the option select button, the user can read individual cell
voltages, pack voltage, cell state of charge, or pack temperature. The BMS is also capable of automatic
cell balancing if selected by the user in which the system looks for cells that are out of balance and then
initiates cell balancing as needed. The system has set COV and CUV trip points as well as over-
temperature and under-temperature trip points so when the system detects these trip points are
reached, the system can shut down completely to protect the batteries and the overall system.

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Chapter 2: Background
Battery Information
Batteries store electrical energy in chemical form which then provides power to a device or circuit.
Batteries can be primary (non-rechargeable) or secondary (rechargeable). This project focuses on the
management of secondary Lithium Ion cells because of their energy density compared to other types as
shown in the graph below Figure 1.

Figure 1: Comparison of various battery types

Battery Selection
The specific batteries used in this project are Panasonic Lithium Ion NCR18650s shown in Table I.

Table I: Lithium Ion 18650 specifications

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The reason these batteries were chosen is because they are reasonably priced at approximately $10.00
per cell and deliver high performance when compared to other batteries. These batteries are also very
popular and are used in various systems including the battery packs in Tesla cars.

Battery Equations
Capacity is the charge stored by the battery. It is the number of hours the battery can provide a current
equal to the discharge rate at the nominal voltage of the battery.

Capacity = ∫ =I∫ [Ah] (1)

Energy of the battery is the capacity to do work. It is equal to the amount of power provided over a
given period of time.

Energy = ∫ =∫ [Wh] (2)

The voltage of the battery is equal to the open circuit voltage minus the voltage drop across its internal
resistance.

Vbattery = Voc – I*Rint [V] (3)

C rate is used to scale the charge and discharge of a battery. At 1C a battery at full capacity will be fully
discharged in 1 hour at a constant current. The Li-Ion 18650 batteries we used were rated at 3.1 Ah.

1C rate = = = 3.1 A to fully discharge the battery in 1 hour. (4)

The time it will take to fully discharge a battery is inversely proportional to its C rate.

[hrs] (5)

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Chapter 3: Battery Analysis and Set Up
Introduction
Battery tests were conducted to fully understand the operations of charging and discharging the battery.
These tests were essential to gain a better understanding of typical battery behavior, obtain data
pertaining to the characteristics of the battery, and compare experimental data with the datasheet.

Figure 2: Charge and discharge schematic

Procedure
The charging and discharging of the Li-Ion 18650 battery was conducted using the set up shown in
Figure 2. The charger used was a BK Precision Programmable Power Supply model XLN3640 and the load
was BK Precision Load model 8518. A shunt resistor was connected in series with the battery to provide
a voltage to current conversion ratio allowing us to find the current through the battery. An Agilent
34972A Benchlink Data Monitor with potentials across the battery and the shunt resistor was
implemented to poll data from those components and convert it to a CSV file. The channels of the
monitor were set for battery voltage, shunt voltage, and temperature. The information from the CSV file
could then be manipulated to match the characteristics of the battery to those of the data sheet. The
equipment used for the charging and discharging is shown in Figures 3, 4, 5.

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Figure 3: Programmable DC Supply for charging

Figure 4: Programmable DC load for discharging

Figure 5: Data acquisition device for extracting data from cells

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Calibration
An electrical shunt was used to obtain the current through the battery. A calibration test was run to
ensure that the shunt measurements matched its nominal conversion. From Figure 6 it can be seen the
shunt was correctly calibrated for a conversion of 50 mV = 10 A, which it was rated at.

Shunt Calibration
0.06

0.05

0.04
Shunt Voltage [V]

0.03
Shunt Test, 50mV = 10A
0.02

0.01

0.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00
Shunt Current [A]

Figure 6: Calibration of shunt

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Chapter 4: Test Results for Battery Data
Charge
To charge the battery the charger was set to “battery charge” mode and using the charge values found
in the datasheet the max voltage was set to V = 4.2 V at a charge current of I = 885 mA. The test charge
characteristics can be seen in Figure 7. From the graph it can be seen that the battery charges at a
constant current of 885 mA resulting in the voltage of the battery to increase linearly. However, when
the battery is close to being fully charged the current begins to taper to ensure that the max battery
voltage is not exceeded and the curve becomes non-linear. Comparing the charge characteristics of the
battery to that of the datasheet shown in Figure 8 it can be seen that the battery did not reach 3.1 Ah,
which is the nominal capacity rating of the battery. This dissimilarity could be due to variations in the
batteries internal design.

Charge Characteristics
Voltage Current Capacity

5 3.0

4.5 2.5

4 2.0

Capacity [Ah]
Voltage [V]

Current [A]
3.5 1.5

3 1.0

2.5 0.5

2 0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5
Time [Hr]

Figure 7: Test Charge characteristics of battery

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Figure 8: Datasheet charge characteristics of battery

Discharge
To discharge, the battery was connected in the same setup as to charge the battery with the charger
being replaced with a load. A voltage was then set for the battery to not discharge past as well as the
current at which the battery would be discharged at. As seen in Figures 9 and 10, the battery was
discharged at C rates of 0.2C and 2C respectively. The 0.2C rate was equal to 590 mA and using the
equation to find discharge time from C rate, it took = 5 hours to fully discharge the battery.
Using the same equation for the 2C rate equal to 5.9 A it took = 0.5 hours to fully discharge
the battery.

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Discharge at 0.2C
Current = 590 mA

4.3
4.1
Battery Voltage [V]

3.9
3.7
3.5
3.3
3.1
2.9
2.7
2.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity [Ah]

Figure 9: Discharge of battery at 0.2C

Discharge at 2C
Current = 5.9 A

4.5
Battery Voltage [V]

3.5

2.5
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50
Capacity [Ah]

Figure 10: Discharge of battery at 2C

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Figure 11: Datasheet discharge characteristics of battery

Comparing these discharge results to that the datasheet shown in Figure 11 it can be seen that the
discharge of the battery at 2C did not reach the nominal capacity of 3.1Ah. This is because the charge
before this discharge test was ended prematurely and the battery did not reach its full capacity. It is
impossible to take out more energy from the battery than is put in.

Temperature

Temp oC vs. Time

Temp at discharge of 1C, 2.95 A

24.2
24
Temp [oC]

23.8
23.6
23.4
23.2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4
Time [Hrs]

Figure 12: Temperature of battery at 1C discharge

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The temperature of the battery varied very little throughout all battery tests and was considered a non-
factor to any operations. As seen in Figure 12, the temperature ranged approximately 0.6 oC from
between extremes, which will have no effect on the characteristics of the battery tests.

Open Circuit Voltage from Interruption (Technique #1)

Figure 13 shows the output graph using the data acquisition Benchlink tool. This software was not only
needed for extracting the data to be converted to a CSV file but was also helpful for monitoring the
current and voltage of the system. Discharge current is shown in red and battery voltage is shown in
teal.

Figure 13: Benchlink data for 1C discharge interrupted to obtain Voc

The open circuit voltage was obtained by disconnecting the system from its discharge load and then
recording the voltage of the battery after it had let equilibrate for ten minutes. The open circuit voltage
is the voltage the battery recovers to without being connected to any load. The open circuit voltage is
found after a short recovery time to allow the internal chemistry of the battery to settle. From Figure 14
it can be seen that the spikes represent the points when the battery was disconnected from its load and
recovered to a greater open circuit voltage. From Figure 15 it can be seen that as the capacity of the
battery decreased the open circuit voltage decreased and the linear fit turned out quite well. The
relation between open circuit voltage and state of charge is extremely useful when comparing different
batteries and will be discussed in later sections.

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Voc vs. Ah out
Discharge at 1C to find Voc

4.5
4
3.5
Battery Voltage [V]

3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity [Ah]

Figure 14: 1C discharge interrupted to obtain Voc

Voc vs. Ah out

Discharge at 1C, 2.95A Linear (Discharge at 1C, 2.95A)

4.4
Open Circuit Voltage [V]

4.2
4 y = -0.2852x + 4.1245
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
3
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity [Ah]

Figure 15: Open circuit voltage at 1C during discharge

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Internal Resistance
The internal resistance was found for different states of charge shown in Figure 16 by finding the slope
of the lines using the equation Rint = Ω. The lines correspond to different states of charge of the
battery. The three points of each line correspond to C rates of 0.2C, 1C, and 2C respectively. It can be
seen that as the SOC of the battery decreased, the slope or internal resistance increased. This is the
correct behavior for internal resistance of a battery solidifying that our data analysis was correct.

V vs. I where m = Rinternal

4.3
4.1 80% SOC
Battery Voltage [V]

3.9
y = -0.1001x + 4.0683 60% SOC
3.7
3.5 40% SOC

3.3 Linear (80%

y = -0.1245x + 4.0202 SOC)
3.1
Linear (60%
2.9 y = -0.1745x + 4.0184 SOC)
2.7
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Current [A]

Figure 16: Internal resistance for different SOC

Taking the internal resistances found from the slopes found in Figure 16, a graph was created comparing
the internal resistance as capacity was displaced from the battery. From Figure 17 it can be seen that as
the battery was discharged the internal resistance increased. The internal resistance for the battery was
found down to 40% SOC because at lower SOC it was unclear whether the battery had been fully
charged. If the battery was not fully charged the data at the end of the discharge could have been faulty.
By analyzing the data above 40% SOC it ensured that the data being obtained was correct.

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Rinternal vs. Ah out
Rinternal vs Ah out Poly. (Rinternal vs Ah out)

0.2
0.18
0.16
0.14
Rinternal [Ω]

0.12
0.1 y = 0.0368x2 - 0.0237x + 0.1013
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 17: Internal resistance increases exponentially as capacity is displaced

Open Circuit Voltage from Extrapolation (Technique #2)

Using the internal resistance lines from Figure 16, the points could be extrapolated back to the Y-axis
and the open circuit voltage could be found for different states of charge. This extrapolated
experimental open circuit voltage had slight differences in voltage values as the open circuit voltage
found using the interruption technique in Figure 15. This is due to the 2C discharge capacity not reaching
the rate 3.1 Ah and the 1C discharge values being experimental from the plot digitizer. The extrapolated
open circuit voltage is found in Figure 18.

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Voc extrapolated vs. Ah out
Voc vs Ah Extrapolated Linear (Voc vs Ah Extrapolated)

4.08
4.07
Open Circuit Voltage [V]

4.06
y = -0.0423x + 4.0855
4.05
4.04
4.03
4.02
4.01
4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 18: Open circuit voltage found from extrapolation

Using the Plot Digitizer

The Plot Digitizer tool was another useful software aid that allowed the datasheet discharge curve to be
formulated into digitized points to be analyzed against the experimental data. The .pdf datasheet
discharge curve was copied and pasted into the digitizer and then traced over by the digitizing tracer.
The traced line then outputted a set of digitized data points that represented the line, as seen in Figure
19.

Figure 19: Digitized points for datasheet’s 1C discharge

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The experimental voltage found from the Plot Digitizer was then graphed against the experimental
capacity extracted from the battery as shown in Figure 20. This plot was compared to the 1C discharge
plot from Figure 19 to ensure that the digitized points correctly corresponded to the line being traced.

Voltage vs. Capacity using Plot

Digitizer
Discharge at 1C digitized

4.4
Battery Voltage [V]

3.9

3.4

2.9

2.4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity [Ah]

Figure 20: Graph of digitized points for a 1C discharge

An experimental internal resistance of the battery was created using the capacity and voltage found
from the plot digitizer for a 1C discharge. The purpose of this is to find the parameters for the state of
charge equation for a battery Vbattery = VOC – I*Rint recognizing that the open circuit voltage and the
internal resistance are postulated to be some functions of the state of discharge or Ah out of the cell. A
number of approaches can be used to estimate these function and to determine the parameters of the
functions.

The internal resistance is estimated by first finding Voc from the linear equation y = -0.28x + 4.1245
found in Figure 15, where x is the capacity found from the plot digitizer and y is the open circuit voltage.
The internal resistance shown in Figure 21 was then found from the equation Rint = where Vbatt
was the experimental voltage obtained from the plot digitizer.

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Rint
0.3

0.25
Battery Internal R [Ω]

0.2

0.15
Rint
0.1 Poly. (Rint)

0.05
y = 0.0292x5 - 0.1914x4 + 0.4481x3 - 0.457x2 + 0.1991x +
0 0.0695
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 21: Internal resistance of battery at 1C discharge

Using the 5th order polynomial equation for Rint shown in Figure 21 the predicted battery voltage was
found using the equation Vpredicted = Voc – I(0.0292x5 - 0.1914x4 + 0.4481x3 - 0.457x2 + 0.1991x + 0.0695)
where x is the capacity from the plot digitizer. The voltage from the digitized points for the 1C discharge
was then compared to the predicted battery voltage as seen in Figure 22 and the prediction was quite
accurate. The particular fit is for convenience only and is not a theoretically important equation
(although operationally it is quite useful).

Comparison of Actual vs Predicted Voltage

at 1 C Rate using Plot Digitizer
4.1
3.9
Battery Voltage [V]

3.7
3.5
3.3
voltage
3.1
2.9 Predicted Voltage
2.7
2.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 22: Comparisons of predicted vs actual battery voltages for 1C discharge

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The digitized points were then compared the 2C discharge curve. From Figure 23 it can be seen that the
two curves were not as exact as the 1C discharge which is due to the actual 2C discharge being used
instead of using the Plot Digitizer, which was the method for the 1C.

Comparison of Actual vs. Predicted

Voltage at 2C Rate using Plot Digitizer
4.5
Battery Voltage [V]

3.5
V
3 Vpredict

2.5
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 23: Actual voltage compared to predicted voltage for 2C discharge

The internal resistance was then found using the actual 1C discharge, completely disregarding any Plot
Digitizer experimental data. However, using the same method for finding internal resistance for a 1C
discharge using the Plot Digitizer, the graph for internal resistance was found shown in Figure 24.

Rint for 1C using actual discharge

0.35
Battery Internal R [Ω]

0.3
0.25
0.2 y = 0.0274x5 - 0.1582x4 + 0.3146x3 - 0.2516x2 +
0.15 0.0786x + 0.0819 Rint
0.1 Poly. (Rint)
0.05
0
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 24: Internal resistance for 1C discharge using actual data

19 | P a g e
The comparison of actual battery voltage against predicted battery voltage is shown in Figure 25. The
reason for doing these experiments of comparing actual against predicted voltage is to show the power
of having a function for internal resistance. Given the 5th order polynomials found from the internal
resistance and one other parameter the discharge curves could be predicted at any state for any
discharge. Also, this shows that from the equation Vbattey = VOC(SOC) – IRint(SOC) the SOC of the battery
can be found and compared to another battery SOC to find how far apart the levels their SOC are. This
information can then be used to find the time it will take to balance these batteries which is vital
information for a BMS.

Comparison of Actual vs. Predicted Voltage

at 1C using actual discharge
4.3
4.1
3.9
Battery Voltage [V]

3.7
3.5
3.3 Predicted Voltage
3.1 Actual Voltage
2.9
2.7
2.5
0.00 0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50
Capacity out [Ah]

Figure 25: Actual voltage compared to predicted voltage from the 1C discharge using all actual data

20 | P a g e
Chapter 5: Utilization of GUI
Introduction
Analysis of the BMS was then undertaken following a better understanding of the characteristics of the
Li-Ion 18650 batteries. Specifically, cell balancing was analyzed because this would be the functions of
the BMS that would be studied the most in Part III. Cell balancing is an essential function of a BMS
because it helps protect against cell degradation, over charge/discharge, and ensures that the system
and its batteries are operating safely as to not damage more areas of the system.

Figure 26: System set-up for GUI operation

The connection setup for the entire system is shown in Figure 26 and consists of the Li-Ion battery pack,
BMS, and Aardvark data communication device which was then connected to the console.

Procedure
This BMS uses passive cell balancing where the excess energy in the cells is dissipated as heat through
resistors until all batteries are at the same state of charge as the lowest cell as seen in Figure 27. This is
not the most efficient form of cell balancing but is one of the more cheaper, less complicated methods.
A thorough analysis of the procedures required for balancing the cells was completed and the BMS
operations were exercised to support these claims.

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Figure 27: Cells dissipate to lowest SOC for passive cell balancing

Cell Balancing via BQ76PL536 EVM

The balancing of the cells is controlled by two pins shown in the lower right corner of Figuer 28: VCx
(voltage of cell) and CBx (cell-balance control output). The VCx pin allows for the voltage of the battery
to be read and the CBx pin allows for the balancing of the cell to occur. The CBx pin is active low and
causes the NFET to remain open while a logical ‘0’. When the CBx is toggled to a ‘1’ the NFET closes,
providing a path for current to flow. The zener diodes are needed for safety to limit the max voltage
seen across the diodes which corresponds to the voltage across the cell. The capacitors are present to
hold the state of charge of the battery by not reacting to sudden changes or variabilities in the batteries.
A 47 Ω power resistor is placed in series with the NFET to dissipate the excess energy of the cells.

Figure 28: Datasheet schematic of cell balancing portion of BMS

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Figure 29: Power resistor of 47 Ω labeled 470 across each cell

The power resistor shown in Figure 29 was measured with a multi-meter and verified to be 47 Ω. Using
the resistor value and voltage of the cell the current through the cell and the power dissipated was
calculated:

Rp = 47 Ω

Vcell = 3.6 V

I= = = 76.59 mA (6)

Pdiss = = = 0.276 W (7)

The cells being balanced were intentionally set at unequal states of charge to perform the balancing.
Cells 2-6 were set to approximately 3.6 V while cell 1 was set to 3.5 V. Using the 0.2C discharge rate the
capacity discharged was calculated:

Cells 2-6 = 3.6 V  1.372 Ah

Cell 1 = 3.5 V  1.933 Ah

Capacity difference = (1.933 – 1.372) Ah = 0.561 Ah

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The time to balance the cells was then calculated to be:

Time = = 7.32 hrs (8)

Performing this analysis was extremely informative because through the data collection it was found
that a difference of 0.1 V, although a small difference, is quite large when balancing cells using a BMS. As
seen from the calculations above it would have taken 7.32 hours to balance the cells being used.

The knowledge gained from analysis of the cells in Part I gave insight into the importance of Vopencircuit vs.
SOC. The open circuit voltage has a direct correlation to the SOC of the battery. The equation
Vbattery = Voc – I*Rint [V] found in the equations section above can be re-written as Vbattery = Voc(SOC) –
I*Rint(SOC). Using this equation, the discharge current, and the known variability of Rint we can
determine how far from being balanced one cell is from another.

Balancing of Cells
3.6
3.58
3.56
3.54
Cell Voltage[V]

3.52 Cell 6 Voltage

3.5
Cell 5 Voltage
3.48
3.46 Cell 4 Voltage
3.44 Cell 1 Voltage
3.42
3.4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Time

Figure 30: Balancing cells 4-6 at approx. 3.582 V with cell 1 at 3.35 V

Figure 30 shows a test attempting to balance cells 4-6, at 3.584 V, with cell 1, at 3.45 V. Although this
voltage difference was only approximately 0.13 V, it can be seen it took over 2 hours to dissipate the
cells 0.02 V. All cells are being dissipated because during this test we learned that the GUI does not have
a setting to automatically dissipate to the lowest valued cell. It is manually set in the GUI which battery
cells the user would like to have dissipated.

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GUI: Graphical User Interface for BQ76PL536 EVM
The GUI was an easy to use interface whose functions allowed some control over the operations of the
cells. The main functions that were exercised by the GUI were the cell balancing controls. The automatic
features of the BMS are the seconday protection functions and although read about in detail it was hard
exercising these functions carefully without damaging the board.

Figure 31: GUI main screen

Once the interface was downloaded to the console the GUI was then accessible as shown in Figure 31.
The GUI allowed the user to poll data from the batteries which was then converted to a CSV file. This
was extremely useful to the project because in Part III the data was then able to be extracted from the
SPI interface pins through the Aardvark to be used in conjunction with a host microcontroller.

The interface of the GUI is very intuitive. The cell voltages are shown on the left side of the GUI as well
as the voltage of all the cells added together labeled V BRICK as shown in Figure 31. The differential
temperature senor input labeled TSx measures the temperatures of the cells by incorporating a two-bit
thermistor.

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Figure 32: GUI interface of cell voltages and V BRICK

Safety Features
Some of the fault capabilities were exercised although it was not possible to test them all, such as
under/over voltage or under/over temperature in case of damaging the system. Each individual cell is
monitored for protection in case of an under or over voltage as shown in Figure 33. When we first
attempted to cell balance, cells 2-6 were at equal SOC but cell 1 was at a voltage much lower than these.
The GUI would not allow balancing to occur and the fault pin turned on, informing us there was an issue
with the system. The two signals to inform the user something outside of normal operating conditions is
occurring are ALERT and FAULT. The ALERT register consists of validation for various registers: AR,
PARITY, ECC_ERR, a force fault pin to ensure correct operation and connectivity of the pin, and over
temperature alerts. The FAULT register consists of I_FUALT which is an internal consistency check of the
BMS, POR indicating a reset has occurred, and under and over voltage faults.

Figure 33: Safety pins on GUI

Balancing via GUI

The balancing of the cells by the GUI consists of two controls: CB_CTRL and CB_TIME. First, the user
chooses a time for which they would like the cells to balance which is controlled by the CB_TIME pin.
They have the option of balancing between 1 second to 63 minutes and the timer begins when one of
the CB_CTRL pins has been toggled from a ‘0’ to a ‘1’ state. The CB_CTRL is used to toggle the bits that
turn the NFETs on, allowing power to dissipate from the batteries. If the CB_CTRL pin is turned off then
the pin will be toggled back to a ‘0’ and the NFET will open, not allowing current to flow through the
power resistor. The batteries will either dissipate until the given time runs out and the CB_TIME pins are

26 | P a g e
toggled back to a zero or the batteries have being fully dissipated. Figure 34 shows the CB_CTRL and
CB_TIME user interface buttons. The CB_TIME is set first and begins when the user clicks on one of the
CB_CTRL buttons, turning it green.

Figure 34: CB_CTRL and CB_TIME pins on the GUI

To let the user know that cell balancing timer is running, under the status tab on the GUI the CBT pin is
turned green during active use. Also, on the status tab is the DRDY pin which indicates that data is ready
to be read. During active low the pin lets the user know that there are conversions running. When the
CB_TIME pin is set and one of the CB_CTRL pins is toggled, allowing for balancing to occur, the DRDY pin
is white which corresponds to conversions are occurring.

The CB_CTRL pin was switched on in the GUI and the data converted to a CSV file to ensure that the
NFET closed when toggled. Figure 35 shows cells 4-6 being toggled to a ‘1’ state to allow for cell
balancing while cell 1 is left in the ‘0’ state.

Cell 6-4 set for balance, Cell 1 not set for

balance
3.6
3.58
3.56
Cell Voltage [V]

3.54
3.52 Cell 6 Voltage
3.5 Cell 5 Voltage
3.48 Cell 4 Voltage
3.46 Cell 1 Voltage
3.44
3.42
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00
Time [s]

Figure 35: Toggling of the CB_CTRL pin

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Summary of GUI
Upon exercising the GUI, it was discovered that the automatic cell balance capability must be
programmed and loaded to a host microcontroller. The GUI does nothing more than send commands to
the BQ76PL536 chip. The BMS does not have any automatic balance-to-threshold intelligence. The
BQ76PL536 simply responds to commands from the host controller to take measurements or start or
stop balancing. The only automatic features are the secondary protection functions. To perform any
intelligent functions such as balance to a threshold a host microcontroller will need to be integrated into
the system. Part III explains the BMS application with a host microcontroller (MSP430fr5969). This
allows for automatic cell balancing and removes the need to use the Aardvark adaptor or the GUI.

28 | P a g e
Chapter 6: BMS Application Requirements
The requirements for the Battery Management System are as follows:
1. Able to monitor battery characteristics for Lithium Ion Cells.
2. Monitors multiple cells.
3. Cell balancing capability.
4. Safety features that protect the user and the system.
5. User friendly interface on LCD screen.
6. Little power required and no additional maintenance necessary.

Table II: Marketing requirements & engineering specifications

Marketing Engineering
Justification
Requirements Specifications
Monitor Monitors all chemistries of Lithium Ion cells This is a very common battery type making this
from 1V to 4.5V BMS relevant.
Monitors three to six cells per BQ76PL536 The supply voltage for the BQ76PL536 chip is
chip. The EVM has three BQ76PL536 chips 7.2V to 27V which determines the minimum
providing cell monitoring for up to 18 cells. and maximum number of cells per chip.
Monitors individual cell voltage, pack voltage, These are key characteristics to monitor in any
state of charge, and pack temperature. BMS. These values determine the status of the
cells and the overall BMS.
Cell Balancing Cells that differ in voltage can be balanced to Cell balancing is essential in a BMS to make
(optional) the lowest cell through external cell balancing sure all of the cells are at the same voltage.
circuitry provided by the EVM. This function
is chosen by the user in the main menu.
When cell balance is chosen by the user, the Automatic cell balancing is a feature that is not
system detects if any cells are out of balance provided by the GUI that comes with the EVM.
and then begins balancing if they are.
Safety Features The BMS has cell over-voltage, cell under- These are the main issues with batteries so this
(optional) voltage, cell overtemperature, and cell under- provides the most essential battery protection.
temperature trip points that set Alert and Fault
flags if reached.
The BMS can be designed to do different Shutting down the system can prevent
tasks when a certain Alert or Fault is set. permanent damage to the user or the BMS.
Shutting down the system is one possibility.
User Interface The BMS displays the menus for the user on a The user needs to be able to choose what mode
LCD screen. The user navigates through the they want to execute. This includes all of the
menus using the LEFT Capacitive Touch monitoring and cell balancing.
Sensor and the Option Select Button.
The user can return to the main menu by This allows the user to change the current
clicking the Menu Button. mode.
No maintenance is required. The user has the Easy to use system while still providing
ability to change trip points and system tasks flexibility for expert users.
only by changing the software.

29 | P a g e
Chapter 7: Design of BMS Application
Hardware
The BMS is based on the modules shown below Figure 36.

Figure 36: BMS block diagram

Battery Pack
The battery pack contains between three and six Lithium Ion cells. The minimum allowed voltage for
each cell is 1V and max voltage is 4.5V. The batteries are connected in series with the negative of the
first cell connected to P7 and the next cell connecting to P6 and so on until the positive of the last cell is
connected to P1. Another pack of three to six cells can also be connected to the other two plugs but only
one pack is used for this project.

The pack is connected to the EVM at the Port 1 plug. It is essential that the batteries remain secure and
the lines from the battery are secured in the plug with the metal screws before it is connected to the
EVM. The negative of the bottom cell connects to P1. For more information on the specific cells used see
the 18650 datasheet [1]. The specific cell holders used are Arbin Instruments high power cell holders for
cylindrical cells.

30 | P a g e
Figure 37: Battery pack containing 6 Li-Ion 18650s

BQ76PL536 EVM
The EVM shown in Figure 38 has three BQ76PL536 BMS ICs shown in Figure 39 which monitor the
battery packs. Note that only one BMS chip is used since only one battery pack is used in this project.
The BMS chip is connected to cell balance circuitry as shown in Figure 40 which is then connected to the
cells. The EVM has an isolated communication interface that allows SPI and Input/Out communication
with a host device.

Information regarding the BMS chip which includes the cell monitoring and cell balancing can be found
in the BQ76PL536 datasheet in reference [2]. Information regarding the setup of the EVM and the
operation of the GUI it comes with can be found in the EVM Start Up Guide in reference [3].

31 | P a g e
Figure 38: BQ76PL536 EVM

Figure 39: BQ76PL536 BMS IC pinout

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Figure 40: Cell balancing circuitry of EVM

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MSP430fr5969 MCU (host device)
The MCU, shown in Figure 41, communicates to the EVM through SPI. The MCU reads in important data
from the BMS chips and then used an LCD screen to display the information to the user. The MCU reads
cell voltage, pack voltage, and two pack temperatures. The MCU also calculates and displays the state of
charge of the cells. The MCU has control over the cell balance circuitry and can make the EVM detect if
cells are out of balance and start balance if they are. The MCU has an option select button (right button)
and a menu button (left button) which helps the user navigate through the menus on the LCD screen.
More information can be found in the MSP430fr5969 Datasheet [4], MSP430fr59xx Family User’s Guide
[5], and MSP-EXP430FR5969 LaundPad User’s Guide [6].

Exit/Back-to-Menu Button Option Select Button

Figure 41: MSP430fr5969 MCU LaunchPad

Sharp LCD BoosterPack (user interface)

The LCD screen, shown in Figure 42, connects to the MCU through SPI. The LCD BoosterPack also
includes two capacitive touch sliders that serve as selection wheels for the menus on the screen. Note
that only the left capacitive touch slider is used in this project.

More information can be found in the Sharp LCD BoosterPack User’s Guide [7].

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Capacitive Touch Slider
(user scrolls though
menus using this)

Display Screen

Figure 42: Sharp LCD BoosterPack

Software
The BMS application state diagram is shown below in Figure 43.

Connections

Figure 43: State diagram of BMS application

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SPI Error Message:
If there is an SPI error message displayed before the main menu is displayed, this means the BQ76PL536
device is not detected. There is most likely a problem with the SPI connection between the
MSP430fr5969 and the EVM. Check the SPI lines along with the Power and Ground lines.

Main Menu:
The main menu displays the modes of the BMS. The user uses the option select button to select Cell
Voltage, Pack Voltage, State of Charge, Temperature, or Cell Balance.

Cell Voltage:
Once the Cell Voltage mode is selected, the user then needs to select a cell using the option select
button. The cell voltage of the selected cell is displayed in mV. The cell voltage displays for 4 seconds
then returns to the cell selection menu. Press the exit button to go back to the main menu.

Pack Voltage:
When the Pack Voltage mode is selected, the pack voltage for all connected cells is displayed in mV. The
user must press the exit button to return to the main menu.

State of Charge:
Once the State of Charge mode is selected, the user then needs to select a cell using the option select
button. The state of charge of the selected cell is displayed by showing a battery with the approximate
remaining charge. See the table in fig x below for charge remaining approximation information.

Table III: Voltage to state of charge conversion

Voltage of Cell [V] Bars of Charge Remaining (State of Charge)

<3.3 1
3.3 to 3.4 2
3.4 to 3.5 3
3.5 to 3.6 4
3.6 to 3.7 5
3.7 to 3.8 6
3.8 to 3.9 7
>4.0 8

Temperature:
When the Temperature mode is selected, two different pack temperatures at two separate locations in
the battery pack are displayed to the screen in degrees Celsius. The user must press the exit button to
return to the main menu.

Cell Balance:
When the Cell Balance mode is selected, the system checks to see if the cells are imbalanced. The cell
imbalance threshold is programmed to be 50 mV. This means that if the highest cell voltage differs from
the lowest cell voltage by more than 50 mV, the cells are considered imbalanced and the Cell Imbalance

36 | P a g e
screen is displayed. If the cells are already balanced, the Cell Balance screen will be displayed. The
system is capable of controlling the cell balance circuitry shown in fig x but it is recommended to enable
cell balancing only if the system is connected to a charger otherwise the higher cells will be drained until
the lowest cell voltage is reached. Since this is undesirable, the cell balance feature is currently disabled.

Connections
Between battery pack and EVM

Table IV: Connection from battery pack to EVM

Battery Pack BQ76PL536 EVM

Cell 6 Positive P1
Cell 6 Negative P2
Cell 5 Negative P3
Cell 4 Negative P4
Cell 3 Negative P5
Cell 2 Negative P6
Cell 1 Negative P7

Between EVM and MCU

Power for MCU

MCU

SPI power (red-5V) and

ground (green) lines SPI data lines

EVM

Figure 44: MCU on top of EVM

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Table V: Connection from EVM to MCU

BQ76PL536 EVM MSP430fr5969 MCU

VCC VCC
GND GND
CS_H P3.0 (GPIO)
CLK_H P2.2 (UCSIB0CLK)
SDI_H P1.6 (USCIB0SIMO)
SDO_H P1.7 (UCSIB0SOMI)
CONV_H not connected*
DRDY_H not connected*
ALERT_H not connected*
FAULT_H not connected*

Table VI: Connection from MCU to LCD Screen

MSP430fr5969 MCU Sharp LCD BoosterPack

VCC VCC
GND GND
LCD Power Control P4.2
LCD Enable P4.3
SPI CS P2.4
SPI CLK P2.2(UCSIB0CLK)
SPI SIMO P1.6 (UCSIB0SIMO)
External COM Inversion P1.2
Left Slider 2 P3.4
Left Slider 1 P3.5
Left Slider 0 P3.6

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References
[1] NCR18650 Datasheet. Panasonic. Feb 2010. Web.
<http://industrial.panasonic.com/wwwdata/pdf2/ACA4000/ACA4000CE240.pdf>
[2] BQ76PL536 Datasheet. Texas Instruments. July 2010. Web.
<http://www.ti.com.cn/cn/lit/ds/symlink/bq76pl536.pdf>
[3] BQ76PL536 EVM Quick Start Guide. Texas Instruments. May 2011. Web.
<http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/sluu437b/sluu437b.pdf>
[4] MSP430fr59xx Mixed-Signal Microcontroller Datasheet. Texas Instruments. May 2014. Web.
<http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/msp430fr5969.pdf>
[5] MSP430fr59 Family User’s Guide. Texas Instruments. May 2014. Web.
<http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau367c/slau367c.pdf>
[6] MSP-EXP430FR5969 LaundPad User’s Guide. Texas Instruments. Feb 2014. Web.
<http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau535/slau535.pdf>
[7] Sharp LCD BoosterPack User’s Guide. Texas Instruments. Feb 2014. Web.
<http://www.ti.com/lit/ug/slau553/slau553.pdf>
[8] Multi-Cell Li-Ion Battery Management System using MSP430F5529 and bq76PL536. [Application
Report]. <http://www.ti.com/lit/an/slaa478/slaa478.pdf>
[9] Battery Management System. Wikipedia. [Online article]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_management_system>
[10] Serial Peripheral Interface Bus. Wikipedia. [Online article]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_Peripheral_Interface_Bus>
[11] Batter Management Solutions. Texas Instruments. [Application Note].
<http://www.ti.com/lit/sg/slyt420/slyt420.pdf>
[12] Multi-Cell Lithium Ion Battery Management System. Authors: Pramit Tamrakar, Jimmy Skadal,
Matthew Schulte, Hao Wang. [Senior Project Report]. Submitted Oct 12, 2010.
[13] Aardvark Adapter User Manual. Total Phase, Inc. 2014. Web.
<http://www.totalphase.com/support/articles/200468316-Aardvark-Adapter-User-
Manual#s2.4>

39 | P a g e
Appendix D: Senior Project Analysis
Protect Title: Battery Management System

Student’s Name: Michael DeSando & Kyle Woody

Advisor’s Name: Art MacCarley Initial: Date:

Summary of Functional Requirements: This project monitors cell voltage, pack voltage, and pack
temperature for three to six Li-Ion cells and is also capable of cell balancing and cell protection through
communication to the host device. The host device displays menus on an LCD screen in which the user
can interact with using the Capacitive Touch Sliders along with the Select and Menu Buttons.

Primary Constraints: The primary constraints include properly communicating from the host device
to the EVM to read the cell values and communicating from the host device to the LCD screen to
properly display the information. The host device needs to be communicating with multiple devices and
powering multiple devices as well. Creating the software for the BMS system is the toughest challenge.
It is also important to not exceed the maximum voltage per cell allowed because this can damage the
BQ76PL536 BMS chip. The minimum voltage requirement is necessary in order to power the chip.

Economic:
Human Capital: This project required approximately 300 man hours between two people. Time is
required to learn about the components by reading datasheets and application notes. Time is required
for gather data for the charge and discharge of the cells. Time is required for understanding the
functionality of the BMS chips along with the operation of the GUI. Time is required to program the
application portion along with debugging and troubleshooting when the system doesn’t work properly.
Time is also required to fabricate the casing for the system and ordering necessary parts. Depending on
how much an individual values their time, the human capital required for this project varies.

Financial Capital: This project requires several key components. The cost estimates table is provided on
the next page in Table VII.

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Table VII: Cost Estimates

Component Function Cost per # of Total

Unit units Cost
Li-Ion Cells Required for testing. $10.00 6 $60.00
Battery Holders Required to create battery pack used for $2.75 6 $16.50
testing.
BQ76PL536 EVM Required for battery management. $400.00 1 $400.00
MSP430fr5969 MCU Required for data processing and $20.00 1 $20.00
LaunchPad communication to the EVM.
Sharp LCD BoosterPack Required for displaying data to the user. $10.00 1 $10.00
Wire Required for connecting devices. $5.00 1 $5.00
Casing Required to enclose devices. This is $10.00 1 $10.00
optional.
Total $521.50

Manufactured Capital: The machine and tooling costs to make the actual parts required for this project
is very expensive and requires millions of dollars.

Natural Capital: This includes the metal (copper, aluminum, etc), plastic, rubber, and the specific
materials that make up each part. These materials are abundant which means there is plenty available
from Earth’s resources. The bio-capacity of the system is good because almost all of the system is
recyclable except the ICs and the batteries.

The costs accrue throughout the project from buying the components to spending time putting the
system together. The benefits don’t appear until the system is complete and fully functional. The project
requires and input voltage between 1.8V and 3.6V. A USB can be used to power the MCU LaunchPad do
to voltage regulators on the LaunchPad. The Isolated Communication Interface on the EVM requires
between 3.3V to 5V which can be externally powered or powered through USB if using the Advark
adaptor that comes with the GUI. This project can save companies money if they have problems with
their current battery management systems. The company that would profit the most from this BMS is
Texas Instruments since they make the BMS chips and the EVM along with the MCU.

Timing:
The BMS doesn’t emerge until it is fully functional and complete. This could be created in a very short
amount of time (less than one hour) now that the code for the BMS is already created. The only time
consuming part now is ordering the necessary components. The majority of time spent in this project
was on research, data acquisition, and creating/dugging the code.

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Figure 45: Project Definition Gantt Chart (EE 460-Fall 2013)

Original time development estimation is shown in Figure 46 and Figure 47.

Figure 46: Gantt Chart for Winter 2013 (EE 463)

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Figure 47: Estimate Gantt Chart for Spring 2013 (EE 464)

Actual time development:

Figure 48: Actual Winter 2013 Timeline

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Figure 49: Actual Spring 2014 Timeline

If manufactured on a commercial basis:

Estimate number of devices sold per year: Over 1 Million
Estimate manufacturing cost for each device: $500.00
Estimate purchase price for each device: $1000.00
Estimate profit per year: $500 Million
Estimate cost for user to operate device: Less than $10 per year

Environmental: This project benefits the environment in that batteries can be managed more
efficiently so that they last longer. This is the first step to decreasing battery waste since fewer batteries
will be disposed of. As with all electronics, proper disposal is required when the BMS is thrown away.
Each BMS is projected to function for years with no maintenance required. This project can impact other
species in that the land will be better off with less battery waste.

Manufacturability: Manufacturability depends on the number of units needed each year. The tools
and equipment needed to manufacture millions of systems will cost millions of dollars. With current
infrastructure, Texas Instruments may be able to mass produce this system.

Sustainability: The system is self-containing which means there is no maintenance required by the
user. Since the system can be used over and over, it positively impacts the sustainable use of resources.
Upgrades to improve the design that are software based would not require anything more than a
computer. These upgrades include automatic checking for cell balancing opportunities, automatic
system shut down if specific faults or alerts are detected, and data logging. Upgrades to improve the
design that are hardware based include switching from passive cell balancing to active cell balancing to

44 | P a g e
make the system even more efficient. Upgrading the design creates challenge of maintaining
functionality, safety, and efficiency.

Ethical: This BMS is designed with user interaction in mind. The proper use of this system provides a
safe and effective way to manage Li-Ion batteries. The improper disposal of this system is unethical and
users are responsible for proper use and disposal of this product.

Health and Safety: This BMS manages multiple batteries in series which means there are high voltages
in this system. The system is designed with the user’s safety in mind so each piece of the system is cased
in plastic. Additional software protection can be used to automatically shut the system down if cell
overvoltage or pack overtemperature is detected.

Social and Political: Social issues can arise for battery companies that produce batteries other than Li-
Ion in that this BMS can’t be utilized by those companies. If this BMS is used in electric vehicle
applications, car companies that produce electric vehicles will be positively impacted since they can
utilize this system. This project positively affects Texas Instruments and its stakeholders since more TI
products are sold with each system sold. This project also benefits the stakeholders involved with
batteries and/or electric vehicles. Everyone is benefited a little in that this system helps better the
environment as well.

Development: The project began with researching different Li-Ion batteries. To learn more about the
battery used in this project, see the NCR18650 Datasheet [1]. The next component to research was the
BQ76PL536 BMS IC [2] along with the EVM [3]. To communicate with the BMS ICs along with the user,
the MSO430FR5969 MCU LaunchPad [6] and Sharp LCD BoosterPack [7] was used. To learn more about
the microcontroller used, see MSP430fr5969 datasheet [4] and family user’s guide [5]. To communicate
with the BMS ICs, a sample battery management system project [8] provided some software but was
intended for use with a different microcontroller and a host computer. The communication between the
MCU and the LCD screen along with the MCU and the BMS chips is accomplished via SPI. To learn more
about SPI, see [10]. The MCU was programed in C using Code Compose Studio. A logic analyzer was used
for troubleshooting and debugging the MCU.

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