Inrush current estimation and hot-swapping for safe parallel battery pack

ABSTRACT

Batteries used in electric vehicles and microgrid applications use battery modules connected in series to satisfy the voltage required for each system, and battery modules are connected in parallel to increase capacity. In this parallel connected system, in order to disconnect and reconnect a specific battery module or to reconnect a new battery module, the battery module to be newly connected should have a small state of charge (SOC) difference from the existing battery modules. In particular, when a new battery is to be connected under a load current, there is a problem that excessive inrush current may occur in a specific battery module due to the load current distributed to each module and the current due to the SOC difference. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a method of estimating the inrush current through an equivalent electrical modelling analysis for the case where a battery module is newly added in a system in which the battery modules are connected in parallel. In addition, the power management algorithm for the battery pack system with inrush current estimation is presented. The proposed method is validated through simulations and experiments of a battery pack system in which 10 battery modules of 710V and 120Ah are connected in parallel.     

Mechanical and electrical response variation of the polyurethane–tin oxide–carbon nanotube composite microfiber depending on the chemical solution

Toward the goal of smart sensor systems for wearable electronics, polymer microfiber‐based free‐standing sensors benefit from excellent flexibility, decent ductility, and easy wearability in comparison with thin‐film‐based sensing devices. Herein, we report a hydrophobic and conducting single‐strand microfiber‐based liquid‐phase chemical sensor consisting of polyurethane (PU), tin oxide (SnO₂), and carbon nanotube (CNT) composites with applying a (1H,1H,2H,2H‐heptadecafluorodec‐1‐yl) phosphonic acid (HDF‐PA)‐based self‐assembled monolayer. The free‐standing HDF‐PA‐treated PU–SnO₂–CNT composite microfiber showing selective filtering properties with the repellency of water and the penetration of an organic solvent is electrically and mechanically characterized. Finally, the single‐strand HDF‐PA‐treated PU–SnO₂–CNT composite microfiber‐based chemical sensor, which shows excellent mechanical properties and aqueous stability, is demonstrated to detect the presence of a chemical in pure water or counterfeit gasoline in pure gasoline by observing mechanical changes, especially variations in the length and diameter of the fiber, and monitoring the electrical resistance change. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 495–502     

Electrical conductivity of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/expanded graphite nanocomposites prepared by in situ polymerization

Nanocomposites based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and expanded graphite (EG) have been prepared by in situ polymerization. Morphology of the nanocomposites has been examined by electronic microscopy. The relationship between the preparation method, morphology, and electrical conductivity was studied. Electronic microscopy images reveal that the nanocomposites exhibit well dispersed graphene platelets. The incorporation of EG to the PET results in a sharp insulator‐to‐conductor transition with a percolation threshold (?_c) as low as 0.05 wt %. An electrical conductivity of 10^?3 S/cm was achieved for 0.4 wt % of EG. The low percolation threshold and relatively high electrical conductivity are attributed to the high aspect ratio, large surface area, and uniform dispersion of the EG sheets in PET matrix. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Aggregation of clay platelets in nematic liquid crystal, 5CB: microstructure,electrical conductivity and rheological investigations

The microstructure, electrical conductivity and rheological properties of a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) doped at concentrations up to 4.5 wt% of montmorillonite (MMT) or organomontmorillonite (OMMT) clay nanoplatelets, were investigated at temperatures between 293 and 310 K. Microscopy and electrical conductivity assessment revealed noticeable differences in aggregation in MMT and OMMT suspensions, MMT nanoplatelets showing a strong tendency to aggregation. The incubation of 5CB in the presence of MMT initially produced loose aggregation, followed by the formation of compact aggregates. The latter had practically no influence on the surrounding inter-aggregate regions. In the case of OMMT, a greater degree of integration of the nanoplatelets was observed within the liquid crystal structure of 5CB, resulting in a noticeable effect on electrical conductivity and activation energy of the composite material. Thixotropy was observed in suspensions of 5CB composites formed with either MMT or OMMT. A composite of 5CB with OMMT also exhibited anomalous viscous thinning at shear rates below 100 s^?1. A structural model is suggested to explain this behaviour.     

Designing nickel phthalocyanine periphery by alkyl chain via [1,3,4]-oxadiazole

Nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc, 1) periphery has been decorated by alkyl chains of varying chain length via [1,3,4]-oxadiazole moiety (NiPcs 3a–3f). All the newly synthesized compounds NiPcs 3a–3d have been completely characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, solid-state UV-Vis, and solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, in addition to X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal analysis. The effect of chain length in the NiPc periphery on electronic absorption and DC electrical conductivity has been investigated.     

Synthesis,characterization, corrosion inhibition of mild steel in HCl (0.5 N) solution and solid‐state electrical conductivity of new Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes

This work consists of a study of the corrosion‐inhibiting and semiconducting properties of new binuclear Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes with a Schiff base, H₂L, obtained from the 2:1 M condensation of salicylaldehyde and o‐dianisidine, respectively. Elemental, spectral and thermal analyses were used to characterize these complexes. The magnetic susceptibilities of these complexes were also determined. Weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning optical microscopy were the techniques used to investigate the efficiency of these new compounds as corrosion inhibitors. The antibacterial activity of the compounds was measured against sulfate‐reducing bacteria. It was found that inhibition occurs via the chemisorption of metal complexes on the steel surface. This absorption obeys the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model.     

DC Electrical Conductivity of the Direct Electrochemically Synthesized Polythiophene Metal Complexes

Electrochemical anodic oxidation of a metal anode in an acetone solution of 2,5-diamino-3,4-dicyanothiophene gave the polythiophene metal complexes of Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Sn. Chemical analyses, as well as FTIR and electronic spectral data, are presented to confirm the formulation of the isolated materials. DC electrical conductivity measurements of the polymer complexes were measured in the range 300–500 K in the annealed and 5% doped forms. The products gave electrical conductivity in the semi-conducting region that increased by heat.     

Morphological,Thermal, and Electrical Characterization of Syndiotactic Polypropylene/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Composites

In this work, syndiotactic polypropylene/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) nanocomposites, in various concentrations, were produced using melt mixing. The influence of the addition of MWCNT on the morphology, crystalline form, and the thermal and electrical properties of the polymer matrix was studied. To that aim, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy were employed. Significant alterations of both the crystallization behavior and the thermal properties of the matrix were found on addition of the carbon nanotubes: conversion of the disordered crystalline form I to the ordered one, increase of the crystallization temperature and the degree of crystallinity, and decrease of the glass transition temperature and the heat capacity jump. Finally, the electrical percolation threshold was found between 2.5–3.0 wt.% MWCNT. For comparison purposes, the results of the system studied here are also correlated with the findings from a previous work on the isotactic polypropylene/MWCNT system.     

An exhaustive criterion for estimating quality of images in electrical impedance tomography with application to clinical imaging

This study proposes a versatile criterion for estimating quality of images in electrical impedance tomography. The point spread function (PSF) is calculated throughout the domain based on the scattering of energy as responses to a small anomaly spirally moved from the centre to the boundary. The proposed PSF is a measure of weighted spatial variance (WSV) of the conductivity over the whole domain. For each element, the weighting factor is a normalized multiplication of the area of that element by its square intensity. The WSV collectively incorporates all image attributes, i.e., spatial resolution, artifact, amplitude response, positioning error and shape deformation. The location of artifacts, which significantly influences reconstructed images in reality, is taken into account as well. The results illustrate that the proposed measure is more tolerant than existing criteria in evaluating performance of EIT systems in both theory and practice.