A novel feedback control algorithm for effective design of reconfigurable battery packs for electric vehicles

Abstract

The conventional battery packs with set configurations, often used in electric vehicles (EVs), include several safety attributes, although they cannot effectively optimise cell selection for powering the system. Neglect of battery's recovery effect results in inefficient use of the energy at hand. Furthermore, certain amount of energy is used in process of voltage control to operate the motor at designated velocity. Hence, the primary objective of this work is to mitigate the aforementioned energy wastage by enabling the battery to autonomously choose optimal configuration that maximises overall efficiency. Moreover, it should be noted that the power demands of EV vary at different velocities. Hence, it is essential to advance battery technologies to accommodate increasing energy demands of automobiles. This study presents novel feedback control method that aims to optimise prediction of output voltage for certain configuration. Additionally, algorithm has capability to adapt and reconfigure itself, exhibiting significant tolerance level of around 50% of nominal voltage of the cell. Method used in this context effectively reduces number of switch toggles necessary to get desired voltage level through implementation of binary search technique. Consequently, this approach enhances the battery pack's life.