The Characterization of the Electric Double-Layer Capacitor (EDLC) Using Python/MATLAB/Simulink (PMS)-Hybrid Model

Abstract

This paper investigates the characterization of an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC). In this study, the 300 F and 400 F EDLC supercapacitors are connected in a circuit in a laboratory experiment to produce their charge/discharge profiles at a constant current. The acquired charge/discharge profiles were used to determine the mathematical parameters of the EDLCs using the “Faranda model”, or “two-branch model”, of the EDLC. The parameters extracted from the equivalent circuit model were then used as inputs to a designed Python/MATLAB/Simulink (PMS)-hybrid model of an EDLC. This was simulated to obtain charge/discharge profiles. The resulting experimental- and simulated-charge/discharge profiles of the EDLCs were compared with each other, by superimposing their profiles to determine the accuracy of the PMS model. The PMS model was found to be very accurate. The innovation of this work lies in modeling a supercapacitor, mostly in the Python programming language in combination with a MATLAB/Simulink model. The experimental-charge/discharge profiles obtained were used to calculate the equivalent circuit resistance (ESR) and the capacitance of the EDLCs, which were compared with the existing datasheet values of the EDLCs. The characterization of the EDLC supercapacitor was done to derive a flexible PMS model of the EDLC, which can be used in a microgrid hybrid energy-storage system (HESS) to show the potential of the EDLC in improving battery lifespan.