Estimation of Cell SOC Evolution and System Performance in Module-Based Battery Charge Equalization Systems

Large-scale battery systems have been applied to a number of grid-level energy storage services such as microgrid capability and distribution upgrade due to the penetration of solar/wind energy. In these battery applications, charge imbalance among battery cells/modules/packs becomes a common issue, which can reduce available battery capacity, accelerate battery degradation, and even cause some safety hazards. To tackle this issue, various battery charge equalization (BCE) systems have been proposed in recent decades, among which the module-based BCE system is widely viewed as a promising solution and has drawn increasing attention. In this paper, we study the module-based BCE systems by presenting a mathematical model that can characterize the charge transfer behavior in such systems, and then propose computationally efficient algorithms to estimate the instantaneous battery cell state of charge (SOC), charge equalization time, and charging/discharging time, based on given system parameters and various initial battery cell SOCs. In addition, the conditions are derived to ensure that all battery cells can reach charge equalization and then get fully charged/discharged together without overcharging/overdischarging. All theoretical results are illustrated and justified through extensive numerical experiments.