Health Management of Rechargeable Batteries

• US 20100121587A1
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Elangovan, Rangasamy, Vian, John L., Borumand, Mori M., Mansouri, Ali R., Abdel-Motagaly, Khaled
• Granted Patent: US 8,890,480 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/63
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/008 on air- or spacecraft, railway rolling stock or sea-going vessels
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3647 for determining the ability of a battery to perform a critical function, e.g. cranking
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/367 Software therefor, e.g. for battery testing using modelling or look-up tables
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3842 combining voltage and current measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/392 Determining battery ageing or deterioration, e.g. state of health
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/48 Accumulators combined with arrangements for measuring, testing or indicating the condition of cells, e.g. the level or density of the electrolyte constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals, H01M50/569
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0014 Circuits for equalisation of charge between batteries
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0029 with safety or protection devices or circuits
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

Systems and methods for health management of rechargeable batteries are disclosed. In one embodiment, a rechargeable battery system includes a rechargeable battery, and a battery health management unit operatively coupled to the rechargeable battery and including a state of health module configured to estimate a battery health by receiving battery-related data and predicting one or more failure modes. The state of health module may further include a prognostic failure mode component configured to combine at least one flight data variable with at least one model-based prognostic. In alternate embodiments, the battery health management unit may further include a state of life module and a state of charge module.

Claims

1. A rechargeable battery system, comprising:

a rechargeable battery; and

a battery health management unit operatively coupled to the rechargeable battery and including a state of health module configured to estimate a battery health by receiving battery-related data and predicting one or more failure modes, wherein the battery-related data comprises real-time data relating to varying rates of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use and varying depths of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the state of health module includes a prognostic failure mode component to combine at least one flight data variable with at least one model-based prognostic.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the prognostic failure mode component combines at least one embedded failure mode based on FMEA, and performs signal processing of recorded battery-relevant flight data and at least one of a vehicle operation anomaly, a vehicle maintenance action, and a fault history.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the battery health management unit further comprises a state of life module to determine a remaining battery life.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the state of life module determines the remaining battery life based on a correlation between a model-based analysis and a battery-relevant data including at least one of a voltage, a temperature, a current, a charge cycle, an operating time, a shelf time, and an onboard time.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the state of life module determines the remaining battery life based on a model that uses a predetermined battery performance, a predetermined cycle life data, and an empirical test data.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the state of health module and the state of life module receives an output from the other of the state of health module and the state of life module, and performs an estimate of a corresponding one of a state of health and a state of life, respectively, based at least partially on the output.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the battery health management unit further comprises a state of charge module to determine a remaining battery capacity based on a discharge rate, a reference capacity, and a reference discharge rate.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the state of health module and the state of life module receives a state of charge from the state of charge module and an output from the other of the state of health module and the state of life module, the at least one of the state of health module and wherein the state of life module performs an estimate of a corresponding one of a state of health and a state of life, respectively, based at least partially on the output and on the state of charge.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a battery bus coupled to the rechargeable battery and to the battery health management unit;

a recharger coupled to the battery bus; and

at least one electrical load coupled to the battery bus.

11-16. -16. (canceled)

17. A method of determining a health characteristic of a rechargeable battery, comprising:

coupling a state of health module to the rechargeable battery;

receiving a battery-related data into the state of health module, wherein the battery-related data comprises real-time data relating to varying rates of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use and varying depths of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use;

predicting one or more failure modes of the rechargeable battery using the battery-related data; and

estimating a battery health based on the predicted one or more failure modes.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein predicting one or more failure modes includes predicting one or more failure modes using a prognostic failure mode component configured to combine at least one flight data variable with at least one model-based prognostic.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein predicting one or more failure modes using a prognostic failure mode component includes using a prognostic failure mode component further configured to combine at least one embedded failure mode based on FMEA, and to perform signal processing of recorded battery-relevant flight data and at least one of a vehicle operation anomaly, a vehicle maintenance action, and a fault history.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

coupling a state of life module coupled to the rechargeable battery;

receiving a battery-relevant data into the state of life module, wherein the battery-related data comprises real-time data relating to varying rates of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use and varying depths of discharge of the rechargeable battery during use;

predicting a remaining battery life based on a correlation between a model-based analysis and the battery-relevant data; and

wherein estimating a battery health includes estimating the battery health based on the predicted one or more failure modes and the remaining battery life.