EV Battery Testing: The Inside Scoop from an Industry Veteran

Today’s battery testers are capable of doing more than basic battery testing. The latest versions of battery pack test equipment are also used to conduct various tests on the battery to measure and analyze their performance parameters. Some of the common performance tests performed on batteries include: Battery load test Charging systems test Starter motor test Battery Testing in the Automotive Industry The automotive industry has traditionally been an important end-user segment for battery manufacturers and test equipment vendors. Most automotive battery manufacturers have in-house battery testing units that are capable of monitoring the performance of the battery under load conditions. However, the evolution of electric vehicles (EV) has been a significant technology development for the battery manufacturing market, driving the demand for advanced battery pack test equipment . This advancement has created an opportunity for test equipment vendors to develop new and innovati...

Another interesting article on Automated Test Strategies for an  EV Battery Management System (BMS) . This blog suggests a few different ways to make an automated test station for your EV BMS .  Interesting things to look out for and some good tips. Once you decide that testing your BMS in this way is a necessity, you need to determine a strategy to complete that testing.  It is tempting here to over focus on hardware cost minimization.  While up-front cost certainly is always a factor, it must be weighed against the hidden costs of ineffective or incomplete testing.  In the most extreme cases, the latter potentially involves serious safety and reliability failures.  As an example, let's explore three different approaches to balancing tooling costs with an accurate test strategy.

An article on "PHEV, HEV, and EV Battery Pack Testing in a Manufacturing Environment"  provides an interesting background on the issues involved in testing battery pack systems used in EVs (including the BMS). Sample excerpt.... During BMS Development, engineers need a way to reliably test the BMS under real-world conditions to complete their verification and validation plans.  Testing such as Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) is often performed at this stage.  HIL testing involves simulating physical inputs and external digital connections to the pack while monitoring its outputs and behavior relative to design requirements. It is not easy to accurately simulate all of the real-world conditions a BMS will be subjected to.  But what does it cost you to skip testing over every condition?  In the end, simulating nearly every combination of cell voltages, temperatures, and currents you expect your BMS to encounter is really the only way to verify that your BMS reac...