Active Battery Equalization Method Based on Redundant Battery for Electric Vehicles

In this paper, an active equalization method based on redundant battery is proposed. A redundant battery is added to a battery pack consisting of several series batteries. According to the capacity and SOC (state-of-charge) of series batteries in the battery pack, one of these batteries is in parallel with the redundant battery in a certain time period. On the one hand, the energy is transferred between the redundant battery and the equalized batteries. On the other hand, during the charging or discharging process, the redundant battery acts as a power source, which reduces the current of the equalized battery. By adjusting the length of time that redundant battery and series batteries are connected in parallel, the purpose of battery equalization will be achieved. The balance current is limited only by the maximum charge–discharge ratio of the batteries. As long as the sum of the difference of series batteries capacity is less than the redundant battery capacity, the balance of all batteries can be achieved. Compared with other active equalization methods, the energy storage element (redundant battery) is used to be the main component of the equalization circuit in this method. It not only has the advantages of simple equalization circuit and large equalization current, but also has higher energy density of battery pack. In this paper, the equalization circuit is given, and the equalization strategy with accurate battery parameters and uncertain battery parameters is proposed. The experimental results also verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis and modeling.