Automated test equipment for battery characterization: a proposal

The fast pace of innovation in the field of lithium-ion batteries and changing battery chemistry has resulted in significant scientific research in the development of battery models. Considerable emphasis is placed on battery state of health estimation and rest of useful life predictions. Tackling these challenges requires large datasets of aged batteries currently obtained using very expensive test setups. Furthermore, as the number of manufacturers increases, such setups are necessary for the validation and comparison of competing cells. This paper presents an economical, automated battery testing system, capable of aging batteries of different sizes. Moreover, it enables users to programmatically define various testing cycles. Its capabilities and performances are proven by aging 8 Li-ion cells under different state of charge and voltage limits.