A Method for Detecting the Existence of an Over-Discharged Cell in a Lithium-Ion Battery Pack via Measuring Total Harmonic Distortion

Abstract

This paper deals with a method to detect the existence of an over-discharged cell in a lithium-ion battery (LIB) pack by measuring the total harmonic distortion (THD) rate in the voltage response. Over-discharge of the LIB cell reduces the available capacity by irreversible chemical reactions, resulting in serious safety risks such as explosions. Even if only one over-discharged cell exists in the battery pack, it accelerates the decomposition of other cells. In general, the measurement of each cell voltage in a battery pack is required to detect one over-discharged cell. This is because if only the voltage of the battery pack is measured, it cannot be distinguished whether the voltage of each cell is uniformly low or one specific weak cell is over-discharged. The proposed method measures the frequency response through the voltage at only two terminals of the battery pack to detect the presence of one over-discharged cell. When the battery cell is discharged beyond a certain level, the system nonlinearity of the battery pack increases, and it can be detected from the increased THD rate of the battery pack. The proposed method is verified by simulation and measurement.