C h a p t e r 4
BATTERY FAULT PROTECTION
The last great consideration for a BMS is
safety and, more specifically, battery fault
protection.
Battery fault protection is the
implementation of several key features
into a BMS to prevent hazardous
operating conditions and ensure the safe
operation of a system. Some of these
features include overcharge protection,
deep-discharge protection, temperature
control and monitoring, and short-
circuit protection. The role of a BMS,
with respect to fault protection, is to
monitor all these different mechanisms
and ensure that the battery is operating
safely under any set of conditions.
One component necessary for battery
fault protection is the charge/pre-charge
resistor. When first powering up, a
system experiences large inrush currents
because of uncharged capacitances
within the system that effectively act
as short circuits. A pre-charge resistor
is a component used to limit these
inrush currents by adding a temporary
resistance to the system.
This temporary resistance helps protect
system components from being exposed
to large currents. It also allows the
voltage across the capacitors to rise
gradually, thereby avoiding large voltage
spikes that could damage sensitive
components. Overall, pre-charge resistors
help prevent fault conditions that could
be associated with the short-circuit
currents at system boot-up.
Luis Guerrero Aguiñaga
ESS/BMS System Designer, H55
Most state-of-the-art batteries are
very sensitive to environmental
factors and usage profiles. This
means that a BMS is required to
ensure the operation of the battery
within the battery manufacturer's
specifications and to maximize
the performance of batteries for
different applications."
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8 Industry Experts Discuss Battery Management Solutions
