Key research themes
1. How can architecture and topology design of Battery Management Systems (BMS) improve safety, scalability, and functionality in electric vehicles and industrial applications?
This research theme investigates the architectural designs and topological configurations of BMS in electric vehicles (EVs) and industrial IoT (IIoT) applications with a focus on achieving safe operation, scalability, and enhanced functionality. It matters because EVs impose stringent requirements on BMS due to high cell counts, demanding communication needs, and critical safety constraints. Efficient architecture reduces implementation cost and complexity while improving fault tolerance and enabling intelligent processing integrated with vehicle control units.
2. What advancements in battery monitoring, state estimation, and safety control mechanisms drive improved battery life, reliability, and operational safety in BMS?
This research theme focuses on the sensing, monitoring, and control strategies within BMS to ensure optimal battery operation, prevent safety failures, and extend battery lifespan. Accurate state of charge (SOC), state of health (SOH) estimation, cell balancing, and protection from overcharge/discharge are crucial to prevent degradation and hazards. This theme emphasizes algorithmic development, sensing hardware, and control logic to enhance reliability and safety of Lithium-ion and other batteries in EVs and renewable energy systems.
3. How can wireless communication and modular emulation enable enhanced scalability, reliability, and testing efficacy in Battery Management Systems?
This theme examines the emerging trend of wireless battery management systems (WBMS) and battery emulator platforms for Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) testing. WBMS aims to mitigate wiring complexity, weight, and reliability issues inherent in conventional wired BMS by employing wireless data transmission among sensors and controllers. Emulation systems provide safe and reproducible real-time testing environments vital for validating advanced BMS control algorithms and functions without the risks of physical battery testing.