Volvo Truck Corporation

Volvo Truck Corporaiton

Faisal Altaf

Anton Klintberg

Bassem Farag

Mark Hirche

Tobias Smidebrant

Adam Josefsson

Jonas Enerbäck

Weiji Han

Torsten Wik

The present invention relates to a method for improving the availability of an energy storage system in a vehicle. The energy storage system comprises a plurality of battery packs, and the method comprises:

Method for improving the availability of an energy storage system in a vehicle

A method for predicting an electric load imparted on each battery unit in an electric energy storage system comprising at least two battery units electrically connected in parallel to each other. The method comprises establishing a battery parameter set, the battery parameter set comprising at least the following values for each battery unit in the electric energy storage system: an internal ohmic resistance value indicative of the internal ohmic resistance of the battery unit and an open circuit voltage value indicative of the open circuit voltage of the battery unit, using an electric load level indicative of a total electric energy storage system load, and using the electric load level and the battery parameter set for predicting the imparted load on each battery unit in the electric energy storage system.

Method for predicting an electric load imparted on each battery unit in an electric energy storage system

The method comprises providing preview information comprising at least one of a predicted road condition and a predicted road event; processing the preview information with an estimation model adapted to relate a risk level associated with a power unavailability for each one of the energy consumers to the at least one predicted road condition and/or predicted road event; classifying the energy consumers having a risk level higher than a predetermined risk level threshold value as critical energy consumers, and classifying the energy consumers with a risk level lower than the predetermined risk level threshold value as non-critical energy consumers; estimating a required amount of energy and/or power for powering all the energy consumers in the predetermined group of energy consumers for the predicted road condition and/or the predicted road event; estimating the available energy and/or power of the EST system; in response to determining that the required amount of energy for powering all the energy consumers in the predetermined group of energy consumers is higher than the available energy, powering the energy consumers classified as critical, and deactivating at least one of the energy consumers classified as non-critical.

Method for classifying energy consumers in a vehicle

The invention relates to a method for management of an energy storage system (ESS) of a vehicle, wherein said vehicle comprises a vehicle control unit (VCU) and an energy storage control management unit (ESCM), wherein said ESS comprises at least two battery units electrically connected in parallel to each other.

Method for controlling an energy storage system

A method for estimating or predicting an internal battery state of at least one battery unit within an electric energy storage system, such as in a vehicle. The method includes obtaining operational data of the electric energy storage system relating to operating conditions of the electric energy storage system, feeding the obtained operational data to a non-linear state observer adapted to estimate and/or predict the internal battery state of the at least one battery unit in a series of time steps, such that an observer error of the non-linear state observer converges towards zero, or towards a value close to zero, based on at least the obtained operational data, estimating or predicting the internal battery state using the non-linear state observer.

Method for estimating or predicting an internal battery state of a battery unit

A method for controlling electrical connection of at least two battery packs () of an energy storage System () of a vehicle () to a common load during operation of the vehicle, each one of the battery packs being connectable to the load via at least one respective switching device, the method comprising: —receiving measurement data relating to current operating conditions of the energy storage System, —based on at least the measurement data, estimating at least one battery state of each one of the battery packs, wherein said at least one battery state is at least one of an open circuit voltage and a state of charge, —based on the estimated at least one battery state of each one of the battery packs, controlling electrical connection of each battery pack to the load via the at least one respective switching device.

Method for controlling electrical connection of battery packs

A method for estimating a battery state of an energy storage system () of a vehicle () using at least a dual estimator (), wherein the energy storage system comprises a battery unit (), and wherein the dual estimator comprises: a first estimator configured to estimate said battery state using a prediction model, the first estimator having first tuning parameters, a second estimator configured to track changes around nominal values of a set of battery parameters, the second estimator having second tuning parameters, a feedback loop being provided between the first and second estimators, the method comprising: obtaining operational data of the energy storage system, determining whether the operational data fulfil a defined sensitivity criterion with respect to a sensitivity to at least one of the battery parameters, feeding the operational data to the estimators, using the first estimator, estimating the battery state, using the second estimator, for each battery parameter for which the sensitivity criterion is fulfilled, estimating changes around the nominal values of the set of battery parameters.

Method for estimating a battery state

A method for estimating an operating parameter of a battery unit () in an energy storage system () of a vehicle () using a set of first estimators, each first estimator being configured to estimate a state residual size of the battery unit based on a given initial value of said operating parameter and using a prediction model, the operating parameter being indicative of one of capacity and impedance of the battery unit, the method comprising: —obtaining measurement data relating to operating conditions of the energy storage system at a number of points in time t, —providing a set of initial values of said operating parameter, each initial value being associated with one of said first estimators, —using the set of first estimators, estimating () a set of state residual sizes of the battery unit at each point in time tbased on at least the measurement data and on the associated initial values, —determining a first operating parameter estimate of the battery unit based on the estimated set of state residual sizes, —estimating the operating parameter of the battery unit as a function of time based on at least said first operating parameter estimate, wherein estimating the set of state residual sizes comprises using a recursive algorithm for estimating the state residual size of each element of a set of state residuals, each estimated state residual size being determined based on the state residual size as estimated at a previous point in time tand a current magnitude of the state residual.

Method for estimating an operating parameter of a battery unit

A method for estimating a battery state of an energy storage system of a vehicle using a dual estimator. The energy storage system comprises a battery unit, and the dual estimator comprises a first estimator configured to estimate said battery state, the first estimator having first tuning parameters, a second estimator configured to track changes around nominal values of a set of battery parameters, the second estimator having second tuning parameters. The method comprises obtaining operational data of the energy storage system, feeding the operational data to the estimators, using the first estimator, estimating the battery state, using the second estimator, estimating changes around the nominal values of the set of battery parameters, and at least one of adaptively adjusting the first and/or second tuning parameters and adaptively adjusting the nominal values of the set of battery parameters to account for slow timescale variations arising due to ageing.

A method for improving the availability of an energy storage or transformation, EST, system of a vehicle. The method comprises providing an EST system model of coupled EST components of the EST system, identifying a fault or error in an EST condition parameter of the EST system, estimating an output value of the EST condition parameter based on the EST system model, identifying a vehicle situation which, in case of an at least temporary lack of operability of the EST system, belong to a predetermined group of vehicle situations defined as hazardous, and in response to identifying the vehicle situation belonging to the predetermined group of vehicle situations defined as hazardous, operating the EST system despite the fault or error in the EST condition parameter using the estimated output value of the EST condition parameter based on the EST system model.

Method for improving the availability of an energy storage or transformation system of a vehicle

A switching arrangement for reducing contactor wear of an energy storage system having a plurality of battery packs arranged in parallel for powering a load. The switching arrangement includes a contactor for each battery pack. The contactors connect and disconnect the battery packs relative to the load by closing and opening, respectively, an electric arc reducing circuitry associated to one of the contactors. The switching arrangement is configured to electrically disconnect the battery packs from the load by means of the contactors such that the contactor being associated with the electric arc reducing circuitry is opened last.

Contactor for battery packs

A method for operating a switching arrangement of an energy storage system, the energy storage system comprising a plurality of parallelly arranged battery packs and the switching arrangement comprising an associated contactor for each battery pack, the contactors being configured to connect and disconnect the battery packs relative a load by closing and opening, respectively. The method comprises disconnecting the battery packs from the load by means of the contactors such that the battery packs are disconnected in a sequence in which one contactor is opened last and thereby subject to increased disconnection wear, controlling the sequence in which the battery packs are disconnected in such a way that the increased disconnection wear is accounted for and used to distribute contactor wear among the contactors during subsequent disconnections of the battery packs from the load.

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Västra Frölunda, Sweden

Faisal Altaf