Current sharing between parallel strings

Example

Use in Lemonergy

Make series/parallel architecture explicit.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

Connected concepts

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Cell-to-cell variation

The spread in capacity, resistance and self-discharge between nominally identical cells, from manufacturing and from unequal temperatures in service. It is why packs need balancing and why grading matches cells before assembly.

Contactor

A heavy-duty electrically operated switch that connects the pack to the vehicle or inverter and opens it on fault or shutdown. Packs use at least two, one per pole, plus a pre-charge path to avoid welding them on the first connection.

Internal resistance

The resistance a cell presents to current, from its foils, electrolyte, interfaces and the reactions themselves. It converts part of the delivered energy into heat, sets the voltage drop under load, and rises as the cell ages; a large automotive cell has about a milliohm, a small cylindrical cell tens.

Open-circuit voltage

The voltage across a cell’s terminals when no current flows and the cell has rested long enough for the voltage to settle. It depends on state of charge and temperature, and a cell whose open-circuit voltage falls unusually fast in storage may have an internal short.

Series and parallel connection

Cells in series add their voltages; cells in parallel add their capacities and share current. A pack is described as, for example, 96s4p: 96 groups in series, each of 4 cells in parallel. Series strings need balancing; parallel groups self-balance through their shared terminals.

String

A chain of cells or modules connected in series to reach the system voltage, the basic electrical unit of a large battery. In stationary storage each rack is usually one string of about 1000–1500 V with its own contactors and BMS, and many strings are paralleled on a common DC bus.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

1. Extended Kalman filtering for battery management systems of LiPB-based HEV battery packs: Part 2. Modeling and identification

   Gregory L. Plett · Journal of Power Sources · 2004

   Topic background · Battery charge balance, open-circuit voltage, ohmic loss, polarization dynamics and model identification; parameters require cell-specific data.

2. Getting Started with the BQ76925

   Texas Instruments · 2019

   Topic background · A concrete BMS analog front-end example: cell voltage, current, temperature measurement and MCU integration.