Experimental set-up and procedures to test and validate battery fuel gauge algorithms

A battery fuel gauge (BFG) helps to extend battery life by tracking the state of charge (SOC) and many other diagnostic features. In this paper, we present an approach to validate the SOC and time-to-shutdown (TTS) estimates of a BFG. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing under realistic usage scenarios provides a means for BFG algorithm evaluation and provides insights into practical implementation and testing of BFG algorithms in battery management systems. We report the details of a HIL system that was designed to validate the SOC and TTS estimation capability of BFG algorithms; different current load profiles were synthesized to replicate typical battery usage in portable electronic applications; the HIL system is automated with the help of programmable current profiles and is designed to operate at various controlled temperatures; three performance validation metrics are formulated for an objective assessment of SOC and TTS tracking algorithms. The HIL setup and the performance validation metrics are used to evaluate a BFG developed by the authors using three different batteries at temperatures ranging from -20°C to 40°C.