High power battery tester development

Abstract

This paper describes the development of novel test equipment for evaluating high-power batteries under multi-kW load requirements. Two testers were designed, fabricated, and placed in service during this effort. One was an air-cooled system (16 kW power capacity) and the other a water-cooled system (36 kW power capacity). Both testers used National Instruments LabView real-time software and hardware running on a Windows PC using the Windows 98 operating system to control tests and acquire data. The test capability was established to support battery development and evaluation work proceeding in parallel with these activities. This paper will review the challenges encountered and the solutions developed during the project.