Cost analysis in different battery pack architectures considering protection, monitoring, and diagnostics

The automotive, aerospace, and electric power systems industry make increasing use of complex energy storage systems that are comprised of large number of cells connected in various electrical configurations. After defining the cell technology and size in terms of voltage and capacity, the objective of the battery pack design includes the definition of cell arrangement, sensing topology and position, fault diagnostic capability, cooling system, and electronic hardware. These design parameters may change with different battery pack architectures. On the premise of ensuring the availability and reliability of a battery system, minimizing the cost is also one of the important design missions. This paper analyzes the property of different battery pack architectures and studies the current distribution among the cells due to parameter variation, which determines the types, amount and unit cost of devices needed for the purpose of protection, monitoring and diagnostics. Finally, a comparative cost analysis of devices between different battery pack architectures as the size of the battery pack varies is presented.