Wire bond contact defect identification in battery modules of electric vehicles using pulses and differential voltage analysis

Automotive battery packs for electromobility applications consist of a large number of interconnected battery cells. Different cell-to-busbar joining techniques are utilized, with cylindrical cells frequently being contacted using wire bonding. Failure of individual connections can occur due to strong vibrations during operation and improper stress, making detection by the battery management system a necessity. This study investigates the identification of an electrical wire bond failure in a state-of-the-art electric vehicle module of a Lucid Air with 10 series-connected and 30 parallel-connected cells (10s30p). Four individual cells were characterized extensively in order to generate a simulation model taking into account parameter scatter. The failure case under investigation was simulatively incorporated in one parallel circuit and subsequently replicated in experimental validation measurements at the module level. The results show that this defect can be detected using pulses of C/3 or higher currents at various states of charge. An even more robust detection is achieved using differential voltage analysis of constant current C/20 discharge voltage trajectories. This defect identification method does not require any additional measurement sensors beyond the voltage taps and sensors provided by the manufacturer – with one voltage sensor per parallel circuit – and can therefore be implemented during electric vehicle usage, e.g. at dedicated service checks. A discussion on the applicability and scalability as well as the limitations of the method is provided. All measurement data of the state-of-the-art Lucid battery system is available as open source alongside the article.