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Testing Lithium-Ion Batteries the extensive list of post to

for Electric Bikes learn more on a wide variety

of information.
 May 2, 2018  Circuit Specialists  0 Comments

Testing lithium-ion batteries e�ciently is more important now

than ever.  In this article, we explore methods of testing Join our
lithium-ion batteries.  We also detail how to perform full-cycle
testing to e�ectively characterize the health of your lithium- VIP List
ion battery.  The advantages of lithium battery technology
Get offers,
over traditional lead-acid batteries are clear.  Improved
energy density allows for compact, lightweight solutions with project ideas,
higher energy capacities and allows items such as electric and new product
bikes and cell phones to be lighter and stay charged longer
and travel further.  As lithium-ion batteries become
information right 
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mainstream, a standardized testing method that can reveal from your inbox.
battery capacity and long-term health is essential.   Old-
fashioned battery testers that simply measure voltage and EmailSubscribe
impedance do not accurately measure lithium battery storage
capacity.  Lithium-ion batteries retain a constant level of
internal resistance even as they age.  In the �gure below you Blog Categories
see the relationship between capacity and resistance of a Li-
ion battery cycled at 1C. 3D Printing

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DC Electronic Load
  Combined result of �ve Li-ion cycled at 1C: Charge: 1,500 mA
Desoldering
to 4.2 V, 25°C  Discharge: 1,500 mA to 2.75 V, 25°C from from
Diagnose / Troubleshoot
BatteryPowerOnline.com
Digital Storage Oscilloscope
From the �gure, it is clear that impedance is not a good
Diodes
indicator of the overall storage capacity of a lithium-ion
DIY
battery. It stays close to �at even as the battery capacity goes
from 100% of its original value to around 50%.   There are Education Kits

better ways of testing lithium-ion batteries.  These include Educational Labs

discharge tests, voltage tests (not e�ective for Li-ion), Ohmic Electronic Kits
test (not e�ective for Li-ion), rapid testing, full-cycle testing,
Electronics Industry
and battery management system monitoring.  To accurately
Electronics News
measure the health of a lithium battery static and dynamic
discharge tests should be performed independently. Experiments

Featured Youtubers
Though it may sound tedious, full-cycle testing can be easy
Function Generators
with the right tools such as a DC programmable electronic
load tester.  Full cycle testing consists of at least one Inspection Camera 
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complete cycle of discharge-charge-discharge.  This type of Internet of Things (IoT)

test provides the most accurate measurements possible.  LED Matrix Tutorials
When cycle testing lithium-ion batteries both current and
Logic Analyzer
voltage levels should be recorded throughout the test.  A DC
Multimeters
electronic load tester is a tool that can be used to discharge
at a constant current and programmed according to your New Products
charge-discharge cycle requirements.  These instruments Panel Meters
connect to a PC via RS-232 or USB and run full cycle tests on
PCB
their own with some simple programming using software
Power Supplies
such as Labview or Matlab.
Prototyping
Sample Labview VI’s are available from Array that shows
Raspberry Pi
simple programs you can use to program your battery cycle
Red Pitaya
tests.  Labview Source code for the DC Load 372XA series
with sample .vi and .ctl �les. Resistors

Reviews
Two approaches for lithium-ion battery testing in
Robotics
manufacturing are random sampling and total population
testing.  Random Sampling is one method where QC Safety

personnel randomly selects a lithium-ion battery or a sub-set Servo Motors

of batteries from a production run and runs hundreds of Single-board Computers
charge-discharge cycles in order to accurately categorize the
Soldering
long-term performance.  Random sampling prevents systemic
Soldering Stations
bias and allows us to study the overall battery population
without needing to test everyone.  Another approach that can Stepper Motors

be taken is running fewer charge-discharge cycles (2-5) on Tutorial / How-to

every battery in the population or a larger sub-set.  In this
Videos
method, a QC expert could verify the short-term
Waveform Generators
characteristics of every battery tested adheres to the rated
speci�cations.

When con�guring cycle testing with your DC Load you should

keep in mind that a maximum charge voltage and minimum
discharge voltage level should be established.  The best way
to characterize your battery is done by discharging and
charging at a constant current.  You can determine your
current (A) value by the C rating of the battery you are
charging and discharging.  Determine the voltage limits you
are interested in by keeping in mind what % capacity range
you are interested in collecting results.  The larger the range
you test the lower the longevity you can expect of the battery

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over its lifetime.  Running cycles by performing a discharge to

30% capacity and a charge to 80% capacity is a conservative
approach.  Running full discharge-charge tests might be
better for a random sampling QC approach.

A picture of the lithium-ion battery for the A2B Alva+ that will
be tested from ElectricBikeReport.com; cells manufactured by
Samsung and enclosed in Aluminum.  Alva+ battery specs:
36V, 13.2 Ah

When selecting a DC Electronic Load tester ensure you select

one that will operate at the current and voltage levels you
require.  Take note of the C rating of your battery when
calculating your charge-discharge cycle. (Ex: A 1 amp-hour
battery discharged at 1C would be discharged at 1 Amp for 1
hour.  At 2C the 1 amp-hour battery would be discharged at
2A for 30 minutes.  On the other hand at 0.5C the current
discharge rate is 500 mA for 2 hours.)

Stay tuned for our next blog article in this testing lithium-ion
battery series where we share our results and LabView
source code for our lithium battery tests.

Thank you to our friends at

ElectricBikeCity.com for letting us run
lithium battery tests on their Hybrid 
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Electric Bikes using the A2B

Commuter Bike batteries, on a 50%
o� clearance sale while supplies last.

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Circuit Specialists
Circuit Specialists has provided quality test
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over forty years.

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