The Mighty Volt
1 MW
Could somebody fill me in, using basic English, on the nature of the improvement in the new boards? Thanks!! 
The Mighty Volt said:Could somebody fill me in, using basic English, on the nature of the improvement in the new boards? Thanks!!![]()
GGoodrum said:The Mighty Volt said:Could somebody fill me in, using basic English, on the nature of the improvement in the new boards? Thanks!!![]()
There are a number of issues with all of the v2.x BMS variants, including noise generated during shunt operations, voltage drop issues, no workable end-of-charge detection function and just a general "whackiness" when the shunts operated. Richard and I started down what became the v4.x path, to address these issues. Actually some of the problems we didn't even know were problems, like the noise and voltage drop issues. These became more pronounced with the v4.x variants, because we were trying to double the shunt current, to 1A. Anyway, it took a boatload of iterations, be we finally tackled all of these issues, and latest shunt circuits are rock-solid.
The other big difference between the v2.x and v4.x versions is how the shunts are used to balance the cells. The older v2.x scheme, which is the same way virtually all shunt-based BMS designs I'm aware of work, is to set the HVC trip point right at the voltage where the shunts are fully on, just below the point they go into overload, or get "swamped". The "charge to" point is set a bit above this, and then current limiting throttling logic is used to keep the voltage right at that point. The net result is that once all the cells are full, the shunts will all be in full bypass. Having these shunts "cook away" at the end is one thing, when the max shunt current is only 200-300mA, but at the the 500mA the v2.x is designed for, things get pretty toasty. At 1A, it is more than toasty, it will get bloody hot! Fans are mandatory.
With the latter v4.x variants, a totally new shunt/balancing scheme is used. Instead of having all the shunts "cook" at the end, what we do now is only have the shunts come on for the first cells that get full, and then only enough to keep the cell from going over the balance point. The "charge to" voltage is set to be the same as the balance point, which is the voltage where the shunts first start to come on. This "by exception" shunt scheme means that at the end, when the cells are all full/balanced, none of the shunts are on at all. This contrasts sharply with the v2.x scheme where every shunt is cooking away at full power at the end.
Another problem with the v2.x design is that there is no definitive end-of-charge detection scheme. You can't just wait for the current to drop to something like 1/20th of the max current, the way many RC and even some SLA chargers work, because the current will never drop below the max shunt current. What the v2.x circuit did was simply wait for all the shunts to come on, and then shut things down. The problem with that is that the last cells that cause the "ALL SHUNTS ACTIVE" signal to trip, have just gotten to that point, and those cells won't be as full as the rest.
With the shunts "by exception" scheme, in the v4.x design, the shunts are off at the end, if the cells are full/balanced, so the current will drop all the way down to zero, eventually. Now we can actually just measure the current, and do a shutdown when the current drops below some selected point. We have a pot that let's this low-current shutdown to set from 0-2.5A.
The final difference in the two designs is how the HVC signal is used. As I said, in the v2.x design, the HVC signal is set to the shunts-fully-on point, and is used by the throttling logic to keep the shunts cooking, but not where they swamp, and allow the cell voltage to rise above the HVC point. The HVC signal is used differently in the v4.x variants. In this case, the HVC trip point is used as a "failsafe" point, or in other words, a safety net to keep errant cells from getting overcharged. This HVC trip point is set a fair bit above the balance point, enough that significantly out-of-balanced, but otherwise healthy cells won't ever have their voltages get this high. The 1A shunts wil handle significant imbalances, just on their own, but if a weak cell, with a lower capacity, gets full a whole lot earlier than the rest, it can still swamp a 1A shunt. This higher HVC trip point will keep it from going over this point by engaging a very simple "throttling" function that will let the shunt work to get the cell back in check, and then the process will continue on. If the shunt swamps again, and the HVC point is reached, the cycle will repeat. Eventually the shunt will be able to hold the voltage on its own and the process will continue on to completion.
Anywa, these are the major differences.
-- Gary
GGoodrum said:The Mighty Volt said:Could somebody fill me in, using basic English, on the nature of the improvement in the new boards? Thanks!!![]()
There are a number of issues with all of the v2.x BMS variants, including noise generated during shunt operations, voltage drop issues, no workable end-of-charge detection function and just a general "whackiness" when the shunts operated. Richard and I started down what became the v4.x path, to address these issues. Actually some of the problems we didn't even know were problems, like the noise and voltage drop issues. These became more pronounced with the v4.x variants, because we were trying to double the shunt current, to 1A. Anyway, it took a boatload of iterations, be we finally tackled all of these issues, and latest shunt circuits are rock-solid.
The other big difference between the v2.x and v4.x versions is how the shunts are used to balance the cells. The older v2.x scheme, which is the same way virtually all shunt-based BMS designs I'm aware of work, is to set the HVC trip point right at the voltage where the shunts are fully on, just below the point they go into overload, or get "swamped". The "charge to" point is set a bit above this, and then current limiting throttling logic is used to keep the voltage right at that point. The net result is that once all the cells are full, the shunts will all be in full bypass. Having these shunts "cook away" at the end is one thing, when the max shunt current is only 200-300mA, but at the the 500mA the v2.x is designed for, things get pretty toasty. At 1A, it is more than toasty, it will get bloody hot! Fans are mandatory.
With the latter v4.x variants, a totally new shunt/balancing scheme is used. Instead of having all the shunts "cook" at the end, what we do now is only have the shunts come on for the first cells that get full, and then only enough to keep the cell from going over the balance point. The "charge to" voltage is set to be the same as the balance point, which is the voltage where the shunts first start to come on. This "by exception" shunt scheme means that at the end, when the cells are all full/balanced, none of the shunts are on at all. This contrasts sharply with the v2.x scheme where every shunt is cooking away at full power at the end.
Another problem with the v2.x design is that there is no definitive end-of-charge detection scheme. You can't just wait for the current to drop to something like 1/20th of the max current, the way many RC and even some SLA chargers work, because the current will never drop below the max shunt current. What the v2.x circuit did was simply wait for all the shunts to come on, and then shut things down. The problem with that is that the last cells that cause the "ALL SHUNTS ACTIVE" signal to trip, have just gotten to that point, and those cells won't be as full as the rest.
With the shunts "by exception" scheme, in the v4.x design, the shunts are off at the end, if the cells are full/balanced, so the current will drop all the way down to zero, eventually. Now we can actually just measure the current, and do a shutdown when the current drops below some selected point. We have a pot that let's this low-current shutdown to set from 0-2.5A.
The final difference in the two designs is how the HVC signal is used. As I said, in the v2.x design, the HVC signal is set to the shunts-fully-on point, and is used by the throttling logic to keep the shunts cooking, but not where they swamp, and allow the cell voltage to rise above the HVC point. The HVC signal is used differently in the v4.x variants. In this case, the HVC trip point is used as a "failsafe" point, or in other words, a safety net to keep errant cells from getting overcharged. This HVC trip point is set a fair bit above the balance point, enough that significantly out-of-balanced, but otherwise healthy cells won't ever have their voltages get this high. The 1A shunts wil handle significant imbalances, just on their own, but if a weak cell, with a lower capacity, gets full a whole lot earlier than the rest, it can still swamp a 1A shunt. This higher HVC trip point will keep it from going over this point by engaging a very simple "throttling" function that will let the shunt work to get the cell back in check, and then the process will continue on. If the shunt swamps again, and the HVC point is reached, the cycle will repeat. Eventually the shunt will be able to hold the voltage on its own and the process will continue on to completion.
Anywa, these are the major differences.
-- Gary
GGoodrum said:Boards have been ordered, and Andy should have the first of these early next week.
GGoodrum said:Boards have been ordered, and Andy should have the first of these early next week.
Would anyone mind providing further clarification (why you will not be receiving these boards)?AndyH said:I need to clarify this. I've been informed that I will not be receiving these boards. Because of this, I can no longer report on progress or effectiveness of these new variants.
MitchJi said:Hi,
GGoodrum said:Boards have been ordered, and Andy should have the first of these early next week.
Would anyone mind providing further clarification (why you not be receiving these boards)?AndyH said:I need to clarify this. I've been informed that I will not be receiving these boards. Because of this, I can no longer report on progress or effectiveness of these new variants.
MitchJi said:Hi,
GGoodrum said:Boards have been ordered, and Andy should have the first of these early next week.
Would anyone mind providing further clarification (why you will not be receiving these boards)?AndyH said:I need to clarify this. I've been informed that I will not be receiving these boards. Because of this, I can no longer report on progress or effectiveness of these new variants.
GGoodrum said:In any case, it is prudent to test the full BMS as a single unit. Finding the time to do this, however, has been difficult. My first priority is the CellLog-based units, frankly because that's what I need. You will have to excuse me if I'm a little selfish that way, but after 20-grand, I still don't have a a BMS/CMS solution that is optimized for my own setups. Anyway, Richard has a day job that limits his test time, and Andy chooses not to waste anymore of his resources, time included, which is perfectly fine. He's spent a lot of time and money on this as well, and is making the prudent "business" decision to sit this last dance out. I seriously can not fault him for that. What we need to do, I think, is recruit from within here, to help finish off the testing.Before committing to that, however, I will talk to Richard, and see what he wants to do.
ejonesss said:looks like dead bugging.
you may want to check there may be a 4 pin version of the same chip.
What we need to do, I think, is recruit from within here, to help finish off the testing.
ejonesss said:looks like dead bugging.