A Survey on Technologies to Implement Battery Emulators based on DC/DC Power Converters

Published in: Engineering Innovations for Global Sustainability: Proceedings of the 14th Latin American and Caribbean Conference for Engineering and Technology
Date of Conference: July 20-22, 2016
Location of Conference: San Jose, Costa Rica
Authors: Rubén Hidalgo León
Gonzalo Almeida Pazmiño
Pablo Jácome Ruiz
Guillermo Soriano Idrovo
Javier Urquizo Guevara
Refereed Paper: #98

Abstract:

Currently, many researchers from industry and academic institutions are working on the study of electric vehicles, battery systems and renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.). In order to carry out research on each of these technologies it is required large capital investment for equipment. Additionally, problems must be faced such as variability of environmental parameters, large space requirements, generation of pollution (in some cases), etc. The use of software and hardware to emulate different types of batteries shows to be a low-cost and environmentally friendly option due to some of its features. The battery emulator system has the ability to replicate the behavior of any kind of battery using only a virtual model and a controllable DC power source in laboratory scale with limited space. Moreover, emulators are not only used for batteries, but they can be used to emulate fuel cells, photo voltaic systems, wind generators, thermoelectric, etc. This survey aims to present the advantages that battery emulators grant for both the community of researchers and environment. Also, it shows their technology and the main components. In the first part, a review of battery systems (technologies, models, parameters, etc.) are performed. Then, the main types of power converters used in these systems and their modes of operation are analyzed. In addition, some actual case studies are reviewed. Finally, a specific case study is proposed for future publications presenting several conclusions obtained during the course of this document.