Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for a Simulated Reconfigurable Battery Pack

Abstract Cells within the same battery pack age unequally fast due to the non-uniform manufacturing process, and inhomogeneous operating conditions, and environment. This paper proposes a nonlinear Model Predictive Control approach for optimal pack balancing while taking pack and cell limitations into account. The control is designed for a sophisticated battery pack, which is a pack augmented by semiconductor switches to vary the number of cells connected in series. This pack is usually composed of more cells than a conventional battery pack. Each serial cell in the pack can be activated or deactivated while keeping the serial connection. Simulation results based on a realistic mission profile illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach by optimizing the overall performance and degradation of the battery architecture.