EV Battery Testing Methods
As the world progresses toward electric-powered vehicles, having powerful and functional batteries is more important than ever. Battery systems are vital to many operations within a vehicle, from turning the lights on to powering the engine.
Regular tests during a battery’s development are necessary to prevent outages, as capacity drops long before life expectancy and weak cells can cause expensive failures. In the case of electric vehicle (EV) battery testing, the equipment diagnoses battery health by way of voltage, impedance, and storage capacity. The diagnostic is a concise report of how long the battery will be able to supply power to the vehicle and whether it will be able to operate at maximum functionality.
There are many functionalities within the umbrella of EV battery testing. To determine what kind of equipment is ideal for your application, it’s helpful to know the different types of battery testing.
What are Some Methods of EV Battery Testing?
EV battery testing consists of several methods performed both on each battery cell within the EV and the entire battery system. These tests take the battery through every type of use and possible abuse to ensure compliance and safety.
Impedance tests are performed on a power line to discover weak battery cells prior to failure.
Battery discharge testing, also known as capacity or load testing, is performed off the line and tests the performance of the entire battery system, demonstrating how it will interact with a load in real-world conditions. This test is often performed with a chiller that dispels the battery’s heat as it discharges.
Cycling, also called aging, is an accelerated life cycle test to assess whether the battery can meet its life cycle requirements.
Cell level and level pack testing test the individual components (down to a cell level) compared to the entire system.
Temperature performance assesses how the battery will perform in
