BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The design teams achieved this by breaking down the major problem into subtasks and devising solutions for each. In this way, the design teams chose an appropriate generator and mounted it inconspicuously in the vehicle; they designed a battery heating scheme using heating pads; and adapted existing vehicle circuitry to accommodate the new battery charging system. The design teams programmed a microcontroller to activate each component as needed with transistor-controlled current relays. Therefore, the electric vehicle is capable of activating its generator through the microcontroller, and the microcontroller further decides whether it should activate the heating pads in case the system temperature falls below an acceptable boundary or whether to activate the charger in case the battery state of charge falls below an acceptable boundary. Based on what the temperature sensor connected to batteries, a signal from a voltage divider tied to the same batteries, as well as one from a current sensor in series to the battery charger and the pack of batteries says, the systems to be used are determined through the microcontroller. The design teams rewired the vehicle circuitry so that when the generator activates, it always assumes responsibility for driving the vehicle, with the batteries becoming completely disconnected from the motor to minimize the change of their becoming damaged. As a side effect of the small generator size necessary to fit in the vehicle, this means that when the generator is active, the vehicle is limited to only approximately 6mph. Towards the end of the project, it was realized by the design teams that their selected method of reading the battery of state of charge could not function as implemented. The time was too short to repair. The sponsor, in the stopgap measure, suggested a hand switch for the activation and deactivation of the generator. That way, it would ensure that the design was not actually automatic but a feature that could easily be remedied by the design teams in the future. The design teams are glad of their work, since all other systems have already been tested and tried to be confirmed working, the vehicle can indeed run from its batteries or its generator. Keyword: Design teams, electric vehicle, generator, battery heating scheme, heating pads, vehicle circuitry, microcontroller, current relays, temperature sensor, voltage divider, current sensor, battery state of charge, system activation, rewiring circuitry, battery charging system, generator-driven motor, speed limitation (6 mph), manual switch, automatic systems, system troubleshooting, future improvements, stopgap measure, system testing, battery protection, design challenges.