Monday, January 27, 2020

Evaluation of Balancing Circuits Used in Battery System

Evaluation of Balancing Circuits Used in Battery System CAREER EPISODE 2 2.1 INTRODUCTION My second career episode describes my project that is called Evaluation of balancing circuits used in battery system. This project was completed as a part of my minor thesis in the fulfilment of my masters degree program from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia in December 2016. I completed my masters degree in electrical and electronics engineering science. It was completed under the supervision of Prof. Weixing Shen, senior lecturer at the university. And was also supported by Prof. George Banky. 2.2 BACKGROUND Electric vehicle which operates on battery doesnt operate on a single battery as sufficient energy is not supplied through it. Thus, many batteries that are either connected in series or parallel are required for the generation of required voltage and current for the system to function. The difference in the cell voltage of the stack reduces the string capacity and hence a system is required that will be able to achieve and maintain the voltage and current that is required by the system along with considering the issue of reliability and performance. For this purpose, a BMS is used. Battery Management System (BMS), which can oversee the voltage and the current level and can also charge the battery. 2.3 The main aim and goal behind implementing this project was to design a 48V battery stack power system that consists of 12 lithium ion battery cells. The monitoring and supervision of each cell operation and voltage level and its charging status can be done with the help of LTC3300-1/LTC6803-2 bidirectional cell balancer along with the BMS system. It also considers the safety concern of the batteries that are used. And the other objective behind implementing this project was to understand LTC330-1/LTC6803-2 bidirectional cell balance kits performance along with checking its results based on QuikEval software and DC590B USB serial controller when connected to the computer. 2.4 The idea is to balance the voltage supply of the cells so that it provides constant battery voltage to the shelter of the electric vehicle. The overcharging of the battery results in voltage battery degradation and can have consequences like it may catch fire or explosion. Whereas undercharging of the cell or having voltage under the required level may affect the life of the cells. So, I have made use of lithium ion batteries which are then further connected to LTC3300-1/LTC6803-2 bidirectional cell balancer that would assist in achieving the required voltage level of the cell and it can also help in increasing the life of the cell or battery long with providing the supply voltage of EV. 2.5 The project was completed in a group of two. And I took the opportunity to become the team leader. I first involved with my supervisor in planning the topic and how to start working on the project. Based on that I prepared a flow chart in which all the major task was divided and assigned among team member along with a deadline so that the final project gets completed in time and there will be time for troubleshooting. After deciding the topic and assigning task, I made myself busy with researching and with literature review of the topic by referring various journal, books, and internet material. The later part was designing and implementing the hardware structure along with its software part for its functioning. I had to weekly report to the Professor about my project update and took feedback on my project which helped me improve a lot. Weekly meetings with the supervisor was either done through emails or small presentations. 2.6 PERSONAL ENGINEERING ACTIVITY I started my project with literature review on cell balancing where cell balancing is a process that involves adjusting the cell voltages to same level i.e. where the battery cells are not over charged or over discharged. Also, its internal parameters are the reason for its unbalance like its time of manufacturing, internal resistance etc. It also depends on some of the external resources like thermal difference between battery cells. The process of battery balancing in lithium ion batteries is an easy process due to its property of charge-discharge capability. It also provides increased life span and the right voltage for its application. After understanding the concepts that were going to be used in my project I started performing research on the components that could be used for my system. It took lot of survey and suggestions were taken from seniors and lecturer about it. and later I finalized the following hardware components that suited best for the project. 2.7 1. Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries this battery was used due to its high-energy efficiency and has relatively longer battery cycle life which is an important feature for my system as the electric vehicle requires battery than can store more as well as can frequently recharge. Basically, there are two parameters that affect the overall performance of the battery. They are power and the battery diving range. 2. LTC3300-1/LTC6803-2 bidirectional cell balancer    for cell balancing and monitoring purpose I made use of two ICs that are functioning as bidirectional cell balancer. Active balancing principle is used by BMS. The two ICs are LTC3300-1, which can balance 6 cells whereas the LTC6803-2 microcontroller IC can support 12 cells when connected to each other in series connection. The function of LTC3300-1 is to equalize the SoC i.e. state of charge when the battery modules are connected in series manner. It can charge the battery stack faster and extent the runtime and enhancing the overall performance by cell balancing and charging. Moreover, this IC can balance 6 cells connected to each other in series when it functions as transformer based on bidirectional active balancing system that has synchronous fly back topology. Looking at the other IC i.e. LTC6803-2 is also a microcontroller IC that can support up-to 12 batteries connected in series connection. It uses different chemical ma terial than the other IC for monitoring the batteries. It gives more accurate results and low error rate, as low as 0.25% of total. It generally operates in three modes: measure, shutdown and standby. 3. DC590B USB serial controller it is a kind of controller that is specially designed using QuikEval software for display and demonstration of the results and for technologies involving linear family circuits. It is a controller that is based on USB. It is generally isolated or separate from the host computer. So therefore, no external or additional power supply is needed to drive the controller. 4. Power supply GPS18500 instrument is one of a kind device which is used in my system as for this project a DC power supply of +5V is required externally to drive the unit. This power supply has many different configurations that include variable voltage and fixed voltage. It has the feature of supplying 2 different power supply which can work and be used independently. In this device, a slot that gives out fixed supply of +5V DC is provided to the LTC3300-1 bidirectional PCB. 2.8 After having finalized the hardware components, they were implemented on the evaluation board. The diagram attached shows the circuit and hardware connection for this project. It can be observed that a DC2064A GUI evaluation board, 14 conductor ribbon cables, computer that has QuikEval software installed and USB/serial port cable along with DB590B USB series controller is been used and a power supply of +5V is supplied externally using the GPS18500 device discussed earlier. Various precaution and safety measure was considered while connecting all the different components to the evaluation board. This was done precisely and carefully as any wrong connection made, it can damage the whole circuitry and the cost of application will increase indirectly. The two ICs LTC3300-1 and LTC6803-2 are soldered or wired to the evaluation board DC2064A GUI along with the capacitors, MOSFET and transformers. The voltage level and the temperate can be monitored with this circuit board and has the capability to balance the cell voltage. This board also has a special feature of advance fault detector that helps to secure the performance of the board in case of any spark or short circuit. 3.7V and 2600mAH configured lithium ion battery is used in my system. Thus 6 batteries giving a output voltage of 22.8V when connected in series are used on the board as the board can withstand a maximum of 12 batteries for balancing. 2.9 After successful implementation of the hardware, testing and trouble shooting was performed. For that a QuikEval software was used to monitor the battery stack. To use the software, it had to be configured accordingly for both the microcontroller ICs that were used in the system. After proper implementation, the screen looked as below. From that it can be depicted that the when we press the button called START CONTINUES READ CELL, voltage level can be retained and measured from each battery connected in the battery stack. From performing the test run, I found the cell voltage for each cell was almost 3.7V. But if there is any minor change in the voltage level of any cell it can be equalized by transferring cell voltage manually for 5sec and charge the required cell by discharging other cells with high voltage to get an equilibrium stage. All the charging/discharging or any error situation status can be seen on the screen as that status will be highlighted. 2.10 The struggle in implementing this project was getting the expected outcome. It different the actual outcome. It took many efforts, there were issues like the hardware didnt receive any signals from the software. The problem was solved by reconnecting few hardware wires. Also, it required changing the voltage level of the components by choosing higher level components. After the final configuration, the hardware received the signal and the voltage level of each cells were determined. The later challenge was the important task and the main idea of our project i.e. cell balancing by voltage levels. The output was taken and written down at each time for charging/discharging function and the experiment was carried out until the satisfied result was attained. There were times when I didnt get the desired result even after performing the experiment several times. During this phase, my faculty members and supervisors helped me a lot and gave me steps or hints on how I can solve the error. 2.11 SUMMARY To conclude, my project used 3.7V lithium ion battery that has 2600mAH of capacity for active cell balancing technique while making use of two microcontroller ICs configured on evaluation board. The transfer of charging from one cell to another is done using the six lithium ion batteries that are connected in series on the evaluation board. Along with that the software QuikEval was used to trace the output. The project has an open window in terms for expansion for future project work based on this system. This project can be used for self-controlling function to detect faulty or imbalance situation in the system along with capability for temperature measurement unit. Though I could only achieve partial results from my experiment as it varied from expected outcome. But this experiment helped me in many other ways. It taught me to handle complex circuits and outcomes, though I didnt partially achieve what I expected from this but it gave me the strength and knowledge on how to overcome such situations. It was a new learning experience by working in groups and team mates. It involved managing different views and coming to one conclusion before implementing the idea. Also, I had the opportunity to apply my previous engineering knowledge into this project.

Sunday, January 19, 2020

An Author and his work A Kid in King Arthurs Court :: essays papers

An Author and his work A Kid in King Arthurs Court An Author and His Work :A Kid in King Arther's Court Research Term Paper An Author and His Work Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens to John Marshal Clemens and Jane Lampton Clemens. He was born on November 30, 1835 in a small city called Florida, Missouri, which had a population of one hundred people. "I increased the population by one percent," he said. "It is more than many of the best men in history could have done for a town†¦" (Cox, 7) Samuel, however did not live most of his life in Florida, but moved around throughout his life. His family moved to Hannibal, MO when he was four years old and that was where he went to school.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Argumentative Essay the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

A man must pursue his dreams. This is certainly true for everyone in humankind, for if there were no dreams, there would be no reason to live. Duddy Kravitz understands this perfectly, which is why he is one of the most ambitious young men of his time. From the moment he hears his grandfather say, â€Å"A man without land is nobody,†(44) he is prepared to seek the land of his dream, no matter what the cost would be. This ambition of his is very respectable, but unfortunately his methods are damnable.Duddy is a relentless pursuer, a formidable competitor but also a ruthless manipulator. It is true that he has obtained all the land that he desires at the end, but he succeeds through immoral, despicable and contemptible means. It is clear then, that Duddy has failed in his apprenticeship and has become the â€Å"scheming little bastard† that Uncle Benjy has warned him against. There is no doubt that Duddy is very shrewd and clever, but his lack of moral principles attribut es to his final failure. In fact, his immorality can be traced back to a very young age.During his study in the parochial school, he already earns money through methods that hardly comply with virtues of any kind. Taking advantage of the fact that minors cannot be sued in Canada, Duddy defrauds stamp companies and sells stolen hockey sticks. Perhaps he cannot distinguish right from wrong; perhaps he does not care, but nonetheless it is improper for him to engage himself into these kinds of activities. Duddy emerges himself deeper into the sea of corruption when he establishes Dudley Kane Enterprises.With his limited knowledge of movie making and his mistaken trust in John Friar, his firm produces bar-mitzvah films of extremely poor quality. The bar-mitzvah film for Mr. Cohen, for example, is obviously a failing product. â€Å"Duddy didn't say a word all through the screening but afterwards he was sick to his stomach,†(149). After the screening, Duddy says to Mr. Friar,  "I could sell Mr. Cohen a dead horse easier than this pile of —,†(149). However, realizing the obvious faultiness of the film, Duddy does not talk candidly to his client.Instead, he untruthfully says that the film is a phenomenal piece of art and that he is entering it into the Cannes Festival. By doing so, he deceives the Cohen family into buying the appalling bar-mitzvah film of Bernie. As a matter of fact, Kravitz is not only skilful in handling situations, but he is also very apt in manipulating people. This can be clearly seen in his relationships with Virgil and Yvette. Duddy is never loved in his family, so originally Duddy is quite content to know that there is someone who cares about him, Yvette.He finds great companionship in her and acquires a feeling of fulfillment in himself in her presence. But as time passes by, Yvette becomes nothing but a tool to him. He uses her as a medium through which he can buy the land that he lusts for; because he is a minor and he cannot legally own land, thus getting the deeds under her name. â€Å"The farmers would be wary of a young Jew, they might jack up prices or even refuse to sell, but another French-Canadian would not be suspect,†(99). Duddy also treats her as a sexual toy.He makes love with Yvette whenever he wants it, but he does not take Yvette's feelings into consideration: â€Å"Yvette wanted to wait, but Duddy insisted, and they made love on the carpet,†(193). He never pays any respect to Yvette and he does â€Å"he hasn’t the first notion of how to treat a woman,†(164). Not only does he use her sexually and financially but also mentally. Duddy has no love for Yvette, which is shown in various occasions, one being while having a conversation with his comrade. â€Å"Listen,† he said, â€Å"what kind of friend are you?You must know lots of nice Jewish girls in Outremont. Why don’t you ever fix me up? † â€Å"What about Yvette? † Bernie as ked, embarrassed. â€Å"Yvette? I could never marry her. She’s my Girl Friday,† (232). This shows how he has come to use Yvette as nothing but a tool, fooling her in making her believe that he actually loves her. With Virgil, Duddy takes advantage of his physical disabilities. After selling the pinball machines that Virgil brought him to ease his financial troubles, Duddy does not want to repay Virgil.Using the fact that Virgil is an epileptic and that it is very difficult for him to be hired, Duddy employs him as a driver But Duddy tells him that a truck would be necessary for the task, and that he can provide Virgil with the perfect vehicle for one thousand dollars, the exact amount that he owes Virgil, even though he is getting free of charge. Virgil is innocent enough not to know what is happening. Knowing this, Duddy doesn’t take into account that if Virgil encounters and accident, he can be sued for everything he has.He is also very grateful and flattered to know that Mr. Kravitz is willing to hire him. He accepts the job immediately, and thus, Duddy does not need to reimburse Virgil. It is quite ironic that Duddy, being such a good manipulator of people, is later being used by his Bohemian friends when they come to his apartment every night to party, eat and drink, all at Duddy's expense. After Duddy has engaged himself into all kinds of deceitful activities, he is bankrupt and is on the verge of a mental breakdown.At that point, Uncle Benjy's letter reveals to Duddy that he must make a very serious decision: â€Å"There's more to you than mere money-lust, Duddy, but I'm afraid for you. You're two people, that’s why. The scheming little bastard I saw so easily and the fine, intelligent boy underneath that your grandfather, bless him, saw. But you're coming of age soon and you'll have to choose. A boy can be two, three, four potential people, but a man is only one. He murders the others. † (287) Duddy must now choose th e way that he will live on for the rest of his life.He may continue on to live the way that he has always lived and be a complete amoral criminal, or he can abandon his money-lust and become a fine shrewd gentleman. The time has come for him to choose what is to become of him. But at this point, Duddy performs the most dirty, sickening and contemptible act in his apprenticeship. He forges Virgil's cheque in order to buy the final parcel of land: â€Å"Duddy took a quick look at Virgil's bank balance, whistled, noted his account number and ripped out two cheques. He forged the signature by holding the cheque and a letter Virgil had signed up to the window and tracing slowly,†(316).This is a clear indication that Duddy has chosen to become the inconsiderate â€Å"scheming little bastard†. He has murdered all the other good possibilities of himself. Duddy has obviously chosen the wrong kind of man to be. He has chosen to become a crooked person, a corrupted chap, and a ru thless man. Undoubtedly, Duddy is a very keen and intuitive young man. He can calmly and gracefully settle Lennie's problems with Mr. Calder. He can also tactfully and intelligently get Aunt Ida going back to Montreal to see the dying Uncle Benjy.Duddy has all the qualities that are needed for him to succeed in society; it is only a matter of time. Unfortunately, Duddy chooses the wrong path at a young age and continues on with that path to his adulthood. He ends up being a terrible failure. Perhaps his lack of discipline from his early years is one of the most important attributes to his tragic fall in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. ID: 0014464 Argumentative Essay The Fail in the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz By: Anchal Joshi For: Ms. Tozzi Date: 11/11/2010

Friday, January 3, 2020

Solving the Problem of Homeless Veterans - 680 Words

According to the 2012 Annual Homeless Assessment Report released by the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an estimated 62,619 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2012. The good news is that the estimate represents a 7.2 percent decline from the 2011 estimate and a 17.2 percent decline compared to the 2009 estimate (Veterans, 2013). Although progress is being made, there is much to be done. There are veterans with the same needs as the general homeless population, but also veterans with severe physical and mental health disabilities, related to their service, that necessitate permanent housing with supportive services. Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center, Inc. (MVOC), is a non-profit organized under tax code 501(c)(3), located in north central Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest continually operating veterans outreach organizations in the nation, in a state that has done much to support its veterans. Founded as the Vietnam Veterans Outreach Center in 1983, the center has expanded its services over its thirty-year existence to include all veterans. The staff of eighteen manages services from a central office as well as a newly-opened satellite office in an adjacent town. MVOC serves as an excellent example of the New Model of Care. It offers transitional and low-cost housing, mental health counseling, benefits advising, outreach services, case management, structured daily activities, and a food pantry (Montachusett Veterans OutreachShow MoreRelatedThe Importance Of Ruck Up A Nonprofit Corporation That Is Recognized By The Secretary Of The State As A Veteran s971 Words   |  4 PagesSecretary of the State as a Veteran’s Organization. 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