Content area
The present dissertation presents the design, implementation, and validation of a custom Battery Management System prototype tailored for the Formula Student FEUP electric vehicle. The project is motivated by the increasing demand for high-performance, reliable, and adaptable energy management systems in modern electric vehicles. The proposed system is tailored to match the specific needs of the FSFEUP team while remaining compliant with Formula Student regulations.
The development process follows the ASPICE framework and leverages both the V-model and Model-Based Systems Engineering methodologies to ensure traceability, structured decomposition of requirements, and rigorous verification at each development level. These principles guided the entire process, from early conceptual modeling to embedded validation, ensuring that all system functions could be progressively verified and tested.
The project begins with a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the art in battery management, investigating existing technologies and available solutions. Following this, a detailed evaluation of the commercial BMS previously used by the team was conducted. This analysis identifies key limitations in mechanical integration, temperature monitoring, scalability, and configurability, motivating the design of a new decentralized master-slave architecture. The proposed solution introduces real-time acquisition of voltage, temperature, and current, a hybrid state of charge (SOC) estimation algorithm, precise cell balancing control mechanisms, dynamic current control limits adaptable to the varied scenarios encountered in Formula Student events, diagnostic and protection.
All simulations and physical tests conducted throughout this project were purposefully designed with well-defined objectives. Each validation step was carefully planned to evaluate specific system behaviors and performance metrics. This methodical approach ensured that every component and algorithm of the BMS was tested under relevant operational conditions, allowing for informed refinements and robust validation of the system. The final result is a fully functional prototype that meets the key requirements outlined at the beginning of the project, demonstrating both the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed architecture. Beyond its technical success, the project also offers a solid foundation and valuable insights for future developments, particularly in adapting, evolving and expanding this solution for future research and development in the field of BMS technology, particularly within the context of the continuation of this project.