Build Detailed Model of Battery Pack From Pouch Cells
This example shows how to create and build Simscape™ system models for various battery designs and configurations based on pouch battery cells in Simscape™ Battery™. The buildBattery
function allows you to automatically generate Simscape models for these Simscape Battery objects:
This function creates a library in your working folder that contains a system model block of a battery pack that you can use as reference in your simulations. The run-time parameters for these models, such as the battery cell impedance or the battery open-circuit voltage, are defined after the model creation and are therefore not covered by the Battery Pack Builder classes. To define the run-time parameters, you can either specify them in the block mask of the generated Simscape models or use the MaskParameters argument of the buildBattery
function.
During the first half of this example, you first define the key properties of a pouch battery cell and block model. You then use this pouch battery cell as a fundamental repeating unit inside a parallel assembly component. In the industry this component is also called a "sub-module", a "super-cell", a "P-set", or just a "cell". You later employ this parallel assembly to define a battery module, which is then used to create a module assembly and finally a battery pack. These larger battery systems all use the battery cell as a fundamental repeating unit. Throughout the workflow, you visualize the geometry and the relative positioning of these battery systems by using the BatteryChart
object.
In the second half of the example, you modify the modeling methodology and the model resolution of the Module
, ModuleAssemblies
, and Pack
objects before generating the final Simscape battery model. You can perform the geometrical aggregation or stacking of any battery object along the sequence either along the X
or Y
axis. These axis mirror the Vehicle Coordinate System (Z-up).
To use the functions and objects in Simscape Battery, first import the required Simscape Battery package:
import simscape.battery.builder.*
Create and Visualize Battery Objects in MATLAB
To create a battery pack, you must first design and create the foundational elements of the battery pack.
This uifigure shows the overall process to create a battery pack object in a bottom-up approach:
A battery pack comprises multiple module assemblies. These module assemblies, in turn, comprise a number of battery modules connected electrically in series or in parallel. The battery modules are made of multiple parallel assemblies which, in turn, comprise a number of battery cells connected electrically in parallel under a specific topological configuration or geometrical arrangement.
Create and Visualize Battery Cell Object
A battery cell is an electrochemical energy storage device that provides electrical energy from stored chemical energy. An electrochemical battery cell is the fundamental building block in the manufacturing of larger battery systems. To obtain the required energy and voltage levels, multiple battery cells are typically connected electrically in parallel and/or in series.
To mirror the real-world behavior, the Simscape Battery Cell
object is the foundational element for the creation of a battery pack system model. You can create all battery classes without any inputs. To create a battery cell, use the Cell
object.
batteryCell = Cell();
To meet the battery packaging and space requirements, you can arrange the battery cells in three main geometrical arrangements: cylindrical, pouch, or prismatic. To be able to visualize a single battery cell, you must first define its geometry.
Define a pouch geometry by using the PouchGeometry
object.
cellGeometry = PouchGeometry();
The PouchGeometry
object has six properties:
Length — Length of the pouch geometry, specified as a
simscape.Value
object that represents a scalar with a unit of length.Thickness — Thickness of the pouch geometry, specified as a
simscape.Value
object that represents a scalar with a unit of length.Height — Height of the pouch geometry, specified as a
simscape.Value
object that represents a scalar with a unit of length.TabLocation — Location of the tabs of a pouch battery cell, specified as either
Standard
orOpposed
.TabWidth — Width of the tab of a pouch battery cell, specified as a
simscape.Value
object that represents a scalar with a unit of length.TabHeight — Height of the tab of a pouch battery cell, specified as a
simscape.Value
object that represents a scalar with a unit of length.
Specify custom values for the Length, Height, TabWidth, and TabLocation properties of the pouch geometry.
cellGeometry.Length = simscape.Value(0.36, "m"); cellGeometry.Height = simscape.Value(0.13, "m"); cellGeometry.TabWidth = simscape.Value(0.05, "m"); cellGeometry.TabLocation = "Opposed";
For more information on the possible geometrical arrangements of a battery cell, see the CylindricalGeometry
and PrismaticGeometry
documentation pages.
You can now link this geometry object to the battery cell by accessing the Geometry property of the batteryCell
object.
batteryCell.Geometry = cellGeometry;
Specify a custom value for the mass of the battery cell by using the Mass property.
batteryCell.Mass = simscape.Value(0.8,"kg");
disp(batteryCell)
Cell with properties: Geometry: [1x1 simscape.battery.builder.PouchGeometry] CellModelOptions: [1x1 simscape.battery.builder.CellModelBlock] Mass: [1x1 simscape.Value] Show all properties
Visualize the battery cell by using the BatteryChart
object. Create the uifigure where you want to visualize your battery cell.
f = uifigure("Color", "white");
Then use the BatteryChart
object to visualize the battery cell.
cellChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = batteryCell);
title(cellChart, "Pouch Cell")
By default, the Battery (Table-Based) block is the electrical and thermal model used to represent and simulate this battery cell in Simscape. When scaled up into larger battery systems like a parallel assembly or a module, this model is also scaled up accordingly depending on the model resolution. To display the information about the cell model block, use the CellModelOptions property of the batteryCell
object.
disp(batteryCell.CellModelOptions.CellModelBlockPath);
batt_lib/Cells/Battery (Table-Based)
The Cell
object also allows you to simulate the thermal effects of the battery cell by using a simple 1-D model. To simulate the thermal effects of the battery cell, in the BlockParameters property of the CellModelOptions property of the Cell
object, set the thermal_port parameter to "model"
.
batteryCell.CellModelOptions.BlockParameters.thermal_port = "model";
You can modify all the conditional parameters of the Battery (Table-Based) block by using the CellModelOptions property.
disp(batteryCell.CellModelOptions.BlockParameters);
T_dependence: no thermal_port: model prm_age_OCV: OCV prm_age_capacity: disabled prm_age_resistance: disabled prm_age_modeling: equation prm_dyn: off prm_dir: noCurrentDirectionality prm_fade: disabled prm_leak: disabled
Create and Visualize Battery ParallelAssembly Object
A battery parallel assembly comprises multiple battery cells connected electrically in parallel under a specific topological configuration or geometrical arrangement. You can specify the number of cells connected in parallel by using the NumParallelCells property.
In this example, you create a parallel assembly using four of the cylindrical cells created in the previous step, stacked in a single stack topology with a gap between the cells equal to 0.001 meters.
parallelAssembly = ParallelAssembly(... NumParallelCells = 4, ... Cell = batteryCell, ... Topology = "SingleStack", ... InterCellGap = simscape.Value(0.001, "m"));
The Topology property is a function of the cell format. For pouch cells, the onlyavailable topology is "SingleStack"
. By default, the ParallelAssembly object stacks the cells along the Y
axis.
Visualize the battery parallel assembly. Create the uifigure where you want to visualize your battery parallel assembly and use the BatteryChart
object.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); parallelAssemblyChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = parallelAssembly); title(parallelAssemblyChart, "Parallel Assembly Chart")
You can modify all the public properties inside the parallel assembly after its creation.
You can check the cell packaging volume and the mass of any battery by accessing the PackagingVolume and CumulativeMass properties.
disp(parallelAssembly.PackagingVolume)
0.0022 : m^3
disp(parallelAssembly.CumulativeMass)
3.2000 : kg
Create and Visualize Battery Module Object
A battery module comprises multiple parallel assemblies connected in series. You can specify the number of parallel assemblies connected in series by using the NumSeriesAssemblies property. You can stack or geometrically assemble batteries along the X
or Y
axis of a Cartesian coordinate system by using the StackingAxis property.
In this example, you create a battery module using 14 parallel assemblies that you created in the previous step with an intergap between each assembly equal to 0.008 meters.
module = Module(... ParallelAssembly = parallelAssembly, ... NumSeriesAssemblies = 14, ... InterParallelAssemblyGap = simscape.Value(0.008, "m"));
Visualize the battery Module
object. Create the uifigure where you want to visualize your battery module and use the BatteryChart
object.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = module); title(moduleChart, "Module Chart")
Display the total packacing volume and cumulative mass of your battery module.
disp(module.PackagingVolume)
0.0358 : m^3
disp(module.CumulativeMass)
44.8000 : kg
You can modify all the public properties inside the module after its creation.
Create and Visualize Battery ModuleAssembly Object
A battery module assembly comprises multiple battery modules connected in series or in parallel. You can define the number and types of modules by using the Module property. If a module assembly comprises many identical modules, use the repmat function. Otherwise use an array of distinct modules.
In this example, you create a battery module assembly by using two identical modules of the Module
object you created in the previous step, with an intergap between each module equal to 0.1 meters. By default, the ModuleAssembly
object electrically connects the modules in series.
moduleAssembly = ModuleAssembly(... Module = repmat(module,1,2), ... InterModuleGap = simscape.Value(0.1, "m"));
Visualize the battery ModuleAssembly
object. Create the uifigure where you want to visualize your battery module assembly and use the BatteryChart
object.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = moduleAssembly); title(moduleChart, "Module Assembly Chart")
All battery objects, including modules, have a Name property. The ModuleAssembly object automatically assigns a unique name to all of its modules. To display the name of each module in your ModuleAssembly
object, use the Name property.
disp(moduleAssembly.Module(1).Name);
Module1
disp(moduleAssembly.Module(2).Name);
Module2
You can modify the Name property to rename any of the modules inside a module assembly. Specify a new name for the two modules in your battery module assembly.
moduleAssembly.Module(1).Name = "MyModuleA"; moduleAssembly.Module(2).Name = "MyModuleB";
These names are the names of the subsystem block that you generate when you run the buildBattery function at the end of this example.
disp(moduleAssembly.Module(1).Name);
MyModuleA
disp(moduleAssembly.Module(2).Name);
MyModuleB
A ModuleAssembly
battery object also allows you to stack the modules along the Z axis. To stack modules along the Z axis, use the NumLevels property.The NumLevels property defines the number of levels, tiers, or floors of the module assembly. The ModuleAssembly
object stacks the modules symmetrically according to the number of levels and modules in the assembly.
For example, create a new module assembly object that comprises 4 identical modules stacked along the Z axis on two levels.
zStackedModuleAssembly = ModuleAssembly(... Module = repmat(module,1,4), ... NumLevel = 2,... InterModuleGap = simscape.Value(0.1, "m"));
Visualize the ModuleAssembly
object, zStackedModuleAssembly
.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleAssemblyChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = zStackedModuleAssembly); title(moduleAssemblyChart, "Module Assembly Chart")
Create and Visualize Battery Pack Object
You now have all the foundational elements to create your battery pack. A battery pack comprises multiple module assemblies connected in series or in parallel. You can define the number and types of module assemblies by using the ModuleAssembly property. If a pack comprises many identical module assemblies, use the repmat
function. Otherwise use an array of distinct module assemblies.
In this example, you create a battery pack of 4 module assemblies. The first module assembly is the module assembly stacked along the Z axis, zStackedModuleAssembly. The other three module assemblies are three identical module assemblies that you created in the previous step.
batteryPack2 = Pack(... ModuleAssembly = [zStackedModuleAssembly, repmat(moduleAssembly,1,3)], ... StackingAxis = "X",... InterModuleAssemblyGap = simscape.Value(0.005, "m"));
Visualize the battery Pack
object. Create the uifigure where you want to visualize your battery pack and use the BatteryChart
object.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); packChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = batteryPack2); title(packChart, "Pack Chart")
The Pack
object automatically assigns a unique name to all of its module assemblies upon creation. To display the name of each module assembly in your Pack
object, use the Name property.
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(1).Name);
ModuleAssembly1
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(2).Name);
ModuleAssembly2
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(3).Name);
ModuleAssembly3
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(4).Name);
ModuleAssembly4
You can use a Pack
object to define a common cell balancing strategy for all the modules inside the pack by specifying the BalancingStrategy property.
batteryPack2.BalancingStrategy = "Passive";
Modifying this property at this level automatically modifies the same property inside all of the underlying module components in the battery pack. Check the balancing strategy of the modules inside your battery pack.
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(1).Module(1).BalancingStrategy);
Passive
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(2).Module(1).BalancingStrategy);
Passive
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(3).Module(1).BalancingStrategy);
Passive
disp(batteryPack2.ModuleAssembly(4).Module(1).BalancingStrategy);
Passive
The BalancingStrategy property of each module in the pack updated to reflect the change you have applied to the BalancingStrategy property of your Pack
object.
Use the PackagingVolume and CumulativeMass properties to display the cumulative pack mass and packaging volume of your battery pack.
disp(batteryPack2.PackagingVolume)
0.3579 : m^3
disp(batteryPack2.CumulativeMass)
448 : kg
Modify Model Resolution of Battery Objects
ParallelAssembly
and Module
objects have a ModelResolution property that allows you to set the level of fidelity of the generated Simscape model used in simulations. You can specify the ModelResolution property to either:
Lumped
— Lowest fidelity. The battery object uses only one electrical model with parameters scaled up according to the number of cells in series and in parallel. To obtain the fastest compilation time and running time, use this value.Detailed
— Highest fidelity. The battery object uses one electrical model and one thermal model for each battery cell.Grouped
— Custom simulation strategy, available only toModule
objects.
You can view the simulation strategy by using the SimulationStrategyVisible property of the BatteryChart
object.
Modify Model Resolution for ParallelAssembly Object
A ParallelAssembly
object uses a single battery Cell
object as foundational repeating unit upon its creation. The single cell model is scaled up depending on the model resolution of the parallel assembly. If you set the ModelResolution property of the parallel assembly to "Lumped"
, all relevant model parameters (such as the resistance) are scaled up by using the number of cells connected in parallel, P
, as a multiplication factor:
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly open-circuit voltage (V) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly resistance (Ohm) — ,
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly capacitance (F) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly capacity (Ah) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly thermal mass (J/K) —
Create a new ParallelAssembly
object with the battery cell that you created at the beginning of this example. By default, the ModelResoultion property of a ParallelAssembly
object is set to "Lumped".
lumpedParallelAssembly = ParallelAssembly(... NumParallelCells = 4, ... Cell = batteryCell, ... Topology = "SingleStack", ... InterCellGap = simscape.Value(0.001, "m"));
Visualize the ParallelAssembly
object and check the model resolution by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); paralllelAssemblyChartLumped = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = lumpedParallelAssembly, SimulationStrategyVisible = "on");
Only one single cell model block represents all the cell components inside the orange box.
If you set the ModelResolution property of the parallel assembly to "Detailed"
, the ParallelAssembly
object instantiates a number of cell model blocks equal to the value of the NumParallelCells property and connects them electrically in parallel in Simscape.
Change the model resolution of the previous ParallelAssembly
object to "Detailed"
and visualize it by using the BatteryChart
object and by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
detailedPset = lumpedParallelAssembly; detailedPset.ModelResolution = "Detailed"; f = uifigure("Color", "white"); paralllelAssemblyChartDetailed = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = detailedPset, SimulationStrategyVisible = "on");
A number of cell model blocks equal to the value of the NumParallelCells property represents each cell component.
Modify Model Resolution for Module Object
Lumped Module Resolution
By default, the model resolution in modules and parallel assemblies is set to "Lumped"
. This means that the generated battery model in Simscape only uses one electrical model to electrically simulate all the battery cells within that system.
Check how the lumped module resolution works in Module
objects. Create a Module
object that comprises 14 parallel assemblies.
lumpedModule = Module(... ParallelAssembly = parallelAssembly, ... NumSeriesAssemblies = 14, ... InterParallelAssemblyGap = simscape.Value(0.008, "m"), ... ModelResolution = "Lumped");
Visualize the Module
object and check the model resolution by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleChartLumped = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = lumpedModule, SimulationStrategyVisible = "on");
One electrical cell model simulates all the cells contained in the dotted orange box. The cell model parameters are scaled up using the number of parallel assemblies connected in series, S, and the number of cells connected in parallel, P, as a multiplication factor:
Cell-to-Module open-circuit voltage (V) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly resistance (Ohm) — ,
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly capacitance (F) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly capacity (Ah) —
Cell-to-ParallelAssembly thermal mass (J/K) —
Detailed Module Resolution
Now change the model resolution of the previous Module
object to "Detailed"
and visualize it by using the BatteryChart
object and by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
detailedModule = lumpedModule; detailedModule.ParallelAssembly.ModelResolution = "Detailed"; detailedModule.ModelResolution = "Detailed";
For pouch modules, the "Detailed" model resolution is not recommended as many cells are present and it is important to keep the total number of models between 30 and 50.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleChartDetailed = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = detailedModule, SimulationStrategyVisible = "on");
A number of cell model blocks equal to the value of the NumParallelCells property represents each cell component.
Grouped Module Resolution
For battery modules, you can also set the ModelResolution property to "Grouped"
. This simulation strategy helps increasing the model performance.
module.ModelResolution = "Grouped";
When you set the ModelResolution property of a module to "Grouped", you can define an additional simulation strategy by using the SeriesGrouping and ParallelGrouping properties:
SeriesGrouping — Custom modeling strategy for the module along the series connections, specified as a strictly positive array of doubles. The length of the array of this property specifies the number of individual electrical models required. Each element value of this array specifies how many parallel assemblies are lumped within the specified electrical model. The sum of the elements in the array must be equal to value of the NumSeriesAssemblies property.
module.SeriesGrouping = [1,12,1]; f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleChartGrouped = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = module, SimulationStrategyVisible = "on");
ParallelGrouping — Custom modeling strategy for the module for every parallel assembly defined in the SeriesGrouping property, specified as a strictly positive array of doubles. The length of the array of this property must be equal to the length of the array of the SeriesGrouping property. Each element of this array specifies the number of individual electrical models for every element in the array of the SeriesGrouping property. The values of the elements of this array can be equal only to either 1 or the value of the NumParallelCells property. For example, if your module comprises four parallel assemblies (NumSeriesAssemblies = 4), 48 pouch cells for each parallel assembly (NumParallelCells = 48), and three individual electrical models where the first model comprises two of the original parallel assemblies (SeriesGrouping = [2 1 1]), then if you set this property to
[1 1 48]
, the module is discretized in 50 individual electrical models where each cell of the fourth parallel assembly has an electrical model.
Assign Model Resolution for ModuleAssembly Object
A ModuleAssembly
object inherits the model resolution of its battery modules.
Create a ModuleAssembly
object by using the lumpedModule Module
object that you created previously.
module.ModelResolution = "Lumped"; moduleAssemblyLumped = ModuleAssembly(... Module = repmat(module,1,2), ... InterModuleGap = simscape.Value(0.1, "m"));
Then visualize the ModuleAssembly
object and check the model resolution by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); moduleAssemblyChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = moduleAssemblyLumped , SimulationStrategyVisible = "on"); title(moduleAssemblyChart, "Module Assembly Grouped Simulation Strategy Chart" )
The ModelResolution property of the ModuleAssembly
object you just created is automatically set to "Lumped"
because the ModelResolution properties of its modules are set to "Lumped"
.
Assign Model Resolution for Pack Object
A Pack
object inherits the model resolution of its battery module assemblies.
Create a Pack
object by using the moduleAssemblyLumped ModuleAssembly
object that you created in the previous step.
packLumped = Pack(... ModuleAssembly = repmat(moduleAssemblyLumped,1,4), ... StackingAxis = "X",... InterModuleAssemblyGap = simscape.Value(0.01, "m"));
Then visualize the Pack
object and check the model resolution by setting the SimulationStrategyVisible property to "on"
.
f = uifigure("Color", "white"); packLumpedChart = BatteryChart(Parent = f, Battery = packLumped , SimulationStrategyVisible = "on"); title(packLumpedChart, "Pack Lumped Simulation Strategy Chart")
The ModelResolution property of the Pack
object you just created is automatically set to "Lumped"
because the ModelResolution properties of its module assemblies are set to "Lumped"
.
Build Simscape Model for the Battery Objects
After you have created your battery objects, you need to convert them into Simscape models to be able to use them in block diagrams. You can then use these models as reference for your system integration and requirement evaluation, cooling system design, control strategy development, hardware-in-the-loop, and much more.
To create a library that contains the Simscape Battery model of all the batteries object you created in this example, use the buildBattery
function.
buildBattery(packLumped,"LibraryName","pouchPackExample");
Generating Simulink library 'pouchPackExample_lib' in the current directory '/tmp/Bdoc22b_2134332_1821819/tpacc0024e/simscapebattery-ex44851244' ...
This function creates the pouchPackExample_lib
and pouchPackExample
SLX library files in your working directory. The pouchPackExample_lib
library contains the Modules and ParallelAssemblies sublibraries.
To access the Simscape models of your Module
and ParallelAssembly
objects, open the pouchPackExample_lib
. SLX file, double-click the sublibrary, and drag the Simscape blocks in your model.
The pouchPackExample
library contains the Simscape models of your ModuleAssembly
and Pack
objects.
The Simscape models of your ModuleAssembly
and Pack
objects are subsystems. You can look inside these subsystems by opening the packLibrary
SLX file and double-click the subsystem.