Firmware Development Concepts for a commercial Fuel Cell and Battery Monitoring Equipment

Student Target Groups

§ Information and Computer Engineering§ Electrical Engineering

Thesis Type

§ Master Thesis orMaster Project + Master Thesis

Recommended Prior Knowledge

§ Knowledge of C coding§ Electrotechnical comprehension

Used Tools & Equipment

§ TMS320 µC (AVL THDA )™

Open Thesis / Project:

Contact & Information

Prof. Marcel Baunach baunach@tugraz.at

Dr. Stefan Pofahl stefan.pofahl@avl.com

Tobias Scheipel tobias.scheipel@tugraz.at

http://www.tugraz.at/en/institute/iti/teaching/open-theses/

Institute of Technical Informatics - Embedded Automotive Systems Group

AVL List GmbH EAS

Motivation & Summary

AVL THDA™ is a commercial product to monitor fuel cells and batteries. Currently, the monitoring function is implemented for low temperature PEM fuel cells (LT-PEMFC). The development of algorithms to also monitor other electrochemical cells (cell stacks) is ongoing, examples are HT-PEMFC, LT-PEMFC electrolyzer, SOFC and thermal run-away detection for Li-batteries.With ongoing research projects, the thesis aims on extending and improving the existing device firmware to support new cell types. Furthermore, it deals with the implementation of innovative amplitude estimation methods.

Goals and Tasks

1. Optimization of the current THDA -Hardware (HW):™The current internal sampling rate is 8.1 kHz. The used sigma delta ADC are capable to be operated at higher bandwidth. However, the limiting factor is the micro controller (TMS320). Steps like dimensioning of hardware components for higher frequencies must be taken to increase the bandwidth above 50 kHz.2. Implementation of a Data Exchange Interface:To transfer the high frequency data, an additional data communication portneeds to be added (e.g., Ethernet or USB).3. Evaluation of Time-Domain based Algorithms Inside the Existing HW:THDA estimates amplitudes of harmonic signals at the output (e.g., Voltage) that are generated by harmonic input excitations (e.g., AC current). The current estimation algorithm inside the firmware is based on the fast Fourier transformation (FFT) in the frequency domain. As an alternative, the on-line estimation of harmonic amplitudes can be accomplished in the time domain by suitable filter algorithms. In a previous master thesis innovative algorithms have been investigated. The algorithms are available as Matlab functions. It should be clarified, if it is advantageous to implement one of these new amplitude estimation methods within the firmware.