High-end lithium-ion batteries are becoming more widely used in applications where a large power supply is required but space is very restricted. However, the use of this kind of battery has raised safety concerns as they can become unstable and are a potential fire hazard. In order to not compromise on safety Curtiss-Wright has developed an Ethernet based system for monitoring battery health.
A typical system can be composed of one or two redundant data acquisition units which monitor critical parameters including:
- Cell voltage
- Battery voltage
- Temperature
- Gas pressures
- Health and usage
The Acra KAM-500 is a compact, lightweight, standalone Ethernet data acquisition and monitoring system. It is driven by hardwired finite state machines with a ‘works once, works always’ operation to make it extremely reliable. The low power design results in less heat and, coupled with its compact size and MIL-SPEC ruggedness, makes it ideal for installing in locations that have limited space and are subject to harsh environments. The system includes a built-in test capability to ensure reliability.
The DAU achieves high performance by utilizing a 100% digital architecture to support a throughput of up to 64Mbps per unit, aggregating up to a gigabit per second throughput for a network distributed system. This mature architecture has remained stable for over a decade thanks to the future proof design philosophy. This eliminates the need to refresh a product line every few years, offers unequaled backwards compatibility and means there is a vast selection of modules available. The Acra KAM-500 range includes plug-in Ethernet switch modules that are perfect for applications where space is at an absolute premium or where only a few ports are required e.g. in a small network or remote location.
Plug-in Module Specification
Parameters | KAM-500 | Description |
---|---|---|
Battery voltage | KAD/ADC/130 | 4-channel ±200V D/E analog-to-digital converter |
Cell voltage | KAD/ADC/132 | 24-channel ±200 V common mode voltage ladder analog-to-digital converter |
Temperature | KAD/TDC/109 | 16-channel A/D converter with excitation for use with AD590 sensors |
Health & Usage | KAD/UTL/106 | Battery usage and health monitor |
Recorder | KAM/MEM/103 | CompactFlash Memory |
Video | KAD/VID/106 | H.264 video encoder |
Discrete | KAD/DSI/102 | Discrete input (counters, time tagging) |