Hey guys, I'm pretty new here. I'm in the automotive field and have been expanding my knowledge in the electrical area. I have been browsing around and using the available resources and so far they have been great.

I have very little knowledge when it comes to lithium ion batteries and I want to get a firm grip on them. In the automotive field we use a battery pack and a battery management system. I need to get a good understanding on battery packs, choosing the best size, and how to manage that battery for best efficiency and reliability.


Anyone have a few good recommendations?

 

Welcome to AAC!

This is my first stop for battery information:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/

 

Nobody can know it all and keep it stored in ones head.

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/

That is where the experts look to find the details on a case-by-case basis.
The only Universal Truth I can give you without looking it up is, "A full battery is a happy battery."
Keep 'em charged for best longevity.

After you did your homework, you are welcome to ask specific questions.

 

Thanks for the link guys. I'm certainly not looking for all the answers here. I just want a solid base and then hopefully that will keep questions to a minimum

 

Nobody can know it all and keep it stored in ones head.

That is where the experts look to find the details on a case-by-case basis.
The only Universal Truth I can give you without looking it up is, "A full battery is a happy battery."
Keep 'em charged for best longevity.

After you did your homework, you are welcome to ask specific questions.

Actually, I think it is better to store Li-Ion batteries at 40-50% charge, so not a complete universal truth. Not a critical difference either if you store them hi charge unless you also store them in a hot environment.

For the OP, I second that website, it is great. You should also check out some of the Adafruit Li-Ion charger widgets. You can download their schematics for free online to get an idea how they are designed to learn from. Can also go to digikey/mouser and just browse the charging chips themselves to get a better understanding of what is going on.

Tesla specifically, but other companies too, have been showing a lot of research into the "additives" they put in their Li-Ion batteries that change there properties to be more favorable (more cold resistance, lose less charge over time on the shelf, ect.). Might try going down that rabbit hole. A lot of it can be found online if you look around.

Lastly, maybe take a step back and look at all battery types currently available and why each type is best for certain applications. Answering why a car has a Lead Acid battery, a cell phone a Li-Ion battery, and a smoke alarm has a 9 volt battery, will probably give you a better understanding as well.

 

hopefully that will keep questions to a minimum

It's not that we hate questions, it's more like, "If the answer is the size of a book, look at the book first."
Saves time for both of us.

I think it is better to store Li-Ion batteries at 40-50% charge,

If you can point to a reference, I will look at it.
If you can't, I will just continue watching and learning, as usual.

 

I think it is better to store Li-Ion batteries at 40-50% charge,

I looked it up.
battery university says 60%
That's 3.92 volts on a 4.2V battery.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries