Li-Ion Battery Anode State of Charge Estimation and Degradation Monitoring Using Battery Casing via Unknown Input Observer

The anode state of charge (SOC) and degradation information pertaining to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is crucial for understanding battery degradation over time. This information about each cell in a battery pack can help prolong the battery pack’s life cycle. Because of the limited observability, estimating the anode state and capacity fade is difficult. This task is even more challenging for the cells in a battery pack, as the current through the individual cell is not constant when cells are connected in parallel. Considering these challenges, this paper presents a novel method to set up three-electrode cells by using the battery’s casing as a reference electrode for building a three-electrode battery pack. This work is a continuation of the authors’ previous research. An unknown input observer (UIO) is employed to estimate the anode SOC of an individual battery in the battery pack. To ensure the stability of a defined Lyapunov function, the UIO parameter matrices are expressed as a linear matrix inequality (LMI). The anode SOC of a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) battery is estimated by using the standard graphite potential (SGP) and state of lithiation (SOL) characteristic curve. The anode capacity is then calculated by using the total charge transferred in a charging cycle and the estimated SOC of the anode. The degradation of the battery is then evaluated by comparing the capacity fading of the anode to the total charge carried to the cell. The proposed method can estimate the anode SOC and capacity fade of an individual battery in a battery pack, which can monitor the degradation of the individual batteries and the battery pack in real time. By using the proposed method, we can identify the over-degraded batteries in the pack for remaining useful life analysis on the battery.