Emulation of Analog Front-End isoSPI communication for Battery Management Systems

Abstract: This study aims to investigate how an emulator could be developed as a testing tool for Battery Management Systems (BMS) by emulating the Analog Front­end (AFE) circuit communicating with a control unit for monitoring of Lithium­Ion Batteries. All of the research was conducted in the context of the company Northvolt. By analysing data collected through a questionnaire, it was evident that an emulator testing tool could potentially make the BMS development process significantly more efficient. A demonstrator was developed as a part of the study. It fulfilled almost all of the requirements initially stated, but required the control unit to send commands in a fixed sequence, which the current BMS control unit did not. A fixed sequence would however enable the incorporation of the developed emulator, as well as introducing other advantages such as predictability. The study showed that the most important factor to consider for developing an AFE communication emulator for BMS testing was robustness and repeatability of the timings of the communication signals.