Systematic Modelling and Design of a Battery Pack for Formula Electric Vehicles

This manuscript presents a systematic approach for the design and development of a 403 V, 7 kWh battery pack for a Formula SAE student racing electric car. The pack is made up of 6 individual segments which are connected in series. Each segment has a maximum energy of 1.17 kWh and is made up of 16 arrays connected in series. Each array holds 8 Lithium-ion batteries which are connected in parallel. The overall design of the battery pack is in full compliance with the Formula SAE rules. The manuscript presents the calculation procedure and battery sizing for the power demand of a typical Formula SAE student racing electric car using vehicle dynamics equations. The entire electric traction system is modelled in Matlab/Simulink. The paper also explains the development process of the 7 kWh battery pack and highlights important design considerations, such as busbar sizing. Finally, this work presents the battery management system (BMS) architecture that will be used to monitor the health and status of the battery pack. A master-slave architecture is used, and each battery segment is provided with its own slave BMS to be controlled by a centralized master unit.