Sakor Rolls out Tester for Hybrid Vehicle Batteries
January 21, 2009
Manufacturers of hybrid vehicles now have a dedicatedbattery tester designed for the high voltages, currents and variable drivecycles of their vehicles.
Sakor Technologies, Inc., a maker of dynamometersfor hybrids, recently rolled out the Hybrid Vehicle Battery Test System, a productspecifically designed for voltages as high as 1,000V and for the real roadloads and unsymmetrical driving cycles that are common to everyday driving.
The systemcould be significant for automakers, which must assess hybrid battery packs thatweigh hundreds of pounds and operate at voltages ranging from 200-600V.
The newsystem's key advantage, however, is that it combines its high voltagecapability with a control system that can be programmed for various types of drivingcycles, much like the dynamometers used in torque testing of engines andelectric motors.
"A batterymay have one level of performance if you just do simple, long-cycle, long-wavetypes of testing," says Randal Beattie, president of Sakor Technologies. "Butthat doesn't necessarily translate well to the mileage you get out of a batterywhen you put it in a real vehicle and subject it to real-world loads. When you dosecond-to-second types of unsymmetrical changes, you get much less performanceout of a battery."
Sakor's systemis driven by the company's DynoLab EM controller and works with itsHybriDriveline Dynamometer, both of which had already been in use for testing ofhybrid motors and inverters. Because the company already had experience withhybrid powertrain technology, it extended its product line to include a hybridbattery tester, Beattie says.
"Hybridvehicle manufacturers need to simulate the second-by-second changes in loadthat occur when a car runs up and down a hill, or comes to a stop light,"Beattie says. "The most important thing is for them to know what kind ofperformance they can really expect out of their battery."
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