Battery Model and Analysis with Wolfram SystemModeler
Explore the contents of this article with a free Wolfram SystemModeler trial. How do different activities such as making phone calls, watching video, listening to music, or browsing the web affect cell phone battery life? What about the temperature—does it matter if the cell phone is in a warm pocket or out in the cold? In this blog post, we'll investigate how a model constructed with Wolfram SystemModeler can help in finding answers to such questions.
An area where battery usage is taking off right now is cell phones. There are different kinds of battery types used in cell phones: nickel metal hydride, lithium-polymer, and Li-ion. The superior energy density, power density, low self-discharge, and long cycle life of the Li-ion batteries makes them interesting for cell phone applications. In this blog post, we'll look at Li-ion cells of the type LiFePO4, where lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and the other way around when charging.
The are many types of battery models: analytical, electrical circuits, electrochemical, and combinations of these types. Our model of choice is the electrical circuit model, which provides sufficient accuracy for top-level performance analysis and is easy to connect to other systems.
A typical schematic for an electrical circuit model of a battery cell might look something like this: