Design Scheme of Lithium Battery for Unmanned Aircraft
I. Background of Unmanned Aircraft
Unmanned aircraft, also known as driverless planes, are unmanned aircraft that are controlled by radio remote control devices or their own program control devices. The main application fields include:
In the military field, it can perform reconnaissance, surveillance, target positioning, communication relay, electronic warfare, attack and other tasks, reducing the risk of casualties.
▲ Civilian field: In agriculture, it is used for plant protection and farmland monitoring; In the field of surveying and mapping, topographic surveying and land measurement can be carried out. The logistics industry attempts to be used for goods distribution; .
New energy lithium batteries, with their advantages of high energy density, light weight, long cycle life and environmental friendliness, are the preferred solution for unmanned flight systems. This solution is designed to meet the application requirements of lithium batteries in unmanned aerial vehicle equipment projects, ensuring that lithium batteries provide safe, efficient and customized power solutions for their equipment.
II. Analysis of Equipment Demand Characteristics
1. Equipment application characteristics
▲ Equipment type: Real-time monitoring operations in high-altitude environments, etc.
▲ Working environment: Temperature range, from -40℃ to +70℃, high temperature, extremely cold, high humidity environment, etc.
▲ Power demand: Large continuous/peak power, long battery life. The voltage platform generally adopts 3.7V or 22V and other voltage platforms.
2. Core requirements for lithium batteries
▲ High safety: Meets the explosion-proof, shock-proof, waterproof and anti-interference requirements of high-altitude equipment under harsh working conditions.
▲ Long cycle life: ≥500 times (80% capacity retention rate).
▲ Fast charging: Supports 1 to 2 hours of fast charging, suitable for high-intensity work.
▲ High-power discharge: The battery supports continuous high-current discharge, meeting the high-current requirements of high-power devices and ensuring their continuous and stable operation.
▲ Intelligent management: The BMS (Battery Management System) is equipped with functions such as overcharge protection, overdischarge protection, overcurrent protection, short-circuit protection, temperature protection, and fault diagnosis, making the battery more intelligent.
▲ Discharge temperature range: -40℃ to +70℃. In a low-temperature environment of -40℃, the battery's discharge efficiency is over 70%. A wider range of ambient temperature adaptability.
▲ Charging temperature: -20 ℃ to +50℃ range, with a wider adaptability to environmental temperatures.
III. Scheme Design
1. Battery selection
▲ Cell types: Ternary lithium batteries (ultra-low temperature, high energy density, high safety), lithium iron phosphate batteries (ultra-low temperature, high safety, long life), sodium-ion batteries (high safety, long life, good low-temperature performance). Different system cells are selected and matched according to different application scenarios.
▲ Battery combination configuration structure: Series and parallel schemes are designed based on the required voltage and capacity of the equipment to meet the requirements of different output voltage platforms.
▲ Structural design: IP68 protection grade, shock-resistant structure, explosion-proof enclosure (suitable for extreme environments or flammable and explosive environments).
2. BMS Management System
Core functions:
▲ Real-time monitoring of the voltage, temperature, SOC (State of Charge), and SOH (State of Health) of individual battery cells.
The battery charging active balancing technology enhances the consistency of usage among battery cells and extends the lifespan of the battery pack.
▲ The I2C/SMBUS/CAN/RS485 communication interface enables data interaction and communication with the main control system of the equipment.
The Coulomb computing method makes the battery SOC more accurate and the battery smarter.
3. Charging solution
▲ Charging equipment: Customized smart charger/charger/charging cabinet, supporting constant current and constant voltage (CC-CV) charging.
▲ Charging strategy: Select fast charging or slow charging mode based on the working conditions to prevent battery overload.
▲ Intelligent control and management: Based on the technical performance characteristics of the battery, the battery charging process and fault diagnosis are intelligently controlled.
IV. Safety and Compliance
1. Safety protection
▲ Thermal management: By adopting a reasonable structural layout, thermal runaway is reduced. Air cooling/liquid cooling systems can be used (for high-power scenarios) to ensure temperature uniformity during battery use and effectively control battery thermal runaway.
▲ Fault protection: Multiple hardware protection mechanisms such as overcharge, overdischarge, short circuit, overcurrent, and over-temperature.
▲ Fault protection: Multiple hardware protection mechanisms such as short circuit, overcurrent, and over-temperature.
▲ Explosion-proof certification: The design can pass various safety regulations certifications.
2. Standard compliance
▲ It complies with national standards such as GB31241-2022 (Safety Technical Specification for Lithium-ion Batteries and Battery Packs for Portable Electronic Products), GB 17761-2024 (Safety Technical Specification for Electric Bicycles), GB/T 34131 (Lithium Batteries for Power Storage), GB 38031 (Safety Requirements for Batteries for Electric Vehicles), etc.
▲ How to obtain domestic and international certifications: GB certification, UN38.3 certification, UL certification, IEC certification, CE certification and other various certification requirements;
V. Project Implementation Plan
Number |
Progress stage |
Project content |
Periodic plan |
1 |
Demand research |
Equipment parameter and working condition data collection |
Within one week |
2 |
Scheme design |
Customized battery packs and BMS development |
2~3weeks |
3 |
Sample testing | Charging and discharging, high and low temperature, safety protection, structural performance verification testing, design compliance verification testing |
3~4weeks |
4 |
Small-batch trial production | Material preparation plan, production assembly, aging, and full inspection and testing |
2~3weeks |
5 |
Medium-batch trial production | Material preparation plan, production assembly, aging, and full inspection and testing |
2~3weeks |
6 |
Mass production | Material preparation plan, production assembly, aging, and full inspection and testing |
4~6weeks |
7 |
Delivery, transportation and maintenance | Installation and commissioning, operation training | Within one week |
VI. Economic Benefit Analysis
1.In terms of cost
▲ Lithium batteries require a relatively large initial investment, but they have an absolute advantage in terms of long-term usage costs.
2. Energy-saving benefits:
▲ The charging efficiency is over 95%, which can significantly reduce energy consumption compared with AC power supply.
3. Maintenance cost:
▲ Maintenance-free design reduces maintenance and personnel costs.
VII. After-sales Service
1. Warranty period: 1 to 5 years of after-sales warranty, with a lifespan of over 500 to 800 cycles (whichever comes first).
2. Remote monitoring: According to the actual demand status, the cloud platform provides real-time monitoring of the battery status and early warning of potential faults.
3. Emergency Response: Respond within 4 hours, provide solutions within 8 hours, and offer on-site technical support within 24 to 48 hours.
Hint:
▲ The plan needs to be refined based on specific equipment parameters (such as voltage, capacity, and size limitations).
▲ It is recommended to conduct joint debugging with the equipment manufacturer to ensure that the battery is compatible with the entire machine system