DRIVING CYCLE TESTING OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE-BATTERIES AND SYSTEMS

Testing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) has two distinct focuses. For batteries, testing concentrates on optimizing battery performance and cycle life. It normally uses constant current or constant power and simple cycles. For EV systems, testing focuses on the total vehicle including the battery. This testing is multifaceted and usually involves a complex driving life cycle. These tests are demanding and require much higher physical and electrical performance than a constant-current cycling regime. Tests commonly used today are FUDS, SFUDS and GSFUDS life cycle profiles. These tests have shown to be a much better prediction of battery life cycle performance than is constant-current or constant-power cycling. Driving life cycle tests are one facet of the six characteristics considered when evaluating EV batteries and EV systems.