Characterising a battery means putting it to work: repeated charge and discharge cycles, capacity measurement, thermal behaviour and ageing. The power supply then has to be as accurate when charging as when absorbing.
Our Microlab power supplies operate in 2 or 4 quadrants, so the same unit can both source and absorb power.
A battery test bench runs through controlled charge and discharge cycles . The aim is to check the real capacity of a cell, its voltage curve, its behaviour at different current rates and how its performance evolves cycle after cycle.
The applications are wide-ranging: traction packs, backup batteries, stationary storage systems, aerospace and rail units, laboratory cells. Each family imposes its own protocol, but all of them call for fine current control.
What is distinctive about these tests is that they are bidirectional. When charging, the unit supplies the energy; when discharging, it has to take it back. Operation in 4 quadrants covers both directions with a single unit, without switching hardware halfway through the protocol.
The battery is brought to temperature and connected to the bench.
The power supply applies a defined current and voltage profile.
The current is taken back and measured to establish the real capacity.
The sequence is repeated to assess ageing.
A battery cycle tolerates neither setpoint overshoot nor drift: current accuracy directly determines the capacity value measured, and therefore the conclusion of the test.
The Microlab range was designed for this kind of use, with operation in 2 or 4 quadrants and fine regulation across the whole range. Combined with the digital control options, it integrates into the bench sequencing software and runs a complete protocol without manual intervention.
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