Fault Detection Circuit
Objective: Develop a tool to plug into a 24 cell battery stack to detect all incorrect wiring issues. The circuit should meet the following:
- All components must be simple and inexpensive
- Limit the number of components as much as possible
- Detects all overvoltage and undervoltage conditions ranging from 0 -> -103.2V and 8.6V -> 103.2V
Electrical Circuit Design
Overvoltage Condition
8.6V
100V
Undervoltage Condition
-4V
-100V
Normal Condition (4.3V)
Process
- Defined the fault and normal condition ranges to set clear guidelines the circuit must meet.
- Iteratively refined the circuit to resolve cascading design dependencies, ensuring each modification addressed new fault conditions without invalidating prior solutions.
- Selected components with the compliant specs for the circuit.
- Prototyped and verified the circuit for all conditions.
Results
- Developed a working circuit which identified all fault conditions.
- The circuit uses only simple components which are very cheap such as diodes, zener diodes, LEDs, and resistors.