2. Naming Conventions

When working with battery systems, it is vital to use consistent wording. The naming conventions used throughout this documentation for the parts of a battery system are illustrated in Fig. 2.1.

Naming conventions for battery system elements

Fig. 2.1 Naming conventions for battery system elements

  • A battery cell or cell is the smallest unit in a battery system. It has one positive terminal and one negative terminal.

  • Battery cells are usually connected in parallel to enhance the current capability of the system.

  • Battery cells connected in parallel form a (cell-)block.

  • Cells or cell blocks put in series form a battery module.

  • Several modules connected in series form a string.

  • Several strings connected in parallel form a battery pack.

  • The highest unit is the battery system. It is formed by the conjunction of a battery pack and a battery junction box (BJB). The BJB contains the elements used to control the current flow like power contactors and fuses.

The BMS consists of two main components,

  • one BMS-Master and

  • one or more BMS-Slave(s).

Generally, the BMS-Master is connected to the BMS-Slaves via an communication interface. The BMS-Slaves are wired to the battery cells of a module, so that the BMS-Slaves are able to measure specific physical quantities on the module (see Fig. 2.2).

Naming conventions for BMS components

Fig. 2.2 Naming conventions for BMS components