2.1. Optimization Control Strategy to Minimize Aging Cost in a Single Operational Period
Optimization control can be applied to physical objects like battery clusters, a battery cluster, a battery module, or multiple cells. To simplify the discussion process, multiple clusters are considered as the independently controlled objects to elucidate optimization control below. The rotation status (RS) of all battery clusters and their operating boundaries are determined within an operational period, aiming to minimize the predicted aging cost through optimization. The framework of the optimization algorithm is shown in
Figure 2:
A period of time with similar conditions is defined as a study period. Input data collected over this period across multiple years is utilized to create a typical dispatching curve with the latest data gathered and through a fitting process. By employing boundary parameters that ensure effective responses to dispatching instructions, multiple HFs are predicted at the end of an operational period. Subsequently, a comprehensive score is calculated to evaluate aging costs. The Mc-PSO algorithm is then utilized to adjust control variables until operating boundaries are identified that lead to the lowest aging cost.
The optimization model is described as follows:
Optimization objective: minimize predicted aging cost in current period.
Where, m denotes the number of clusters within one battery cabin, taken as m=1, 2, …, M; denotes the predicted aging cost of cluster m.
The constraints are as follows:
The most important constraint is to ensure that performance does not fall below the expectation. Specifically, the execution of dispatching instructions signals the realization of anticipated performance. In simulation operations, the completion of the most rigorous instructions serves as the benchmark, forming the verification module for simulation operations as illustrated in
Figure 2. In addition, it is assumed that no rigorous instructions would remain unfulfilled in real dispatching, based on the principle of negotiating the dispatchable range with the upper-level dispatching system by the EMS of energy storage stations one day in advance: The State of Power (SOP) upper limits reported by EMS would be acknowledged by the upper-level dispatching system, and dispatching curve instructions issued from the upper-level system would not surpass the reported upper limits.
The accumulated maximum available power
of all battery clusters at any given time (t) is greater than or equal to the dispatching power required to be responded by the corresponding battery cabin.
Where,
j denotes the battery cabin number, taken as
j=1, 2, …, J, indicating the number of battery cabins at an energy storage station.
The maximum power does not exceed the C-rate boundary
obtained from a solving process:
Where,
denotes the rated power at a C-rate of 1C.
is constrained by DOD boundaries:
denotes the maximum State of Charge (SOC) value after charging, generally taken as 100%, to ensure that the energy storage station can serve for emergencies in most cases. SOC is subjected to correction using the ampere-hour integral method:
Where,
denotes the effective value of current at a given time (t), with a positive value indicating discharge and a negative value indicating charge.
denotes the time interval and
denotes the rated capacity.
The simulation scenarios in this paper involve SOC calculations based on data with high precision and granularity, to ensure the SOC is error-free. However, SOC may be corrected in engineering applications, following suggestions given in the authors' previous articles[
13].
The operational process fulfill the law of energy conservation:
Where,
QPV denotes the power generation from photovoltaic (PV);
denotes the power consumption of loads from direct PV supply;
denotes the power energy of the energy storage system by charge from the grid;
η denotes the battery discharge efficiency; and
denotes the power supply from batteries to loads.
and
operating boundaries are the variables to be optimized. However, each battery cluster covers the whole optional range, resulting in an intricate solving process. To reduce the solving difficulty and control complexity, the following two methods are applied for simplification. The first method involves taking C values as 0.25, 0.5, …, 1.75 and 2, and DOD as discrete points of 20%, 30%, …,100%, to simplify the solution domain space dimensionality. The second method is to introduce a new variable, Rotation Status in operation, to preliminarily define the range of boundary parameters and narrow the search scope. RS includes stable operation (
S), dynamic operation (
D), and emergency operation (
E). Each rotation status imposes specific constraints on the maximum values of the operating boundaries, as outlined in
Table 1.
Where, D1>D2>D3, C1<C2<C3. For instance, when a high C value is used for emergency operation (E), it is crucial to limit DOD to prevent the undervoltage of certain cells at a low SOC.
Moreover, the rotation status influences the priority of power distribution. The priorities, based on ΔC (absolute value of C-rate change between two scheduling time intervals), are presented below:
Where, represents the steady-state operating battery that has been started, and represents those that have not been started. Ca indicates threshold to determine significant power changes, generally taken as of E.
The general principle is to minimize the frequency of startups by preventing inactive batteries from being enabled frequently. In the case of load increasing, batteries are raised first up to the maximum permissible power. If the demand cannot be satisfied, D batteries take precedence to respond if they remain in operation, before enabling other S batteries. During load shedding, E and D batteries are successively reduced in priority for transition into standby mode.
The following additional operating rules are followed:
(1) In the case of emergency batteries enabled, when other batteries are sufficient to take the place of E batteries, they will be reduced in power at a rate of 2%/s for transition into standby mode.
(2) If other batteries reach the lower limit of DOD, D and E will be enabled to fill the vacancy successively, to meet the requirements of charging and discharging instructions.
Solving method:
The initial values of RS, and generally follow the values in the previous operational period to further speed up the solving process. The reasons include: (1) There is not much difference between the dispatching curves in two consecutive periods. (2) Aging costs arising from changes in HFs increase slowly under circumstances without safety concerns.
The Mc-PSO algorithm is used for solving and its introduction is omitted in this paper as it has been thoroughly explained in the authors' previous literature[
14].
2.2. Rolling Optimization Process for Long-Time Operational Scenarios
Under the constraints of boundary parameters and adhering to actual dispatching curves, the ultimate aging levels of battery packs typically do not match the predicted values precisely. However, the relative magnitude relationship among the aging levels closely mirrors the predictions. To eliminate the estimation errors of HFs after long-term operation, a rolling optimization process is proposed. The energy management system (EMS), integrated with this strategy at energy storage stations, performs periodic control based on boundaries derived from the solving process. Following each period, the multi-dimensional HFs are updated using actual operational data, serving as the algorithm's initial input for the next period. The proposed strategy contributes to minimizing the total aging cost of energy storage systems after extended operational durations, as shown in
Figure 3.
At the end of each operational period, actual data are imported into the battery fault diagnosis system (BFDS) specially developed for energy storage stations, as shown in
Figure 4. The platform developed by the author's team spending over two years integrates multiple functional modules for energy storage stations, such as operational data preprocessing, fault diagnosis, health assessment, and inconsistency analysis. BFDS extracts real HFs as input for a new period and identifies any safety concerns based on these HFs. Any safety concerns identified lead to the suspension of control to initiate the inspection and maintenance process.
The key HFs to be considered include the "capacity diving" risk[
15], temperature rise rate[
16], and internal short-circuit resistance[
17], all of which are strongly linked to the risk of thermal runaway[
18]. When safety risks escalate, batteries are prone to exhibiting "capacity diving." The predictive method has been proposed in the authors' previous papers[
19]. Other common fault diagnosis studies can also be found in the previous related articles[
20,
21]. If a HF deteriorates but is not yet sufficient to cause safety accidents, the aging costs will sharply rise due to the significant decrease in comprehensive scores, leading to stricter control constraints. This mechanism helps to integrate safety into the control strategy to some extent. In the absence of any hidden dangers identified, the solving process for optimization control in subsequent periods is initiated.