Control, design, and implementation of a low-cost ultracapacitor test system

This paper reviews the ultracapacitor (UC) test procedures, establishes simple and economical power electronic conversion system-based UC test equipment, and experimentally evaluates the performance of a UC module. The power converter hardware structure and control algorithms of the designed system are discussed in detail. The high bandwidth and high accuracy current programming capability of the converter for the purpose of charging and discharging the UC, as required during testing, is illustrated via the experimental results. The UC equivalent circuit parameters are extracted. Successful constant current and constant power charging/discharging operating performances are demonstrated. The results of this study help with the design of simple and economical UC test equipment. Furthermore, the power converter and control algorithm developed and demonstrated can be used for energy management applications involving UCs.