Estimating the SOH and Estimating the SOC of an Electrochemical Element

A method for estimating the state of charge (SOC) of an electrochemical element, comprising:

• an initiation of a charge or discharge operation of the electrochemical element;
• a measurement of values representing deformations of the electrochemical element while the charge or discharge operation is being performed, the measured deformation values forming a deformations image signal as a function of the quantity of electricity passing through the electrochemical element over time;
• a comparison between the deformations image signal and a reference image signal, one or more differences obtained by the comparison characterizing an estimation of aging of the electrochemical element;
• a determination of a range of state of charge values (SOC) bounded by a first value SOCPeakMin that represents the current SOC of the element for a minimum value of the deformations image signal, and a second value SOCPeakMax that represents the current SOC of the element for a maximum value of the deformations image signal, and outside of the said range the calibration of the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the electrochemical element is achievable.

An assembly comprising:

• a system comprising:
• a deformation sensor for detecting deformations of the electrochemical element;
• a management unit for managing the electrochemical element, the management unit being in communication with the sensor and comprising a computing unit coupled to a memory storage unit, with the memory storage unit storing program code instructions for the execution by the computer unit of a method for estimating the state of charge (SOC) of an electrochemical element, the method comprising:
• an initiation of a charge or discharge operation of the electrochemical element,
• a measurement of values representing deformations of the electrochemical element while the charge or discharge operation is being performed, the measured deformation values forming a deformations image signal as a function of the quantity of electricity passing through the electrochemical element over time;
• a comparison between the deformations image signal and a reference image signal, one or more differences obtained by the comparison characterizing an estimation of aging of the electrochemical element;
• and
• a determination of a range of state of charge values (SOC) bounded by a first value SOCPeakMin that represents the current SOC of the element for a minimum value of the deformations image signal, and a second value SOCPeakMax that represents the current SOC of the element for a maximum value of the deformations image signal, and outside of the said range the calibration of the open circuit voltage (OCV) of the electrochemical element is achievable;
• and
• a battery comprising at least one electrochemical element coupled with the deformation sensor.