Dynamic modeling of electrochemical systems using linear graph theory

Abstract

An electrochemical cell is a multidisciplinary system which involves complex chemical, electrical, and thermodynamical processes. The primary objective of this paper is to develop a linear graph-theoretical modeling for the dynamic description of electrochemical systems through the representation of the system topologies. After a brief introduction to the topic and a review of linear graphs, an approach to develop linear graphs for electrochemical systems using a circuitry representation is discussed, followed in turn by the use of the branch and chord transformation techniques to generate final dynamic equations governing the system. As an example, the application of linear graph theory to modeling a nickel metal hydride (NiMH) battery will be presented. Results show that not only the number of equations are reduced significantly, but also the linear graph model simulates faster compared to the original lumped parameter model. The approach presented in this paper can be extended to modeling complex systems such as an electric or hybrid electric vehicle where a battery pack is interconnected with other components in many different domains.