Electric arcs soon to be detected acoustically

Detecting electric arcs in the high-power batteries used in electric vehicles (300 V−400 V, 50 kW−80 kW) is a real challenge, since current and voltage fluctuations tend to interfere with the fleeting signals. However, a team of researchers from Leti, Liten, and GIPSA-Lab may have found the solution in a patented acoustic detection method that they are currently testing on Liten’s electric vehicles.
While characterizing the generic signature of several kinds of arcs, the researchers noted that the arcs’ acoustic waves propagate through the air in a battery pack and frequently reflect off of the pack’s components. Special acoustic sensors to detect these waves are currently under development at a Leti laboratory as part of an EU-funded project.  

Contact: pierre.perichon@cea.fr

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