Configuring the Chamber Slots and Cycler Channels in Parallel

A climate chamber used for cell testing often has multiple slots, and each slot has access to one cycler channel. Depending on the power required by a single DUT, it might be necessary to cable multiple cycler channels in parallel.

You must configure the PAtools Battery Cell Application to indicate which cycler channels can be combined in parallel. Refer to cycler documentation to learn the maximum power and parallel configuration limitations.

Notice The configuration used must match the physical cabling. Otherwise, there might be damage to the DUT, including destruction with consequential damage to the test station.

Before configuring the chamber slots and cycler channels, create a test station for the battery cell test.

Use PAconfigurator to configure chamber slots and cycler channels.

  1. Navigate to PAcfg » Application_Components » Module_Library » PAmodule » softwaremodules » CHAMAN_(Channel_Manager) » CHAMAN_config.
  2. In the CHAMAN_config_General initialization group, configure the following variables.
    1. Timeout duration for loading sockets.
    2. Module log level.
    3. Optional: If you are debugging a test, write log messages at every state change.
    4. Slot handler log level.
    5. Timeout for waiting for the component interface to start running.
    6. Timeout for unloading tests in each slot.
    7. Number of watchdog losses allowed before an alarm is triggered.
  3. In the CHAMAN_config_Devices initialization group, configure the following variables.
    1. Number of cyclers in the setup.
    2. Number of channels in each of the cyclers in the setup.
      If you use cyclers with different numbers of channels, the initialization value must be the least number of channels.
  4. In the CHAMAN_config.TAB table group, configure the allowed channel combinations.

    Each row in the table corresponds to a slot with a single cycler channel for which you can specify the following:

    • Parallel type of the channel in this slot—specify if this slot may have access to cycler channels within a single cycler or across multiple cyclers.
      • CHAMAN_ParallelType_Within_Cycler—the cycler channels belong to the same cycler.
      • CHAMAN_ParallelType_Cross_Cycler—the cycler channels are aligned across cyclers.
    • Number of parallel channels if this slot is primary—enter the maximum number of channels that can be combined in parallel to provide power to this slot.

    The primary slot must be the first slot in each parallel grouping.

When you load a test for a particular slot, the module compares the number of channels used and the number of configured channels. The module unloads the test and displays an error message in the following situations:

  • The configuration in the test exceeds the number of configured channels.
  • The test requests slot channels that are already in use by another test.

If the number of channels connected in parallel differs for each test, it is unnecessary to unload all component tests and the main test. Unloading all tests is only necessary when the CHAMAN_config.TAB configuration changes.

GUI of the Battery Cell Application

When running battery cell tests, the GUI of the battery cell application in PAcontroller displays slots according to their use.

  • Green—The slot is in an active test. Green slots can indicate an individually configured slot. Green slots can also indicate a primary slot in a parallel configuration.
  • Light gray—The slot is in an active test and is connected in parallel. Light gray slots are not the primary slot in parallel configurations. However, the light gray slots indicate which slot is the primary in the configuration.
  • Dark gray—The slot is not in an active test.
  • Yellow—The slot is in an active test, but the test has a runtime warning condition.
  • Red—The slot in an active test, but the test has one of the following error conditions.
    • Runtime error.
    • The slot is not loadable because of misconfiguration of the test component interface (TCI) or an internal error with the realtime system.

    If the slot has a warning and an error, the slot appears red.

    • The following figure is an example of the GUI. The example shows active slots, slots connected in parallel, and slots inactive in a test.

    Figure 5. Example of the Battery Cell Application GUI
    Note In the display, non-primary slots in parallel configurations indicate the primary slot for which they are reserved. In this example, reserved for Slot_03 replaces Slot_06 and Slot_09. Likewise, reserved for Slot_10 replaces Slot_11.