Ni-MH Open Circuit Voltage vs State of Charge
Can we guess the state of charge of NiMH cells by just measuring their open circuit voltage?
According to some papers I read on internet it is possible. So let’s put it into test.
Test Method
Test object: Panasonic Eneloop for its
consistency and low self-discharge
Currents: 1.0A charge, 0.5A discharge
Steps for constructing the upper voltage boundary:
- discharge the cell to 0.9V
- charge a certain amount of mAh into the cell (in 100mAh increments), use as X coorditate
- measure the voltage of the cell after it rested 24 hours, use as Y coordinate
- plot the [X,Y] data points into graph
Steps for constructing the lower voltage boundary:
- charge the cell, terminate on 0dV
- discharge a certain amount of mAh from the cell (in 100mAh increments)
- measure the voltage of the cell after it rested 24 hours, use as Y coordinate
- distarche the cell to 0.9V, use the measured capacity as X coordinate
- plot the [X,Y] data points into graph
Given more time the cell’s open circuit voltage would settle somewhere between the upper and lower boundaries.
Voc as a function of SoC
SoC as a function of Voc
By swapping X and Y we get the inverse function - useful for estimating the state of charge when we know the open circuit voltage.
Conclusion
It is possible to estimate the state of charge of Ni-MH cells but the error margin seems to be too wide, almost impractical.