Digital Twin-Based Battery Incipient Fault Detection and Diagnosis3


 

The practical application of incipient fault detection and diagnosis in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) faces significant challenges, including complex fault characteristics, limited data availability, safety concerns, and the need for scalable real-time processing. Incipient faults such as Solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) growth and metal dendrite growth are particularly difficult to detect using conventional methods, yet they are critical to preventing catastrophic battery failures. These challenges highlight the urgent need for advanced, reliable diagnostic tools that can operate accurately under real-world conditions, ensuring both the safety and longevity of BESS installations.

In response to these challenges, we have been develping the Battery Incipient Fault Digital Twin (BIF-DT), an advanced integrated framework designed to simulate and detect early-stage battery degradation. The BIF-DT platform uniquely combines an electrochemical model with a physics-based circuit model, enabling a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to fault diagnosis. This dual-model structure allows for high-fidelity simulation of internal battery processes while maintaining computational efficiency suitable for practical applications. To date, development of the BIF-DT has progressed significantly, with both constituent models successfully validated using publicly available datasets, demonstrating remarkable accuracy in detecting incipient faults. This progress has been documented through multiple publications, establishing a solid foundation of scientific credibility for the platform. In the IEEE IESES 2025 tutorial, our self-developed BIF-DT is also presented to the audience.

Looking forward, the BIF-DT platform holds considerable promise for enhancing the reliability and safety of battery energy storage systems across various applications. The validated accuracy of our models provides a strong basis for transitioning this technology from research to real-world implementation. Future work will focus on refining the platform’s scalability and real-time processing capabilities, ultimately aiming to deploy the BIF-DT as a proactive diagnostic tool that can predict and prevent battery failures in commercial and grid-scale energy storage systems, thereby contributing to more secure and efficient renewable energy integration.

Publications:

[1] Ziqi Wang and Mo-Yuen Chow, “Battery Modeling of SEI and Metal Dendrite Growth: A Transmission Line Circuit Framework with Genetic Algorithm-Identified Parameters ,” 2025 IEEE 20th Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA), Yantai, China, 2025, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIEA65512.2025.11149030.

[2] Junya Shao, Mo-Yuen Chow, Zhiping Tan and Huiqin Jin, “Solid Electrolyte Interface Growth Fault Modeling for Battery State of Health Simulation,” 2025 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Wuhan, China, 2025, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIT63637.2025.10965289.

[3] Ziqi Wang, Mo-Yuen Chow, Zhiping Tan and Huiqin Jin, “Modelling of the Solid Electrolyte Interface Growth Using Physics-Based Equivalent Circuit Model,” 2025 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Wuhan, China, 2025, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIT63637.2025.10965250.

 

Sponsor:

Hierarchical Collaborative Distributed Energy Management Systems (H-CoDEMS)


 

As climate-driven disasters and energy disruptions become more frequent, building an intelligent, resilient, and adaptive power grid is essential. Centralized energy systems often falter during crises due to rigidity, bottlenecks, and single points of failure.
At ADAC Lab, we are pioneering the Hierarchical Collaborative Distributed Energy Management System (H-CoDEMS), a framework that redefines how microgrids operate and coordinate. H-CoDEMS uses a self-organizing, hierarchical architecture to deliver scalable and resilient management of distributed energy resources. With situational awareness and a distributed, consensus-based control strategy, microgrids can make cooperative decisions.
H-CoDEMS excels in disaster relief by restoring power to critical services, supports networked microgrids through coordination and reconfiguration, and enables virtual power plants by unifying distributed resources into reliable grid assets.

Publications:

[1]. A. Joshi and M. -Y. Chow, “Hierarchical Distributed Consensus-Based Energy Management in Networked Microgrids,” in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, doi: 10.1109/TII.2025.3631236.
[2]. S. Capezza, A. Joshi and M. -Y. Chow, “Hierarchical Distributed Consensus Based Economic Dispatch of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) for Networked Microgrids,” 2023 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Industrial Electronics for Sustainable Energy Systems (IESES), Shanghai, China, 2023, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/IESES53571.2023.10253706.
[3]. S. Capezza, A. Joshi and M. -Y Chow, “Weighted Hierarchical Consensus based Economic Dispatch Utilizing Cluster Size Estimation for Networked Microgrids,” IECON 2023- 49th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Singapore, Singapore, 2023, pp. 01-06, doi: 10.1109/IECON51785.2023.10312209
[4]. A. Joshi and M. -Y. Chow, “Hierarchical Distributed Consensus Based Networked Microgrid Energy Management For Disaster Relief,” 2024 IEEE 19th Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA), Kristiansand, Norway, 2024, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIEA61579.2024.10665212.

Battery Incipient Fault Detection and Diagnosis (BIF-DD)


 

To address the challenges posed by faults in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), the ADAC Lab has developed advanced monitoring and fault detection solutions.

We have developed a comprehensive Battery Incipient Fault Detection and Diagnosis (BIF-DD) Platform, which utilizes real-time monitoring and advanced algorithms for early fault detection and root-cause diagnosis. This platform, implemented on a Raspberry Pi, performs parameter identification to visualize battery fault statuses based on data from a Battery Fault Simulator.

The platform is continuously evolving with the following enhancements:

  • Expansion to Multiple Fault Types: The system is being expanded to detect a broader range of faults, enhancing the comprehensiveness of the BIF-DD platform.
  • Integration with AI and Big Data: We are integrating advanced AI technologies and large-scale models to further improve fault prediction accuracy and system intelligence.
  • Connection with Power Systems and Microgrids (MGs): The platform will be linked with power systems and microgrids, enabling real-time communication of BESS status for optimized energy dispatch and grid management.

Through these advancements, the BIF-DD platform is poised to provide a robust solution for proactive BESS maintenance, ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient energy storage operations.

Publications:

[1] Ziqi Wang and Mo-Yuen Chow, “Battery Modeling of SEI and Metal Dendrite Growth: A Transmission Line Circuit Framework with Genetic Algorithm-Identified Parameters ,” 2025 IEEE 20th Conference on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ICIEA).(accepted)

[2] Skieler Capezza and Mo-Yuen Chow, “Real-Time SOH Estimation via Online Identification of Temperature and SOC Dependent Electric Circuit Model Parameters,” in IECON 2025- 51st Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, 2025.(accepted)

[3] Junya Shao, Mo-Yuen Chow, Zhiping Tan and Huiqin Jin, “Solid Electrolyte Interface Growth Fault Modeling for Battery State of Health Simulation,” 2025 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Wuhan, China, 2025, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIT63637.2025.10965289.

[4] Ziqi Wang, Mo-Yuen Chow, Zhiping Tan and Huiqin Jin, “Modelling of the Solid Electrolyte Interface Growth Using Physics-Based Equivalent Circuit Model,” 2025 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Wuhan, China, 2025, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICIT63637.2025.10965250.

Sponsor:

iSpace

iSpace Robots

Intelligent Space (iSpace) is a relatively new concept to effectively use distributed sensors, actuators, robots, computing processors, and information technology over communication networks. iSpace is a large scale Mechatronics System by integrating sensors, actuators, and control algorithms in a communication system using knowledge from various engineering disciplines such as automation, control, hardware and software design, image processing, communication and networking.

Documentations

 

Collaborative Distributed Energy Management Systems (CoDEMS)


 

Typically, the distributed energy resources (DER) are controlled by the utility distribution management system (DMS) or DER management system (DERMS). If hosted by microgrid, the microgrid energy management system (MG-EMS) will be added between the DMS/DERMS and DERs. This type of top-down hierarchical control chain is heavily constrained by the communication latency, quality, bandwidth, and availability. These systems are not positioned to embrace the DER boom and will be a bottle-neck for undergoing DER integration. The solution to the scalability is decentralization. Current academic and industry efforts are made to push control to the “edge”, namely on on-site DERs. With built-in edge autonomy in DERs, they can seamlessly work together and the system becomes more scalable. Another downside of the conventional centralized control scheme is the lack of resilience against natural and man-made disasters. The typical industry practice for resilience is by adding redundant central controllers. However, this redundancy is expensive yet cannot rapidly restore electric service in parallel. Therefore, the distributed control technologies have attracted significant academic and industry attention in recent years. Our lab has been developing distributed EMS, called Collaborative Distributed Energy Management Systems (CoDEMS), since 2008.

 

Publications:

[1]Z. Cheng, J. Duan, and M.-Y. Chow, “To Centralize or to Distribute: That Is the Question: A Comparison of Advanced Microgrid Management Systems,” EEE Ind. Electron. Mag., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 6–24, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1109/MIE.2018.2789926.

[2]N. Rahbari-Asr, Y. Zhang, and M.-Y. Chow, “Consensus-based distributed scheduling for cooperative operation of distributed energy resources and storage devices in smart grids,” IET Generation, Transmission & Distribution, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 1268–1277, Apr. 2016, doi: 10.1049/iet-gtd.2015.0159.

[3]Y. Zhang, N. Rahbari-Asr, J. Duan, and M.-Y. Chow, “Day-Ahead Smart Grid Cooperative Distributed Energy Scheduling With Renewable and Storage Integration,” IEEE Trans. Sustain. Energy, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 1739–1748, Oct. 2016, doi: 10.1109/TSTE.2016.2581167.

 

Resilient Energy Magament in ugrid Simulator (REMμS)


 

 

The microgrid is envisioned to be the building block of the future smart grid, for its abilities to host distributed energy resources, to improve grid reliability, and to enhance system resiliency. One of the most studied research topics of the microgrid is the distributed microgrid energy management system. However, the algorithm prototyping and hardware validation still remain great challenges at the current stage. Our lab has been developing a highly scalable, customizable, and low-cost DC microgrid testbed framework that enables fast distributed MG-EMS prototyping and provides proof-of-concept validation.

 

Publications:

[1]Cheng and M. Chow, “The Development and Application of a DC Microgrid Testbed for Distributed Microgrid Energy Management System,” IECON 2018 – 44th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Washington, DC, 2018, pp. 300-305, doi: 10.1109/IECON.2018.8591816.

Sponsor: