Rapid-Charging Solution for 18650 Cylindrical Lithium-Ion Battery Packs for Forklifts

In this paper, we propose a rapid-charging system for the lithium-ion battery (LIB) packs used in electric forklifts. The battery offers three benefits: reduced charge time, prolonged battery life, and increased charging efficiency. A rapid-charging algorithm and DC/DC converter topology are proposed to achieve these benefits. This algorithm is developed using an electrochemical model, which controls the maximum charging current limit depending on the cell voltage and temperature. The experimental use of a selected 18650 LIB cell verified the prolongation of battery life on use of the algorithm. The proposed converter offers the same topological merits as a conventional resonant converter but solves the light-load regulation problem of conventional resonant converters by adopting pulse-width modulation. A 6.6-kW converter and charging algorithm were used with a forklift battery pack to verify this method's operational principles and advantages.