Charging and discharging an electric vehicle (EV) battery requires caution; EV batteries contain the energy equivalent of a small explosive, after all. Over-voltage or under-voltage conditions can lead to thermal runaways that could cause battery failure serious enough to injure passengers.

The challenge is balancing the need for optimal battery performance and life with safety. Clearly, the battery management system (BMS) has to incorporate a high degree of intelligence, in addition to monitoring components and power conversion stages.

Typically, the monitored operating parameters are precisely and quickly routed to higher-order, intelligent battery management controllers (BMCs) that can detect potential hazards and take pre-emptive corrective action, such as shutting down a battery cell that is overheating. Also calculated from monitored data: The state-of charge (SOC) of the battery, which is used to determine the remaining charge and, thus, the available range of travel; and state-of-health (SOH), which provides important insight into the operating conditions of the battery so that its remaining lifespan can be projected and the appropriate maintenance procedures recommended.

All this intelligence requires serious computing horsepower. Microcontrollers have to adjust to changing properties of batteries, respond quickly to overvoltage conditions and – in on-board charging — run computationally intensive algorithms.

The white paper, “Intelligent battery management and charging for electric vehicles” explores the challenges to designing power systems that can be adapted to a wide variety of batteries, in different types of vehicles

Over the course of their careers engineers are likely to acquire a personal library of reference books that represent a compendium of professional knowledge. The books that are widely collected – the “classics” — are generally practical, definitive and authoritative; they are characterized by straight-forward exposition accompanied by illustrative examples and clear, simple diagrams. They also serve as a record of developments in the field

The cornerstone of such a library for an EE could well be Frederick Terman’s 1932 tome, Radio Engineering. Many an engineer was weaned on Terman, who went on to be recognized as the father of Silicon Valley, counting among his illustrious protégés one William Hewlett. Paul Gray’s Electronic Principles: Physics, Models, Circuits and Oppenheim and Schaffer’s Discrete-Time Signal Processing are also likely to be found among the classics. Op amps, data conversion, active/passive filters, control systems and other electrical engineering subjects have numerous, hotly debated contenders for the status of ultimate references.

Now, add to the list, The Fundamentals of Power Supply Design, written by Bob Mammano, a pioneer in the power supply industry, recognized as the “father of the PWM controller.” Recently published by Texas Instruments, where Bob was Staff Technologist for many years, The Fundamentals of Power Supply Design draws upon material developed for TI’s seminars on power supply design. It starts with the basics, delves into history and then addresses advanced topics such as topology selection, magnetics design and minimizing EMI.

It’s got all the hallmarks of a future classic.

A classic lives on: The µA741 operational amplifier is one of the most successful ICs ever produced.

Hard core analog design may seem like a black art to many EEs. And no wonder: Formal course work turns out to be inadequate; hard fought experience is everything. The learning never stops – a little here and a little there until theory gels into practice.

Bruce Trump has been learning all his life at two bastions of analog design – first Burr Brown and then Texas Instruments. The company recently put together a compendium of his blog posts on op amp design that is destined to be an invaluable resource for any EE who wishes to plumb the mysteries of analog.

The op amp, arguably the quintessential analog component, is ubiquitous because it’s a versatile building block. But versatility inevitably spawns complexity. Understanding the issues, interpreting the specifications and making wise tradeoffs pay off.

Bruce’s blog posts explore a multitude of op amp design issues: Power supply and output voltage ranges, offset voltages, input bias currents, stability and oscillation, dynamic behavior, noise, etc.

Like all analog greats, Bruce’s favorite activity was dealing with customer application issues. “I particularly enjoyed developing customer seminars and datasheets. It was a challenge to clearly explain the inner workings and applications of precision analog components,” he said.

Remember this (with apologies to Einstein): Stand on the shoulders of a giant to look farther.