The performances and the reliability of eVTOL UAVs essentially depend on the behaviour of the onboard battery packs and Battery Management Systems play a key role for maximizing both flight time and system availability. This work summarizes the experimental activities carried out to characterize the ageing phenomena of a Li-Po battery pack typically employed in lightweight UAVs, with special focus on State-Of-Health evaluation. Two types of tests are performed: a flight simulation, in which the electrical load for the battery is derived from the flight simulator of a 25 kg-mass UAV, reproducing a complete mission from take-off, through cruise (15 minutes) to landing, and a Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization test, applied when pre-defined ageing indicators exceed pre-defined thresholds and used to identify the parameters of an electro-thermal model of the battery.
Experimental Investigation of Ageing Effects in Li-Po Battery Packs for Lightweight UAVs
Di Rito, Gianpietro
Primo
;Suti, Aleksander;Bassetto, Marco;Pezzullo, Lorenzo
2026-01-01
Abstract
The performances and the reliability of eVTOL UAVs essentially depend on the behaviour of the onboard battery packs and Battery Management Systems play a key role for maximizing both flight time and system availability. This work summarizes the experimental activities carried out to characterize the ageing phenomena of a Li-Po battery pack typically employed in lightweight UAVs, with special focus on State-Of-Health evaluation. Two types of tests are performed: a flight simulation, in which the electrical load for the battery is derived from the flight simulator of a 25 kg-mass UAV, reproducing a complete mission from take-off, through cruise (15 minutes) to landing, and a Hybrid Pulse Power Characterization test, applied when pre-defined ageing indicators exceed pre-defined thresholds and used to identify the parameters of an electro-thermal model of the battery.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
