Testing

Solar Electronics founder Al Parker used to say about EMI testing, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” Here are a couple more.

The state of health of cells in a battery pack under operating condition is difficult to obtain through existing IEC and ISO standard methods under laboratory conditions. However, a cell state of health (SOH) profile shall be able to establish by the comparison of electro-impedance spectroscopy (EIS) generated statically versus dynamic operating data retrieved by battery management system (BMS) communication interface as fragments of EIS.

Part 2 of this article summarizes the results of recent testing conducted by the author on the shielding effectiveness of screened cables up to 2.8 GHz.

Cell-level analysis and testing for batteries used in electric mobility applications can help mitigate risks to application performance and long-term reliability.

Part 1 of this two-part article explores some basic rules for terminating cable shields. Part 2 of the article will appear in our October 2022 issue and will summarize the results of recent testing conducted by the author on the shielding effectiveness of screened cables up to 2.8 GHz

The Internet of Things (IoT) is moving into more mission critical applications, especially with connected medical devices. Engineers can reduce the risk of premature battery failure by following the practical methods described in this article.

In this column, the author offers a brief summary of a more systematic approach for using ferrite cores on cables. This summary can serve as a “ferrite core checklist” for design and test engineers.

Bias tees are an important tool for many applications including vector network analysis. As accurate understanding and modeling of power electronic components becomes increasingly important for the study of their electromagnetic emissions, so do broadband measurements with bias tees. This paper describes the composition of such a special bias tee in terms of the necessary geometries and circuitry.

Recalls are a major contributor to product liability incidents and lawsuits, interactions with government safety agencies, disputes with suppliers and product sellers, and negative publicity with the buying public. New guides have recently been issued that can help a manufacturer and product seller to better understand how to prepare for and implement an effective recall.

Hipot (“high potential”) electrical safety testers produce high voltage to perform dielectric withstand and insulation resistance tests. This article discusses the safety considerations and capabilities of modern hipot testers that utilize electronic source technology to assess compliance with IEC-61010.