Electric Vehicle Battery Management System with Integrated

Charge Monitoring and Fire Protection

Abstract — Electric Vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a transformative solution in sustainable transportation. The Battery Management
System (BMS) is central to EV performance, overseeing health, charging, and discharging of the battery pack. This paper presents a cost-
effective, Arduino-based BMS prototype integrating charge monitoring and fire-protection features using an ACS712 current sensor,
voltage-divider module, DHT11 temperature sensor, Li-ion battery pack, DC motor load, LCD display, SIM800L GSM module, and
ThingSpeak IoT telemetry. The system monitors voltage, current, and temperature; estimates State-of-Charge (SoC) and State-of-Health
(SoH); and triggers protective actions upon anomaly detection. Experimental results confirm reliable real-time monitoring and successful
charge/discharge characterisation.
Keywords: Battery Management System, Electric Vehicle, Lithium-ion, State-of-Charge, Fire Protection, Arduino Uno, IoT.
 I. INTRODUCTION Voltage Sensor: Resistive divider module (0–25 V) scaling
The rapid proliferation of Electric Vehicles (EVs) has thrust battery voltage into the Arduino's 0–5 V ADC range.
battery safety and efficiency to the forefront of engineering DHT11: Digital temperature sensor, ±2 °C accuracy, single-wire
research. Unlike conventional vehicles, EVs rely entirely on protocol for real-time thermal management.
electrochemical energy storage, making the Battery Management Li-ion Battery (3.7 V): Ternary lithium cell; full-charge ≈4.2 V,
System (BMS) an indispensable component. A BMS must cut-off ≈2.5 V.
assiduously monitor every cell to prevent catastrophic failure
BMS Protection Board: Hardware-level overcharge, over-
modes such as thermal runaway or deep discharge.
discharge, and short-circuit protection as the first defence layer.
Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries dominate traction applications
SIM800L GSM: Dispatches SMS fault alerts via AT-command
owing to their superior energy density, low self-discharge rate, and
SoftwareSerial on Arduino pins 10/11.
extended cycle life. However, their propensity for exothermic
C. Charge / Discharge Characteristics
decomposition under overcharge or elevated temperature
necessitates vigilant real-time oversight. The Li-ion charge curve rises rapidly at low SoC, stabilises in a
plateau (≈3.6–3.8 V), then inflects near full charge (≈4.2 V). The
This work presents an Arduino-based BMS prototype that
discharge curve exhibits a stable plateau across most of the cycle,
integrates voltage/current sensing, temperature monitoring,
followed by a precipitous voltage drop near cut-off (≈2.2 V).
SoC/SoH estimation, ThingSpeak IoT telemetry, and SMS alerting
via a SIM800L GSM module.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Shinde et al. [1] highlighted that a well-maintained BMS is
paramount for battery credibility and security, demonstrating
measurable greenhouse-gas reductions through intelligent energy
management.
Puyad et al. [2] introduced an EV BMS with integrated charge
monitoring and fire protection, establishing that temperature Fig. 1. Working model of the EV BMS prototype.
control, fault detection, and suppression mechanisms substantially V. SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION
mitigate fire risk. The firmware comprises a setup() initialisation routine and a
Bhuvanesh et al. [3] reviewed BMS attributes encompassing cell loop() cycle executing every 20 seconds. On boot: SIM800L
monitoring, state estimation, thermal management, and fault handshaking via AT commands, DHT11 configuration, Wi-Fi
analysis, concluding that Li-ion batteries offer the optimal balance connection, and ThingSpeak initialisation.
of efficiency and longevity. Each loop: (i) temperature from DHT11; (ii) voltage with 1:10
Sai Durga Prasad et al. [4] proposed cell-balancing ensuring divider scaling; (iii) current via I = V_out / 0.185; (iv) SoC = (V /
equitable charge distribution, augmenting both performance and 12.6) × 100; (v) dual LCD refresh; (vi) ThingSpeak upload; and
service life. Satyanarayana et al. [5] underscored real-time (vii) SMS dispatch.
supervision as critical to preventing overcharging hazards. SoH is currently a 100% placeholder, with Kalman filter
III. OBJECTIVES integration planned for the next iteration for more precise state
Principal objectives: (i) develop a functional EV BMS prototype; estimation.
(ii) measure voltage and current via dedicated sensors; (iii) VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
estimate SoC and SoH in real time; (iv) implement thermal A. Measured Parameters
monitoring with automatic protective responses; and (v) transmit
Table I summarises parameters during charging and progressive
telemetry to a cloud platform with SMS alerts under faults.
discharge. The fully charged cell showed 3.35 V and 1.2 A,
IV. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE yielding SoC = 94.85%.
A. Block Diagram Overview Condition Time V (V) I (A) SoC (%)
The BMS centres on an Arduino Uno (ATmega328P) that
Full Charge — 3.35 1.2 94.85
orchestrates all peripheral devices. Signal chain: Li-ion battery →
Discharge 3 min 3.31 1.2 93.57
BMS protection board → current sensor → Arduino Uno → LCD /
IoT / GSM. A DC motor serves as the discharge load for controlled Discharge 4 min 3.29 1.2 93.42
cycle characterisation. Discharge 5 min 3.26 1.2 93.26
B. Key Hardware Components TABLE I. EXPERIMENTAL TEST RESULTS
Arduino Uno: ATmega328P microcontroller; 14 digital I/O (6 Discharge current remained constant at 1.2 A while terminal
PWM), 6 analogue inputs, 16 MHz resonator. Central processing voltage declined incrementally, consonant with the flat Li-ion
unit of the BMS. discharge plateau. SoC fell from 93.57% at 3 min to 93.26% at 5
ACS712 Current Sensor: Hall-effect linear sensor; copper min.
conduction path generates a magnetic field proportional to current.
Sensitivity: 185 mV/A.
 Fig. 2. LCD readouts: (left) charging — 3.35 V; (right) discharging —
3.31 V.
B. Protective Functionality
When temperature exceeded the threshold, the BMS
autonomously activated the cooling fan and alarm with a visual
LCD indication. Upon detecting a short-circuit fire risk, it
triggered emergency shutdown without external intervention.
C. Thermal Management
Electrochemical processes generate heat during operation;
convective transfer dissipates it. The DHT11 provides continuous
feedback so the algorithm can dynamically curtail
charging/discharging rates under thermal stress.
VII. CONCLUSION
This paper has presented a pragmatic EV BMS prototype
integrating real-time charge monitoring, fire protection, IoT
telemetry, and SMS alerting. The system characterised Li-ion
charge/discharge behaviour, maintained constant-current
discharge, and demonstrated autonomous protective responses
under simulated faults.
Future work will incorporate Kalman-filter SoC estimation,
active cell-balancing, and scalable designs amenable to mass
production, anticipated to accelerate global EV adoption.
REFERENCES
[1] S. Sutar et al., “Battery Management System for Electric Vehicle,” Int.
Research J. Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science,
vol. 5, no. 4, Apr. 2023.
[2] P. Puyad et al., “EV BMS with Charge Monitor and Fire Protection,”
ibid., vol. 6, no. 4, Apr. 2024.
[3] V. Vaideeswaran, S. Bhuvanesh, and M. Devasena, “BMS for EVs
using Li-ion Batteries,” in Proc. i-PACT, Vellore, 2019, pp. 1–9.
[4] Sai Durga Prasad K et al., “EV BMS with Charge Monitor and Fire
Protection,” IJCRT, vol. 11, no. 5, May 2023.
[5] A. V. Satyanarayana et al., “EV BMS with Charge Monitor and Fire
Protection,” IJARST, vol. 14, no. 4, Apr. 2024.