Supercapacitors aging diagnosis using least square algorithm

•This study permits us to insulate some parameters as good indicators of the supercapacitor aging.•The aging diagnosis method is based on an estimation of these parameters at each operating phase.•This estimation uses only the input/output signals (current and voltage). Supercapacitor aging is mainly related to thermal and voltage constraints. This aging causes degradation in the supercapacitor performances which can lead to the failure of this component. To avoid this failure, it is necessary to determine the supercapacitor state of health. The aim of this study is the supercapacitor diagnosis. In this paper, aging tests of supercapacitor subjected to calendar aging constraints are presented. The supercapacitor is aged at constant temperature and constant bias voltage. During the aging process, the variations of the supercapacitor equivalent series resistance (ESR) and equivalent capacitance (C) are measured and analyzed. For diagnosis, a least square algorithm is used. This algorithm is used for ESR and C identification during the supercapacitor operation. For vehicle applications, the supercapacitor is considered as aged when the capacitance loss is in order of 20% of its initial value, or if the value of the equivalent series resistance increases by a factor of 2.