Effect of the batteries on the PCB design!

[Swapnil]

Hello, everyone!

I have a simple doubt, and that is what is the effect on the PCB design if we connect a large of batteries in parallel. Currently, my system has 2 batteries in parallel, and we are planning for 12 batteries in parallel. So, will the design of the board depend on the capacity (Ahr) that will be coming from the batteries or the power consumption by the peripherals on the board?

P.S: Battery specs (4S LiPo, 5400mAh, 40C)

[Berni]

There is no information on what your PCB even does.

But in general connecting large numbers of lithium cells in parallel comes with its dangers where a faulty cell might find the whole pack discharging into it and making it explode.

[Swapnil]

There is no information on what your PCB even does.

But in general connecting large numbers of lithium cells in parallel comes with its dangers where a faulty cell might find the whole pack discharging into it and making it explode.

The PCB will be a Power Distribution Board and my system will also have five thrusters (inductive loads), therefore there will be definitely an inrush current flowing through the circuit. 

[Kasper]

Looks like your batteries can deliver a fair bit of current.

5.4Ahr * 40C = 216A

12 batteries * 216A = 2600A

How much current is your load drawing?

[Marco]

The PCB will be a Power Distribution Board and my system will also have five thrusters (inductive loads), therefore there will be definitely an inrush current flowing through the circuit.

A truly inductive load does not have an inrush current, it starts at zero and goes to short circuit. I'm going to guess you have some kind of ducted fan motors? So it's more accurate to call it a motor load, rather than inductive.

Won't the motor controller limit current? As for handling catastrophic failure, if the failure results in a crash any way any mitigations can become irrelevant.