Low-maintenance battery

In 1991, Sony introduced the first lithium-ion battery and other manufacturers quickly followed. Lithium-ion is a low maintenance battery, there is no memory and no scheduled cycling is required to extend the battery s life. A protection circuit is used to prevent metallic lithium plating from an overcharge. Some capacity deterioration occurs after a year and lifetime is usually two or three years, but some lithium-ion packs are known to have served for five years in some applications. 

Lead-alloys containing calcium were introduced in 1935 by Haring and Thomas of Bell Laboratories [5] to reduce water loss and ventilation requirements. These designs are often called low-maintenance batteries, because water additions are not required and now are often prevented by battery manufacturers to minimize electrolyte contamination. Some of the lead alloys in these designs have lower levels of... 

Several principles have been used by various manufacturers in the production of low-maintenance batteries, i.e. batteries which do not require topping up of the electrolyte during service. Catalytic recombination of electrolysis gases is not used for this type of battery. 

Selenium acts as a grain refiner in lead antimony alloys (114,115). The addition of 0.02% Se to a 2.5% antimonial lead alloy yields a sound casting having a fine-grain stmcture. Battery grids produced from this alloy permit the manufacture of low maintenance and maintenance-free lead—acid batteries with an insignificant loss of electrolyte and good performance stability. 

Two types of batteries having immobilized electroltye systems are also made. Tliey are most common m consumer appHcations, but their use m mdustrial and SLI appheations is mcreasmg. Both types hav e low maintenance requhements and usually can be operated m any position. Tliey are sometimes called valv e regulated or recombmant batteries because they are equipped with a one-way pressure rehef v ent and nomially operate m a sealed condition with an oxygen recombhiation cycle to reduce water loss. 

Nickel-Hydrogen, Nickel-Iron, and Nickel-Metal Hydride. First developed for communication satellites in the early 1970s, nickel-hydrogen batteries are durable, require low maintenance, and have a long life expectancy. The major disadvantage is the high initial cost. For these batteries to be a viable option for electric vehicles, mass production techniques will have to be developed to reduce the cost. 

Of the elements commonly found in lead alloys, zinc and bismuth aggravate corrosion in most circumstances, while additions of copper, tellurium, antimony, nickel, silver, tin, arsenic and calcium may reduce corrosion resistance only slightly, or even improve it depending on the service conditions. Alloying elements that are of increasing importance are calcium especially in maintenance-free battery alloys and selenium, or sulphur combined with copper as nucleants in low antimony battery alloys. Other elements of interest are indium in anodesaluminium in batteries and selenium in chemical lead as a grain refiner ". 

The manufacture of secondary batteries based on aqueous electrolytes forms a major part of the world electrochemical industry. Of this sector, the lead-acid system (and in particular SLI power sources), as described in the last chapter, is by far the most important component, but secondary alkaline cells form a significant and distinct commercial market. They are more expensive, but are particularly suited for consumer products which have relatively low capacity requirements. They are also used where good low temperature characteristics, robustness and low maintenance are important, such as in aircraft applications. Until recently the secondary alkaline industry has been dominated by the cadmium-nickel oxide ( nickel-cadmium ) cell, but two new systems are making major inroads, and may eventually displace the cadmium-nickel oxide cell - at least in the sealed cell market. These are the so-called nickel-metal hydride cell and the rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide cell. There are also a group of important but more specialized alkaline cell systems which are in use or are under further development for traction, submarine and other applications. 

Pounds including batteries Low maintenance Minimal training Audible and visual alarm. 

Traditionally, flooded lead-acid batteries have been the technology of choice for use in RAPS systems. During the last 10 years, however, there has been a considerable shift towards VRLA batteries. The main driver for this change is the low maintenance requirement of the latter technology. This and other important issues are discussed in the following sections. 

Evolution of hydrogen can be suppressed by addition of appropriate inhibitors to the negative active material. Then, the amount of water lost will be equal to the amount of oxygen involved in the corrosion reaction. Since the corrosion current is too low, VRLA batteries will need no maintenance for years of service. 

In recent years, zinc-air batteries have been used also in some military applications, because of their high energy, safety, and low cost (e.g., from the Electric Fuel division of Arotech) [1]. Prior to the digital electronics boom, zinc-air batteries were the batteries of choice for buoys and remote railroad signaling devices, because of their low cost and low maintenance requirements. 

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