Types of Lead-Acid Batteries

Whereas automotive batteries have the majority of the market, other types of lead—acid batteries, such as sealed and small maintenance-free varieties, are making inroads into various appHcations. The automotive battery s operating environment has changed substantially in the last 10 years. Underhood temperature has risen and electrical loads have increased. This trend is expected to continue as car manufacturers reevaluate thek design strategies and objectives. Battery design is changing to meet these needs. 

Different types of lead-acid batteries have been developed as energy sources for many power applications, like traction and backup or standby power systems. The flooded lead-acid batteries have an excess or flooded electrolyte and they were the largest used at the beginning of the last century for many applications. Valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries were developed as an alternative to the flooded lead-acid batteries, in order to maintain levels of distilled water and prevent drying of cells, which means safe operation for battery packs in electric... 

Whilst the influence of impurities and additives on charge or float conditions is common to all types of lead-acid batteries, with VRLA batteries there is the additional concern of self-discharge of the negative by reduction of the oxygen generated at the positive electrode, i.e.,... 

The high recycle rate in developing countries is supported by the scrap prices, which, even in western terms, are very high. In China, spent automotive batteries are purchased for US 270 300 per tonne, compared with an equivalent of US 80 90 per tonne in Europe and US 60-80 in Australia. This creates a strong demand for all types of lead acid batteries, including small 6-V and 12-V VRLA batteries. Western countries are still devising collection schemes to recover batteries of this size, which is a challenging task due to their low per-unit value and wide dispersion. 

Table 4.2 presents a summary of the lead alloys most widely used for the production of various types of lead—acid batteries [5]. Lead—antimony and lead—calcium grid alloys have dominating positions in the battery industry. The basic characteristics of these two types of alloys and their effects on battery performance will be discussed further in this chapter. 

Lead—acid batteries are used in three main applications automotive (starting, lighting and ignition, SLI), for motive power and for standby (reserve) power. A fourth type of lead—acid batteries is trying to gain a market segment, too, i.e. batteries for hybrid eleetric vehicle applications. In view of the partieular battery funetion and the speeifieity of the operation mode in the above four applications, the amounts of the three expander eomponents should differ for the different battery types, depending on their effeet on the proeesses that oeeur in the battery. Boden [39] proposes typical expander formulations for the different battery applications as summarised in Table 7.3. 

Sulfuric Acid Properties in Various Types of Lead-Acid Batteries... 

The major types of lead-acid batteries are SLI batteries, deep-cycle batteries, stationary batteries, and VRLA batteries. 

The recharge voltage on this type of cell is lower than that of other types of lead-acid battery. This is probably the most sensitive cell in terms of adverse reactions to overvoltage charging. Gel batteries are best used in very deep-cycle applications and may last a bit longer in hot weather applications. If the incorrect battery charger is used on a gel cell battery, poor performance and premature failure are certain. 

Most types of lead-acid batteries are not suitable for fast charging. Normally, a full charge takes 14 to 16 hours, and lead-acid batteries must always be stored at a full state of charge. A low charge causes sulfation, which contributes to the degradation of battery performance. Lead-acid batteries work well at cold temperatures and are superior to lithium-ion ones when operating in subzero conditions. Table 1.17 lists the advantages and limitations of common lead-acid batteries in use today. 

Based on battery capacity, three types of lead-acid battery units are commercially available for different applications, as shown in Figure 10.2 [4-6]. The first type of unit is a large-sized battery with a capacity range of 100 to 3600 Ah (the open circuit voltage [OCV] is normally 2.0 V), the second one is a medium-sized battery with a capacity range of 40 to 200 Ah (OCV is 12.0 V), and the third one is a small-sized battery with a capacity range of 2 to 40 Ah (OCV is 6.0 V). Depending on the power requirements of the application, different types of lead-acid batteries and/or their combinations can be used. 

As discussed earlier, electric and hybrid electric vehicles use the deep-cycle type of lead-acid battery. These batteries are designed to provide continuous power for... 

The lead-acid battery is manufactured in a variety of sizes and designs, ranging from less than 1 to over 10,000 Ah. Table 23.2 lists many of the various types of lead-acid batteries that are available. 

The active components of a typical lead-acid battery constitute less than one-half of its total weight. A breakout of the weights of the components of several types of lead-acid batteries is shown in Fig. 23.9. 

FIGURE 23.52 Effect of cell design and depth of discharge on cycle Ufe of various types of lead-acid batteries at 25°C. From Ref. 30.)... 

Table 24.3 and 24.4 list some of the typical VRLA prismatic lead-acid batteries that are manufactured. Information on other manufacturers products can be obtained by consulting their websites, such as yuasastationary.com, panasonic.com and www.hoppecke.com. Unlike some of the other types of lead acid batteries, there is no standardized list of sizes. Hence sizes, weights, and capacity ratings may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. 

Further details of the influence of theorj on the design of lead-acid batteries is given below. This discussion refers particularly to a motive power lead-acid battery. The same general principles apply to any conventional open type of lead-acid battery. 

Because of the extremely high potential of the positive electrode, only lead can be used as grid material in stationary and, indeed, all types of lead-acid battery. This lead is unavoidably subject to gradual erosion from corrosion. For batteiy applications this corrosion rate must be reasonably low, otherwise the battery life is limited by the corrosion rate of the positive grid. 

Historically, subsequent to exploratory studies on lead-acid systems by Daniel, Grove and Sindesten, practical lead-acid batteries began with the research and inventions of Raymond Gaston Plante in France as early as 1859 and, even today, lead-acid battery remains the most successful battery system ever developed. There are three types of lead-acid batteries in common use (1) batteries with flooded or excess electrolyte, (2) low-maintenance lead-acid batteries with a large excess of electrolyte and (3) batteries with immobilised electrolyte and a pressure-sensitive valve, usually referred to as valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) or sealed lead-acid (SLA) batteries [3]. 

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