BATTERY

Battery is one of the most important components of the entire electrical system of a vehicle. The functions of a battery are 1. To start the engine 2. To act as a stabilizer 3. To supply electrical energy to accessories The most widely used battery is the lead acid type. Other than lead acid battery, alkaline battery and zinc air battery is also used. The electrical energy generated by the charging system is converted into chemical energy and this chemical energy is stored in the battery. During discharging, the stored chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. The major components of a battery are 1. Container 2. Plates 3. Separators 4. Cell Cover 5. Electrolyte Container Battery container are of single piece of construction and are of made of either hard rubber or polypropylene. Polypropylene is strong, translucent and light weight compared to hard rubber. There are partitions inside the container, which divide it into compartments for different cells .At the bottom of each compartment there are bridges formed on which the battery palates rest. The space between the bridge ribs serve to contain sediment resulting from normal chemical action. Without these ribs, the sediment would short the positive and negative plates. Plates There are two types of battery plates, the positive and the negative. For each plate there is a supporting frame work or grid made of an alloy of lead and antimony. Maintenance-free batteries use about 0.1% calcium instead of antimony .The function of grid is to hold the active materials and to carry current in the plates, which consists of horizontal & vertical ribs .The active materials in the positive plate grid is lead peroxide (PbO2) and in negative spongy lead (Pb). A no: of

positive plates are lead burnt to a post strap to form a positive plate group, while the negative plate group contains one plate more than the positive group so that both sides of the positive plates can be utilized on which greater electron chemical activity takes place.

Separators To avoid direct contact and thus short circuiting of positive and negative plates, thin sheets of some non-conducting materials are inserted between them. These sheets are called separators. These are made from treated wood, ebonite, sintered PVC. The materials of the separators must be sufficiently porous or perforate to allow diffusion of acid. Cell cover Cell cover provides a ceiling for the cells. Each cell cover contains holes for the positive and negatives posts, a vent and filler openings. The vent allows the gases produced during battery charging to escape and are provided in the plugs to cover filler openings which are also used to check specific gravity of electrolyte. Cell covers are sealed in the container to form a leak proof joint. Electrolyte Electrolyte used in lead acid battery is a solution of sulphuric acid. It contains approximately one part of sulphuric acid, 2 parts of water by volume. Specific gravity of the electrolyte is kept under consistent observation to have a proper watch over the state of the battery. Fully charged Discharged Fully discharged : : : 1.290 1.200 1.110

Specific gravity also varies with temperature. As a rough guide, 18 points are added for every 25 excess of temperature above 15C. Cell Reaction

PbO + + 2HO +
(Chocolate brown) (Electrolyte) (White)

2HSO4 PbSO4
(Electrolyte)

+
(Grey)

Pb

PbSO4
(White)

On discharging, both PbO2 and Pb are converted into PbSO4. Water is produced which dilutes the electrolyte solution. During recharging, Lead sulphate on positive plates is converted into lead peroxide while on negative plate lead sulphate is converted into spongy lead. Water is split up into oxygen and hydrogen gases during charging process. The hydrogen combines with sulphate ions to reform sulphuric acid. In this way the specific gravity of the electrolyte is increased during charging process. As the recharging process is complete, the chemical action stops and hydrogen and oxygen gases are liberated at negative and positive plates. This phenomenon is called gassing. Thus gassing is an indication that battery has been fully charged. Battery Capacity Battery capacity is a measure of the charge stored by the battery, and is determined by the mass of active material contained in the battery. The battery capacity represents the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery under certain specified conditions. The most common measure of battery capacity is Ampere Hours (Ah), defined as the number of hours for which a battery can provide a current equal to the discharge rate at the nominal voltage of the battery. Battery Efficiency The efficiency of a battery can be calculated either as the ampere hour efficiency or the Watt hour efficiency. Ah efficiency = (Ah discharging/Ah charging) x 100% %AH =[ Id Td/IcTc]100 Id = Discharging Current Td =Discharging time Ic = Charging current Tc = Charging time At the 20 hour rate the ampere hour efficiency can be about 90 percent. This efficiency figure is generally expressed as its reciprocal, called the charge factor. In this example the charge factor is about 1.1. Watt Hour Efficiency=(Output in Watt hour/Input in Watt Hour)100% %WH =[Vd Id Td/VcIcTc]100 Vd=Average discharging voltage Vc=Average charging voltage

Also %WH =AH [Vd /Vc] Battery Rating Rating of a battery is determined by the current it can produce and the time for which it can sustain this current 20 Hour Rate It represents the rate of current a battery can deliver continuously for 20 hours after which the cell voltage should not drop below 1.75v

20 Minute Rating It represents the rate of current a battery can deliver continuously for 20 minute after which the cell voltage not dropping below 1.5v Reserve Capacity It is the time in minutes for which the battery can supply 25 Amperes at 25C without the cell voltage falling below 1.75v Cold Rating It represents the current in amperes which battery can supply continuously for 30 seconds without the cell voltage dropping below 1.4v Battery Charging Charging Procedure 1. Check the electrolyte level in the battery 2. Connect the positive and negative terminals to the respective terminal of the battery charger 3. Adjust the value of charging current 4. Keep a watch over the temperature of the electrolyte 5. Record the specific gravity and temperature hourly 6. In case several batteries have to be charged simultaneously, the same may be connected in series Charging methods

1. Constant voltage charging 2. Constant current charging Types of Charging 1. Slow rate charging 2. Quick rate charging 3. Trickle charging 4. Dry Charging Ordinary batteries are charged by slow rate charging method. It takes 12 to 20 hours to complete and the charging current is equal to the number of positive plates per cell. In 1uick rate charging method, a high charging current (as high as 100A) is used till the battery comes to about 80% of charge level. The remaining charging process is finished by slow rate method. As the batteries left in the storage for long periods of time are subjected to self discharge, continuous charging at very low charging rate of about 5% of normal charging current has been employed for keeping in proper condition. Trickle charging is normally done on day time only. Dry Charged Batteries They do not contain any electrolyte, but their plates are already charged. The vent holes are closed by plugs so that no moisture enters the battery. The electrolyte is supplied in separate acid proof cartons. When the battery has to be used, electrolyte is filled and allowed to stand for 1 to 2 hours. Battery Testing Following are the tests conducted to find the conditions of the battery 1. Polarity Test 2. Specific Gravity Test 3. Open Volt Test 4. High Discharge Test 5. Cadmium Test Polarity Test Polarity can be established by immersing the ends of the wires connected to them in the electrolyte solution contained in a separate vessel. More intense

formation of hydrogen bubbles would take place at the wire connected to the negative terminal. Specific Gravity Test This is conducted with the help of hydrometer. To test the specific gravity of the electrolyte, immerse the sampler tube in the cell electrolyte. Squeeze the rubber bulb and release the same which would cause a sample of electrolyte to be drawn inside the glass body. Let the float rise and the read of the scale at the surface level of the sample drawn in represents the specific gravity. Open Volt Test Open circuit voltage of a battery is measured with the help of a sensitive voltmeter. If the car has been recently driven or the battery has been just charged, the surface charge must be removed from the battery by running on the head lights for one minute, turning off and waiting for about 2 minutes. Then with the engine and all electrical accessories shut off, connect the voltmeter to the battery terminals. VOLTMETER READING 12.6V 12.2V 11.9V OR BELOW CONDITION FULLY CHARGED DISCHARGED FULLY DISCHARGED

Voltage of the Cell = Specific Gravity +0 .840 High Discharge Test High discharge test is conducted with the help of cell voltage tester. A cell voltage tester consist of a voltmeter connected to two legs with high resistance placed across these. Pressing the two legs of the cell tester on the cell terminals, causes heavy current (150 to 200A) to flow. The test is made for 5 to 10 seconds and at the end of which the voltage should not fall below 1.5 volts and the difference of cell voltages of various cells should not exceed 0.2 volts. Cadmium Test Cadmium test is conducted to know the chemical conditions of the positive and negative plates. A cadmium rod is enclosed in a perforated ebonite tube and and is immersed in the battery electrolyte. The rod is then connected to the negative terminal of the voltmeter whose positive terminal is connected alternately to the positive and negative sides of the battery cells. Incase of positive terminals

the voltage reading should not be less than 2.5 volts. In case of connected with negative battery terminal, the voltage should not be more than 0.2 volts. Alkaline Battery Alkaline batteries are of two types, the Edison type or the nickel iron type and the nickel cadmium type. The construction of these is similar except for active materials. However, only the latter type is suitable for automobile service. The basic construction of alkaline battery is similar to that of lead acid battery. In both the nickel-iron and nickel-cadmium type, the active material on positive plates is nickel hydroxide. On negative plates, it is metallic iron on nickeliron cell and cadmium oxide on nickel-cadmium cell. The electrolyte used is potassium hydroxide solution. The active material for positive as well as negative plates is contained in finely perforated steel tubes, which combine to form a plate. Due to this reason, even under severe jolts, no active material is lost from the plates and thus no sediment is produced. The electrolyte does not take part in chemical reactions on charging or discharging, unlike in the lead acid batteries .Its specific gravity remains, therefore, constant at about 1.20. For this reason, smaller quantities of the electrolyte are required. However due to the same reason, there is no indication of state of charge of the battery. Advantages of the alkaline battery over the lead acid type are: 1) Alkaline battery is lighter than lead acid battery. 2) It is mechanically very strong & can stand very rough use. 3) The rate of charging can be much higher in case of alkaline battery. 4) The discharge rate when left standing is very low as compared to Lead acid type, since the active materials are insoluble in the electrolyte .Therefore the battery has got much longer shelf life. 5) Comparatively longer life (10-15 years ) Disadvantages 1) The voltage of each cell in the alkaline battery is only 1.2 as compared to 2 volts for a lead acid cell. For this reason for a 6 volt battery 5 cells will be required as against 3 cells of the lead acid type . 2) Due to relatively higher internal resistance, the efficiency of the alkaline battery is slightly lower than that of the lead accumulator. 3) Initial cost is higher compared to the lead acid battery.