Battery Accessscience from McgrawHill Education
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
10/13/2016 Battery AccessScience from McGrawHill Education (http://www.accessscience.com/) Battery Article by: Anglin, Donald L. Consultant, Automotive and Technical Writing, Charlottesville, Virginia. Sadoway, Donald R. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Publication year: 2014 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1036/10978542.075200 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1036/10978542.075200) Content Types Components Size Selection and applications Ratings Life Primary Batteries Zinccarbon cells Magnesium cells Alkalinemanganese dioxide cells Mercuric oxide cells Silver oxide cells Zincair cells Lithium cells Solidelectrolyte cells Reserve batteries Zincsilver oxide reserve batteries Magnesium wateractivated batteries Lithiumanode reserve batteries Thermal batteries Secondary Batteries Leadacid batteries Nickelcadmium batteries Nickelmetal hydride batteries Silverzinc batteries Sodiumsulfur batteries Zincair batteries Lithiumion batteries Lithiumsolid polymer electrolyte (SPE) batteries Outlook Bibliography Additional Readings An electrochemical device that stores chemical energy which can be converted into electrical energy, thereby providing a directcurrent voltage source. Although the term “battery” is properly applied to a group of two or more electrochemical cells connected together electrically, both singlecell and multicell devices are called battery. See also: Electrochemistry (/content/electrochemistry/220300); Electromotive force (cells) (/content/electromotiveforcecells/223300) Types http://www.accessscience.com/content/battery/075200 1/24 10/13/2016 Battery AccessScience from McGrawHill Education The two general types are the primary battery and the secondary battery. The primary battery delivers current as the result of a chemical reaction that is not efficiently reversible. Practically, this makes the primary battery nonrechargeable. Only one intermittent or continuous discharge can be obtained before the chemicals placed in it during manufacture are consumed. Then the discharged primary battery must be replaced. The secondary or storage battery is rechargeable because it delivers current as the result of a chemical reaction that is easily reversible. When a charging current flows through its terminals in the direction opposite to the current flow during discharge, the active materials in the secondary battery return to approximately their original charged condition. Components The cell is the basic electrochemical unit. It has three essential parts: (1) a negative electrode (the anode) and (2) a positive electrode (the cathode) that are in contact with (3) an electrolyte solution. The electrodes are metal rods, sheets, or plates that are used to receive electrical energy (in secondary cells), store electrical energy chemically, and deliver electrical energy as the result of the reactions that occur at the electrodesolution surfaces. Solid polymer or plastic active materials have been developed that can serve as the cathode in rechargeable batteries. The electrolyte is a chemical compound (salt, acid, or base) that when dissolved in a solvent forms a solution that becomes an ionic conductor of electricity, but essentially insulating toward electrons—properties that are prerequisites for any electrolyte. In the cell or battery, this electrolyte solution is the conducting medium in which the flow of electric current between electrodes takes place by the migration of ions. When water is the solvent, an aqueous solution is formed. Some cells have a nonaqueous electrolyte, for example, when alcohol is used as the solvent. Other cells have a solid electrolyte that when used with solid electrodes can form a leakfree solidstate cell or battery. During charging of a secondary cell, the negative electrode becomes the cathode and the positive electrode becomes the anode. However, electrode designation as positive or negative is unaffected by the operating mode of the cell or battery. Two or more cells internally connected together electrically, in series or parallel, form a battery of a given voltage. Typical are the rectangular 9V primary battery, which has six flat 1.5V zinccarbon or alkaline “dry” cells connected in series, and the 12V automotive or secondary battery, which has six 2.1V leadacid “wet” cells connected in series. Size Both primary and secondary cells are manufactured in many sizes, shapes, and terminal arrangements, from the miniature coin or buttonshaped battery (which has a diameter greater than its height) and the small cylindrical penlight battery to the large submarine battery, where a single rectangular cell has weighed 1 ton (0.9 metric ton). For optimum performance, the battery must be constructed for its particular application consistent with cost, weight, space, and operational requirements. Automotive and aircraft batteries are secondary batteries that have relatively thin positive and negative plates with thin, porous, envelope separators to conserve space and weight and to provide high rates of current discharge at low temperatures. Standby batteries are secondary batteries that use thick plates and thick separators to provide long life. Solidstate batteries can be constructed with unusual features and in irregular sizes and shapes. Size and weight reductions in all types of batteries continue to be made through use of new materials and methods of construction. Selection and applications Batteries are probably the most reliable source of power known. Most critical electrical circuits are protected in some manner by battery power. Since a battery has no moving parts, tests, calculations, or comparisons are made to predict the conditions of the cells in some batteries. Growing battery usage reflects the increased demand for portable computers; mobile voice, data, and video communications; and new or redesigned/repowered products in the consumer, industrial, and http://www.accessscience.com/content/battery/075200 2/24 10/13/2016 Battery AccessScience from McGrawHill Education transportation sectors. Further growth may result from significant increases in dc system operating voltage, such as from 12 V to 24 V or 48 V, which can provide much higher power generally with less weight, greatly broadening the range of potential battery applications. For most applications, the basic choice in selection is whether to use either a primary (nonrechargeable) or a secondary (rechargeable) cell or battery. Electrical characteristics affecting selection include maximum and minimum voltage, current drain, and pulse current (if any), its duration and frequency of occurrence. Other factors such as performance in the specific application, operating environment, and final packaging of the cell or battery also must be considered. Primary battery usage Primary batteries are used as a source of dc power where the following requirements are important: 1. Electrical charging equipment or power is not readily available. 2. Convenience is of major importance, such as in a hand or pocket flashlight. 3. Standby power is desirable without cell deterioration during periods of nonuse for days or years. Reserveelectrolyte designs may be necessary, as in torpedo, guided missile, and some emergency light and power batteries. 4. The cost of a discharge is not of primary importance. Secondary battery usage Secondary batteries are used as a source of dc power where the following requirements are important: 1. The battery is the primary source of power and numerous dischargerecharge cycles are required, as in wheelchairs and golf carts, industrial hand and forklift trucks, electric cars and trucks, and boats and submarines. 2. The battery is used to supply large, shorttime (or relatively small, longertime), repetitive power requirements, as in automotive and aircraft batteries which provide power for starting internal combustion engines. 3. Standby power is required and the battery is continuously connected to a voltagecontrolled dc circuit. The battery is said to “float” by drawing from the dc circuit only sufficient current to compensate automatically for the battery's own internal selfdischarge. Computers and communications networks and emergency light and power batteries are in this category. 4. Long periods of lowcurrentrate discharge followed subsequently by recharge are required, as in marine buoys and lighthouses, and instrumentation for monitoring conditions such as earthquakes and other seismic disturbances. 5. The very large capacitance is beneficial to the circuit, as in telephone exchanges. Ratings Two key ratings of a cell are its voltage and amperehour (Ah) capacity. The voltage is determined by the chemical system created by the active materials used for the negative and positive electrodes (anode and cathode). The amperehour capacity is determined by the amount of the active materials contained in the cell. The product of these terms is the energy output or watthour capacity of the battery. In actual practice, only onethird to onehalf of the theoretical capacity may be available. Battery performance varies with temperature, current drain, cutoff voltage, operating schedule, and storage conditions prior to use, as well as the particular design. http://www.accessscience.com/content/battery/075200 3/24 10/13/2016 Battery AccessScience from McGrawHill Education Many primary batteries are rated by average service capacity in milliamperehours (mAh). This is the number of hours of discharge that can be obtained