From basic Voltage to Electrochemical Impedance SpectroscopyFrom 2013 to 2020, experts predict a 3.7 fold increase in the demand of lithium-ion batteries. This growing dependency on batteries requires advancements in diagnostics to observe capacity loss to maintain reliability as the...
Starter batteries have two end-of-life modes: Heat failure and capacity fade. Heat failure is caused by corrosion that appears early in life and manifests itself in poor cranking caused by high internal resistance. This deficiency can easily be measured with...
The market offers a wide choice of battery testers, all providing correct predictions when the battery is dead, but so does the user. The challenge is tracking the capacity of a working battery that is in normal use but will...
During the last 20 years, three basic battery rapid test methods have emerged: DC load, AC conductance and multi-frequency electro-chemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). All methods are resistance based, a characteristic that reveals the battery's ability to deliver load current. Internal...
Welcome to the Leaning Tools section of BatteryUniversity.com. Here you find practical experience and gossip from many conferences and academic institutions summarized in entertaining and easy-to-read presentations. Guys don’t want to read too much, so enjoy the engaging graphics as...
When studying the characteristics relating to battery state-of-health (SoH) and state-of-charge (SoC), some interesting and disturbing effects can be observed - the properties are cumbersome and not linear. Worst of all, the parameters are unique for every battery type. This...
The saying goes: “So you can start the car, but will the battery crank the engine again tomorrow?” With rapid electrification in vehicles, concerns also arise with steering and breaking drawing draw 100 amperes from the battery. The battery is...
Battery testing is the product of electrochemical evidence and data analysis with artificial intelligence. A battery cannot be “measured,” only estimated by analyzing its symptoms. These symptoms change with state-of-charge (SoC), temperature, agitation, storage and age. As an example, a...
The Spectro CA-12 is the first hand-held battery tester that reads reserve capacity (RC), CCA, and state-of-charge (SoC) in a single, non-invasive 15-seconds test.
No other part in a vehicle is as failure-prone as the starter battery. According to ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club), battery problems have risen four times between 1996 and 2010. ADAC, Europe’s largest automotive club, says further that each third breakdown...
Lead and cadmium-based batteries pose the largest environmental concerns, so much so that the nickel-cadmium battery was banned in Europe. Efforts are made to also replace the lead-based battery but no suitable replacement is available as was the case by...
Battery users want state-of-charge (SoC) and remaining runtime clearly displayed on their devices. Smartphones apps do this in an amazing way, but one questions the resource on which the information is based on. While data can easily be digitized for...
The 4th edition of Batteries in a Portable World contains large volumes of firsthand information that is not available in the 3rd edition of the book with same title. The 4th edition would have grown beyond 360 pages had the...
Discovering Damage before Danger Arises with the Three-prong Battery TestThe media is quick to report mishaps with lithium-ion batteries. A failed Li-ion gets higher attention than an accident with an older battery chemistry. Electric hoverboards have been recalled because of...
Knowing the health of a battery is important, but no quick method exists to test them with certainty. State-of-health (SoH) cannot be measured per se, only estimated to various degrees of accuracies based on available symptoms. A battery behaves much...
Removing the “black-box” stigma by making performance transparentBattery users imagine a battery pack being an energy storage device that resembles a fuel tank dispensing liquid fuel. For simplicity reasons, a battery can indeed be perceived as a vessel storing electrical...
There are more mobile phones in the world than people. No other products have taken off so quickly — faster than the automobile, television, the PC and the Internet. Advancing from a clunky and expensive box in the 1990s to...
Consumer market put aside, the largest users of primary (non-rechargeable) batteries are the military, specialty emergency services and forest fire fighters. High energy density, long storage and operational readiness are among their strong attributes. No charging and priming is required...
BU-003: Dedicatoria (Español) The information in this book is provided for the benefit of all battery users. Batteries have become our steady travel companion. They help us reach a friend, allow us to work outside the confines of four walls...
Global production of Li-ion batteries was roughly 35 gigawatt hours (GWh) in 2013; experts predict the demand will grow to 130GWh by 2020, a 3.7 fold increase. This presents a challenge as batteries need care in the hands of common...
Review various Lead Acid charging methods and examine why some systems work better than others. Find also simple guidelines for charging Lead Acid batteries. Learn how to optimize charging conditions to extend service life.
Taking performance snapshots in weeks instead of yearsA speaker at the BATTERIES 2013 conference in Nice, France, flashed charts on the screen that showed continuously rising energy densities. When the audience asked the presenter: “Do you believe in these predictions?”...
Learn what causes Li-ion to fail and what to do in case of fire. Battery makers are obligated to meet safety requirements, but less reputable firms may cheat.
Many warehouse and 3PL IT Managers and Operations Managers are faced with the daunting task of keeping battery replacement costs down and system reliability high.
Medical technicians have discovered that most defibrillators batteries had over 90% capacity left when the two-year expiry date called for replacement. This had led to discarding perfectly good batteries, escalating operational costs and stressing the environment. A manager of the...
As the world electrifies, new demands are placed on the battery. Clean energy must have the same performance transparency as traditional power sources burning fossil fuel, but we realize that battery diagnostics is lagging behind. Without mature ways to assess...
Tesla Motors expects to consume two billion Li-ion cells by 2017. Both the Tesla Model S and Model X electric vehicles (EV) get their electrical energy from the 18650 cell, a format that also powers laptops and medical devices. The...
Explore how batteries can be charged with solar power or a wind turbine. This is an exciting way to step outside our four walls and use renewable energy. Learn about charging your batteries from renewable resources and what it costs.
Discover the power of the “smart” battery when making historic performance data visibleA new frontier is opening that allows downloading historic data from a “smart” battery to estimate battery state-of-health (SoH) based on field events. While smart batteries have been...
Learn about the up-and-coming batteries such as Li-air and Li-metal. Some systems show good potential, but many are years away from becoming commercially viable.
Review battery charge and discharge rates and read about different discharge signatures and explores how certain patterns can affect battery life. Learn how certain discharge loads will shorten battery life.
Learn about primary batteries. They fill an important niche market in applications such as wristwatches, remote controls, electric keys and children’s toys.
With the move from analog to digital, new demands are placed on the battery. Unlike analog portable devices that draw a steady current, the digital equipment loads the battery with short, heavy current spikes. One of the urgent requirements of...
Read an essay on the sharing of battery knowledge and share your opinions. This interface gives me an advantage in learning how the battery behaves in the field.
Many perceive a battery as being an energy storage device that is similar to a fuel tank dispensing liquid fuel. This is a fallacy because measuring stored energy from an electrochemical device is far more complex. The article describes pros and cons of the battery fuel gauge and introduces new developments in battery management systems.
Learn about the differences within the lead acid battery family; the sealed lead acid (SLA), also known as gel cell, and the valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA).
Discover advancements made in lead acid batteries and how they benefit industry. Batteries covered are: Firefly Energy, Altraverda Bipolar, Axion Power and more.
Learn how portable devices can be charged without wire by adding a transmitting and receiving coil to transfer magnetic power from the base to the receiver. Find out about energy loss and higher temperature when charging on a pad.
Learn what is the C-rate; created by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, today the battery industry uses C-rate to scale the charge and discharge current of a battery.
After fewer than 100,000 flight hours, two main batteries in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner failed. This contradicts Boeing’s estimate as part of certification that a smoke event involving the new Li-ion battery should only occur once in 10 million flight hours.
Learn how extreme cold and high heat reduce charge acceptance, and the battery must be brought into moderate temperature conditions before charging. Learn how to extend battery life by moderating ambient temperatures.
Review simple guidelines on charging Nickel-based batteries such as; Do not charge at high or freezing temperatures, do not use chargers that cook batteries and more. Know how to apply the correct charge to moderate heat and prevent overcharge.
Find information about charging Nickel-cadmium batteries, full-charge detection by temperature & voltage signature and charging flooded Nickel-cadmium batteries. Learn how to maximize charge, minimize heat and reduce memory.
Know the limitations when charging a battery with a USB charger. The USB port has become one of the most widespread and convenient interfaces for electronic devices. Become familiar with the limitations when charging a battery with a USB charger.
Review simple guidelines for charging Lithium-based batteries and prolong battery life such as; a portable device should be turned off while charging and more. Find out how to prolong battery life by using correct charge methods.
