Batt ery types Batt t ypes used f or auxil auxilia iary ry powe p owerr supply supp ly in substat substat ions and power pla p lant nts s | EEP electrical-engineering-portal.com /different-types-of-battery-used-for-auxiliary-power-supply-insubstations-and-power-plants Asif Eqbal Eqb al
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Different Diff erent types of battery used used for auxiliary power supply in s ubstations and power plants
industrial or substation applications mainly three types of batteries are used namely: 1. Vented / Flood Flooded ed Lead Acid batteries batteries 2. Sealed maintenance free batteries/Valve Regulated Lead Acid 3. Nickel Cadmium Cadmium (N (Nii- cd) batt b atteries eries For UPS applications batteries are the most popular and hence are widely used. Hence, in th For UPS this is d etailing, mainly emphasize has been put on these type of batteries.
Vent ented ed / Flooded Lead Acid Acid Bat Bat t eries
There are two types for vented or flooded lead acid batteries namely tubular and Plante. The difference between the two is the construction. For tubular ba ttery normal life is 8- 10 years. The Plante battery is both mechanically and electrically more durable. The normal life for Plante batteries is 15-20 years. Because this type of battery generates corrosive fumes when charging and because the sulfuric acid electrolyte does evaporate to some extent, these batteries must be used in a special room, which is well ventilated to the outside and kept away from delicate electronic equipments. It needs separate room/racks with acid proof tiles for installation. Because of evaporation, it needs regular maintenance to check specific gravity, to add water and acid. These batteries can withstand high temperature, voltage, and deep discharge with minimum dama ge to itself. A notice s hould be exhibited in the battery room prohibiting smoking and use of naked flames. These batteries ca nnot be transpo rted in charged condition and therefore need charging at site. Typical initial charging of the battery will take about 55 to 90 hours. Nominal cell voltage is 2V/cell. The charger for this battery should be able to provide the first charge at 2.6 to 2.7 V/cell.
Vented / Flooded Lead Acid Batteries
These types of batteries are typically used for UPS Systems of very high rated capacity, typically engaged for plant application, wherein maintenance and space is not really an issue.
Sealed Mainte nance Free batteries (SMF) These a re also known as Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries. These batteries are the most popular for usage with UPS systems for computer or commercial application. Being sealed, these batteries do not emit any fumes and hence can be very well installed next to e lectronic equipment. These b atteries also c an be housed in a close enclosure if necessary. These
Tubular Type Lead acid battery
avoid any hassles of checking specific gravity, adding water or acid, etc. These batteries have a relatively lesse r life o f approx. 3-5 yea rs. The life expectancy typically depends on the number of charge/discharge cycle experienced by the batteries and the ambient tempe rature in which the b atteries are use d. Thes e batteries are primarily the most popular for commercial applications due to “Install and forget” approach. The Performance and service life of these batteries can be maximiz ed by observing the following guidelines: 1. Permissible operating temperature range of SMF batteries is 15 VRLA/SMF type Lead acid battery deg C to 50 deg C , but using within an operating range 5 C to 35 C will extend service life. Below – 15 deg C, the battery changes its chemical composition and cannot hold a charge. You will enjoy longer service life, if batteries are operated in ambient temperature range of 20 deg C to 25 deg C (68F to 77F). At lower temperature they have longer life a nd lower capacity while at higher temperature they have higher capacity and lower life. 2. A good rule of thumb when determining battery service life in relation to temperature is that for every 8.3 deg C (15F) average annual temperature above 25 deg C (77F), the life of the battery is reduced by 50%. Therefore warranty o f the ba ttery should be idea lly reduce d to 50% for eve ry 8.3 deg C (15F) increase in ope rating temperature above 25 deg C (77F). 3. SMF batteries are designed to have a float voltage of 2.3 V/cell . This means that a 12 V battery (with 6 internal cells) has a float voltage of 13.8 Volts. Most of the battery manufacturers recommend float voltage of 2.25 – 2.3 volts per cell. When there are more cells (generally >120) in series, to compensate for higher temperatures, float voltage should be decreased by a pprox. 3 mV per cell per deg C above 25 deg C. It should be increased by the same amount when ope rated at a temperature less than 25 deg C to a void undercharge. T he Cutoff voltage is 1.67 V/cell for high rate of discharge ( 4. It is reco mmended that SMF ba tteries should not be left in totally d ischarged state more than 72 hrs. The b atteries may get partially or fully damaged due to SULPHATION if charging does not start within 72 Hrs from totally discharged state. Sulphation is the formation of lead sulphate on negative plates which acts as an insulator and has a detrimental effect on charge acceptance. 5. In normal float / equalize use (2.25 to 2.35V/cell), gas generated inside battery is recombined into negative plates, and return to water co ntent of the ele ctrolyte. Thus ele ctrical cap acity is not lost bec ause of this recombination. There is no need to add external water, but due the corrosion of the electrodes battery will eventually lose capac ity. 6. At ambient temperature of 30 – 40 deg C, the shelf life of batteries is 5-6 months only . A freshening charge must be given to the batteries every 6 months, if needed to be stored for longer periods. Batteries should be kept in dry, cool place. At ambient temperature of 20 deg C (68F), the self-discharge rate is 3-4% (approx.) of rated capacity per month. The self-discharge rate varies with ambient temperature. 7. SMF batteries are equipped with a safe, low pressure venting system, which operates at 7 psi to 10 psi (can vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer), automatically releasing exc ess gas in the e vent that gas pressure rises to a level above the normal rate ensuring no excessive buildup of gas in the batteries. Resealing is automatic once the pressure is returned to normal. 8. Cyclic life of the battery depends on ambient operating temperature, the discharge rate, the depth of discharge, and the manner in which the ba ttery is recharged . The mos t important factor is the de pth of discharge. At a give n discharge rate and time, the shallower the depth of discharge, the longer is the cyclic life. 9. Failure mode at the e nd of life includes: 1. Capa city dec rease 2. Internal short circuit 3. Damage to container/lid
4. Terminal corrosio n 5. Reduced ope n circuit voltage . 10. The IEEE defines “B” (Bend of useful life) for a UPS battery as being the point when it can no longer supply 80 percent of its rated capacity in ampere-hours (AH). The relationship between AH capacity and runtime time is not linear, a 20% reduction in capacity results in a much greater reduction in runtime. When battery reaches 80% of its rated capacity, the aging process accelerates and the battery should be replaced. Some UPS/ Battery manufacturers define “ B” (Bend of useful life) for a UPS ba ttery when battery capa city reaches 50-60% of its rated capacity. 11. Mixed use of batteries with different capacities, different makes should be avoided as it will cause accelerated aging of the whole string. 12. If two or more battery groups are to b e used , co nnected in parallel, they must be co nnected to the UPS through lengths of wires, cables or busbars that have the same loop line resistance as each other. This makes sure that each parallel bank of batteries presents the same impedance to the UPS as any other of the parallel banks thereby ensuring c orrect equaliz ation of the source to a llow for maximum energy transfer to the UPS load . 13. The normal life SMF ba ttery will supp ort approx. 200 charge/discharge cycles at 25 deg C (77F) and 100% depth of discharge. 14. The term “B” (Bend of useful life) for a UPS battery refers to the fact that these batteries do not require fluid. But preventive maintenance like checking for cracks and deformation of the container & lid, electrolyte leakage/spills tightening of the connection etc, particularly for higher AH capacity batteries should be done to prevent any damage.
Nickel Cadmium Bat t eries (Ni-Cd) Ni- cd batteries do emit hydrogen and o xygen ga s, p roducts of electrolysis, but there a re no corrosive ga ses as lead acid batteries, so these can be installed near electronic equipment. Water consumption is relatively low and so therefore maintenance is low. Normal service life is 20-25 years. These are most expensive of the various types of batteries previously discussed. Initial cost may be approximately three times that of lead acid battery depending upon their AH capacity. These batteries do not experience the severe shortening of life when operated at elevated temperatures and perform better at low temperatures than do the lead acid batteries. Nominal cell voltage is 1.2 V/cell. The battery chargers and inverters have to be designed to operate with low end cell cutoff voltages and higher recharging voltages needed for such batteries. These batteries occasionally demand boost charging and typically find their applications wherein UPSs support critical equipment in haz ardous environment such as chemical, fertilizer, cement industry.
Merits/demerits As spelle d earlier, all the above discussed types o f batteries have their o wn merits and demerits. Let us now lo ok at them individually.
A) Vented / f looded Lead acid batt eries Merits 1. Most economical amo ng three types o f batteries. 2. Life is higher than SMF batteries. 3. Robust- not much sensitive to temp erature.
Demerits
1. Needs pe riodic maintenance- twice a month. 2. Emits corrosive fumes. 3. Needs sp ecial battery room with acid proof tilling. 4. Cannot be transported in charged condition, initial charging takes 55 to 90 hours. 5. Needs sp ecially trained persons for handling due highly haz ardous sulphuric acid.
B) Sealed maintenance free batteries / Valve Regulated Lead Acid Merits 1. No maintenance as far as water filling, spec ific gravity check e tc is concerned. 2. Can be shippe d in charged co nditions so ready to use. 3. User friendly.
Demerits 1. Leaving ba tteries in disc harged s tate for longer life will reduce life significantly or can dama ge them permanently. 2. Very sensitive to temperature 3. Service life lowest among the three types 4. Costlier than flood ed / ve nted lea d acid b attery
C) Nickel Cadmium (Ni-cd) ba tt eries Merits 1. Moderate maintenance 2. Higher service life 3. less se nsitive to tempe rature 4. Fumes not corrosive s o can be installed near elec tronic equipment
Demerits 1. Most exp ensive among three types 2. Cannot be transpo rted in charged conditions. 3. Compatibility with resp ect to charger and inverter neede d to be conside red.
Summary of Techno-Commercial Analysis bet ween Ni-Cd & Lead acid Bat t eries No. Description
Ni- Cd
Lead acid
Remarks
1
Reliability Criteria
Worst case failure is cell short circuit. Result is reduced performance. The b attery will continue to support the system.
Worst case failure is cell open circuit. Result is complete loss of battery, known as ‘sudden death’, resulting in an unpredicted system failure.
This point makes NiCd to be superior in terms of purpose
2
Requirement of AirConditioning & a dditional cost of
Nil
Yes
Additional Cost due to Air conditioning equipment and running cost- For VRLA
Electrical Energy 3
Battery Life 20 Years as claimed by UK manufacturers (Industrial Batteries)
5- 7 Years
Replacing cost of VRLA after every 5-7 years will involve manufacturing co st esc alation during that year. Eg.at 6th year, 12th year and 18th year.
4
Batte ry Cost
App ro ximately 3 time s than VRLA
-
-
5
Relative Costs Initial & Life Cycle
Ni- Cd cells have a higher initial cost than lead acid but superior lifetime and characteristics, giving a lower life cycle cost in many applications.
Lead Acid has a low initial cost but a restricted lifetime. In many applica tions they can have a po or life cycle cost.
-
6
Phys ic al Siz e
Ni- Cd c ells a re g ene ra lly larger than VRLA cells.
In terms o f Ah, Lead acid (VRLA) is the most compact battery.
7
Water Topping
Occasionally Required
Not Required
Summary of Comparison bet ween tubular f looded (ordinary Lead-acid) bat t ery with SMF Lead Acid Bat t ery No. Tubular Lead Acid battery
VRLA Battery
1
Tubular posit ive Plat es: The positive active material is held in a polyester tube. This does not allow the materials to shed during charge-discharge cycling resulting in long cyclic life- minimum 1200 cycles at 80 % depth of discharge.
Flat pasted positive plates: The po sitive ac tive material is a paste form pasted over a lead a lloy grid. This results in a shorter cyclic life compared to tubular co nstruction.- minimum 500 cycles at 80% de pth of discharge
2
Electrolyte: Stationary batteries of UPS and Power plant back up works on low specific gravity (1.200) electrolyte and larger in volume. This results in less corrosion of grids and longer life. The larger volume keeps the battery comparatively cooler which also a dds to life.
Electrolyte: VRLA batteries work on high sp ecific g ravity elec trolyte (1.280 to 1.300) and le ss volume. The cells get heated up during charging and high rate discharges which affects the service life.
3
Separators: Micro porous poly ethylene separators are used. This permits the ion movement and positive to negative plate separation.
Separators: Adsorptive g lass mat sepa rators are used in these batteries with a closer spacing between the positive and negative plates. Chances of cell shorting are therefore more.
4
Charging compatibility: Tubular stationary lead acid b atteries can be charged with constant current and co nstant voltage mode. Flooded electrolyte batteries can withstand more abuses during charging. Water lost in electrolyte during such abusive overcharging could be e asily made up manually by periodic top- up. Lagging cells co uld be brought to normal life by an extended equalizing charging without significantly affecting the other cells.
Charging compatibility: VRLA batteries require constant voltage charging with a specified limit only specifically to avo id ove rcharging. If by any chance, the charging conditions are altered, the b attery will ge t heated up which will deteriorate the battery life. Though there is no need to top-up due to the reco mbination principle, it is not always 100% efficient, so some water loss during use is not avoidable. This res ults in a further increas e in e lectrolyte spe cific gravity and life reduction. Equaliz ing (Extended) charging in VRLA batteries results in some cells getting heated up and life reduction.
5
Containers: We use transparent SAN containers. The electrol te level is easil
Not applicable: Cannot monitor Electrolyte
seen for topping up needs and ea se of maintenance. Low maintenance. 6
Need for temperature control: Due to the large electrolyte volume the temperature of the cells generally do not rise abnormally during charging. No need for Air conditioning.
Need for temperature control: The close packing arrangement and compactness of the stack in the cell assembly rises the temperature sharply during charging. Due to this, VRLA battery manufacturers invariably recommend the need for air co nditioned environment for the battery compartments. This adds to the cost of maintenance.
