The Lead-Acid Battery - Chemical Reaction

Lead Acid Battery Basics

Lead Acid Batteries are Electro-chemical devices

As such, they are designed to fail over time
Life expectancy is primarily a function of the
thickness of the positive plate and electrolyte
configuration
Traditional flooded lead acid batteries are designed
to last 20 years in normal float conditions at 77
degrees F.
Valve Regulated Lead Acid batteries (VRLA) typically
experience 5-12 years of life, with 6&12 volt
monoblocs failing at the lower end of this life
expectancy range and 2 volt cells being a bit more
robust

Lead Acid Battery Basics

Stationary Lead Acid Batteries come in a variety of designs
& Chemistries:
Flooded
Plate Design: Flat plate, tubular plate and Plante
Positive Plate Thickness: Long Duration, General Purpose, High Rate
Positive Plate Alloy: Lead Calcium, High or Low percentage Lead
Antimony, Lead Selenium, Pure lead (Plante)
Electrolyte: Aqueous H2SO4 Specific Gravity varies

VRLA

Plate Design: Flat plate, tubular plate

Positive Plate Thickness: Long Duration, High rate
Positive plate alloy: Lead/tin, Lead/Calcium, pure lead
Electrolyte: Immobilized H2SO4 Gelled or Absorbed Glass Mat
(starved electrolyte) AGM, Specific Gravity varies

Lead Acid battery Basics

Battery design parameters will dictate the

charge or float voltage of the battery e.g., Lead
Calcium vs. Lead Antimony
Temperature of the installation will dictate the
charge or float voltage of the battery
Specific Gravity of the electrolyte will dictate the
charge or float voltage of the battery
Installation configuration e.g., distance from
battery to charge source will dictate voltage
setting

System Analysis

Measure actual plant load ( in DC amps)

Document installed batterys rated capacity
Identify required battery run time (in hours)
Multiply the DC load by run time to determine site amp
hours required, to proper end voltage
Example:
28 amps x 8 hrs. = 224 site amp hours
Then add 25 % for end of life consideration!!
Over sizing by 25% will insure 100% coverage of the load at
the IEEE specified 80% end of life condition

Condition of Power Plant

Things to look for:

Any Power Plant warning lights/alarms

Proper charging voltage for batteries
Normal DC charge current
Physical damage
Battery physical condition, leaks or bulges
Loose or broken hardware
Review of site records, are they easy to access?

Relevant IEEE Maintenance

Standards
IEEE 450 Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing,
and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications
The purpose of this recommended practice is to provide the user with
information and recommendations concerning the maintenance, testing, and
replacement of vented lead-acid batteries used in stationary applications.

IEEE-1188 Recommended Practice for Maintenance, Testing,

and Replacement of Vented Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications
This recommended practice is limited to maintenance, test schedules, and
testing procedures that can be used to optimize the life and performance of
valve-regulated lead-acid (VRLA) batteries for stationary applications. It also
provides guidance to determine when batteries should be replaced.

Reference IEEE Standards

IEEE Std 485 IEEE Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid
Batteries for Stationary Applications.1, 2
IEEE Std 484-1996, IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation
Design and Installation of Vented Lead- Acid Batteries for Stationary
Applications (ANSI/BCI). 1,2
IEEE Std. 1187 IEEE Recommended Practice for Installation Design
and Installation of Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid Storage Batteries for
Stationary Applications.
IEEE Std 1189 IEEE Guide for Selection of Valve-Regulated Lead-Acid
(VRLA) Batteries for Stationary Applications

IEEE publications are available from the Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers, Inc., 445 Hoes Lane,Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
(http://standards.ieee.org/)

Maintenance of VRLA Batteries

Monthly- Overall float voltage measured at battery

terminals, Charger output and voltage, ambient
temperature, visual inspection, DC float current
Quarterly ohmic value, temperature of batteries
at negative terminal, voltage of individual batteries
Yearly In addition to above items, intercell
resistance values, AC ripple/current on batteries,
typically around 50 mA/ 100Ah of capacity is
normal, values 3X this range would be a concern,
check manufacturers guideline for this

Maintenance of Flooded Lead Acid batteries

Monthly String float voltage measured at the battery terminals, general

appearance: cleanliness, water levels, appearance of battery plates, signs of
post corrosion or leaking. Charger output, ambient temperature, voltage and
temperature of Pilot cell if used, battery float charging current or pilot cell
specific gravity (temperature corrected), for antimony cells SG preferred.
Grounding, any monitoring system if installed operational
Quarterly - Individual battery voltages (cell), lead antimony check specific
gravity of 10% of the cells and float charge current, other flooded
technologies check 10% of SG if float current is not used for state of charge
indication, check temperature on 10% of string. Refer to manufacturers
literature and/or IEEE 450 for temperature correction factors for voltage and
specific gravity.
Yearly Add to quarterly routine: SG on all antimony cells, if not using float
current for other types of cells check all SG, detailed visual inspection of all
cells, Cell to cell and terminal connection resistance values, structural integrity
of racks.

Ohmic Testing Methods

Conductance:
A low AC voltage signal is impressed across the battery
terminals and the AC current response is measured. The
conductance is the ratio of the AC test current response to
the impressed AC voltage
DC Resistance:
Short duration DC load on the cell/unit to measure step
change in current and voltage. By dividing the change in
voltage by the change in current, a DC resistance is
calculated using Ohms Law
Impedance:
Performed by sending an AC current of a known frequency
and amplitude, into the cell/unit and measuring the AC
voltage drop. Compute the resulting impedance using
Ohms Law

Capacity correlation performed by HBL Battery, India

480 VRLA batteries in 200 to 300 Ah range. Correlation approximately 90%

% Original Value

% Rated Capacity

CONDUCTANCE CORRELATION
100
95

% Rated Capacity

90
85
80
120
110
100

Conductance

90
80

10

20

30

40

50

% Life

60

70

80

90

100

Source: Johnson Controls Form 41-7271 Rev.8/94

Ohmic Testing
IEEE 1188 addresses ohmic testing of VRLA batteries
No one method is specifically endorsed
Goal is to provide a consistent method of quantifying these ohmic
values
When taken, the values obtained, equipment used and location test
points should be recorded for consistent procedures
Trending of data is key, establish a baseline value & trend against this
value going forward
Substantial changes (typically 30% or more +/-) generally indicate it is
time to change the batteries
Installation variations will effect ohmic values parallel strings can
produce an ohmic signature substantially different from series
connected cells
Understand that all Ohmic testers may cause some Voltage Creep

Probe Placement

Consistent Probe Placement

Ohmic Testing & Reference

Values

Baseline or benchmark value. Measurements of

known good batteries are taken to create this value.
They come from battery manufacturers, Midtronics
lab, customer testing, discharge results.
Important to note that a reference value is an
estimate where the batteries should be, not an
exact value.
Trending new batteries is the best method.
To trend or establish a reference value, you can take
measurements within the first 1 year, preferably
within the first 90 days for VRLA batteries. For wet
cell or lead acid batteries you can establish
readings within 3 years.

Ohmic Testing Alternatives

Traditional Ohmic testing uses hand held devices to capture conductance,
resistance or impedance information.
Variations in testing procedures and failure to properly record and trend data
can introduce error.
Batteries can fail in between testing routines
Installed 24/7 monitoring reduces human error and gaps in routines
Monitoring systems should allow for verification of cell health, intercell
connection integrity, temperature on each cell, ambient temperature, cell and
bus voltage, charge current, and capture discharge event data.
Monitoring systems should allow for alarming to all personnel remotely, and
allow for ability to drill down to cell level
Options for communication protocol, ease of installation, and data capture for
regular reporting and filing need to be considered