Electrical

ATA 24
Power
Batteries
Batteries
A battery is an energy storage device that
relies on electrochemical reactions to deliver
energy.
There are two types of batteries :
PRIMARY CELL BATTERIES
SECONDARY CELL BATTERIES
 PRIMARY CELL BATTERIES

The dry cell is the most common type of

primary-cell battery and is similar in its
characteristics to that of an electrolytic cell.
This type of a battery is basically designed
with a metal electrode or graphite rod
acting as the cathode (+) terminal,
immersed in an electrolytic paste.
These batteries are commonly used to
power items such as flashlights. The most
common primary cells today are found in
alkaline batteries, silver-oxide and lithium
batteries.
The earlier carbon-zinc cells, with a carbon
post as cathode and a zinc shell as anode
were once prevalent but are not as
common.
 SECONDARY CELL BATTERIES
A secondary cell is any kind of electrolytic cell in which
the electrochemical reaction that releases energy is
reversible.
There are types of secondary cells:
Lead Acid Battery: a) DRY CHARGED (FLOODED) LEAD ACID BATTERIES
b) VALVE-REGULATED (SEALED) LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
(VRLA)
Nickel Cadmium Battery
Lithium-ion Battery
 LEAD ACID BATTERY

The lead-acid car battery is a secondary-cell battery as are

some aircraft batteries.
The electrolyte is sulphuric acid (battery acid),
The positive electrode is lead peroxide, and the negative
electrode is lead.
A typical lead-acid battery consists of six lead-acid cells in a
case.
Each cell produces 2 volts, so the whole battery produces a
total of 12 volts.
 Lead Acid Battery
A practical cell is constructed with many more plates than
just two in order to get the required current output.
All positive plates are connected together as well as all the
negatives. Because each positive plate is always
positioned between two negative plates, there are always
one or more negative plates than positive plates.
Between the plates are porous separators that keep the
positive and negative plates from touching each other and
shorting out the cell.
Each cell is seated in a hard rubber casing through the
top of which are terminal posts and a hole into which is
screwed a non-spill vent cap. The hole provides access for
testing the strength of the electrolyte and adding water.
The vent plug permits gases to escape from the cell with a
minimum of leakage of electrolyte, regardless of the
position the airplane might assume.
 DRY CHARGED (FLOODED)LEAD ACID
BATTERY
The electrolyte is added to the battery when
it is placed in service, and battery life begins
when the electrolyte is added
An aircraft storage battery consists of 6 or 12
lead acid cells connected in series.
The open circuit voltage of the 6 cell battery
is approximately 12 volts, and the open
circuit voltage of the 12-cell battery is
approximately 24 volts.
When flooded (vented) batteries are on
charge, the oxygen generated at the positive
plates escapes from the cell. Concurrently, at
the
negative plates, hydrogen is generated from
OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE:
water and escapes from the cell. The overall
It is the voltage of the battery when it is not result is the gassing of the cells and water
loss.
connected to a load.
VALVE-REGULATED (SEALED) LEAD-ACID
BATTERIES (VRLA) VRLA batteries contain all electrolyte absorbed in glass-
mat separators with no free electrolyte and are
sometimes referred to as sealed batteries.The
electrochemical reactions for VRLA batteries are the
same as flooded batteries, except for the gas
recombination mechanism that is predominant in VRLA
batteries.
These types of battery are used in general aviation and
turbine powered aircraft and are sometimes authorized
replacements for NiCd batteries.
When VRLA batteries are on charge, oxygen combines
chemically with the lead at the negative plates in the
presence of H2SO4 to form lead sulfate and water. This
oxygen recombination suppresses the generation
of hydrogen at the negative plates. Overall, there is no
water loss during charging.
A very small quantity of water may be lost as a result
of self-discharge reactions; however, such loss is so
small that no provisions are made for water
replenishment.
The battery cells have a pressure relief safety valve
 Nickel Cadmium Battery
A NiCd battery consists of a metallic box, usually
stainless steel, plastic-coated steel, painted steel,
or titanium containing a number of individual cells.
These cells are connected in series to obtain 12
volts or 24 volts.
The positive plate is Nickel Hydroxide and Negative
plate is Metallic cadmium and Electrolyte is
Potassium Hydroxide
The cells are connected by highly conductive nickel
copper links. Inside the battery box, the cells are
held in place by partitions, liners, spacers, and a
cover assembly.
The battery has a ventilation system to allow the
escape of the gases produced during an overcharge
condition and provide cooling during normal
operation.
NiCd cells installed in an aircraft battery are typical
 Nickel Cadmium Battery
Aircraft that are outfitted with NiCd batteries typically have a fault protection system
that monitors the condition of the battery.
The battery charger is the unit that monitors the condition of the battery and the
following conditions are monitored.
1. Overheat condition
2. Low temperature condition (below –40 °F)
3. Cell imbalance
4. Open circuit
5. Shorted circuit
If the battery charger finds a fault, it turns off and sends a fault signal to the Electrical
Load Management System (ELMS).
NiCd batteries are capable of performing to its rated capacity when the ambient
temperature of the battery is in the range of approximately 60–90 °F.
A combination of high battery temperature (in excess of 160 °F) and overcharging can
lead to a condition called thermal runawayThe temperature of the battery has to be
constantly monitored to ensure safe operation.
Thermal runaway can result in a NiCd chemical fire and/or explosion of the NiCd battery
 Lithium Ion Battery
The most recent type of battery to be certified in aircraft is
the lithium ion battery. These batteries have greater
capacity and weigh less than NiCd or lead acid types. They
have no memory as NiCd batteries have and discharge less
than half as slowly when not being used.
The anode is a graphite layered structure capable of storing
and releasing lithium ions. Cathode materials vary.
A water-free electrolyte composed of organic carbonates
resides between the anode and cathode. It functions as a
transport medium for the lithium ions moving from the
anode to the cathode during discharge and from the
cathode
to the anode during charging.
Typical cell output voltage is between 3 and 4.2 volts
depending primarily on the materials used to construct the
cathode.
Eight cells connected in series are typical
Lithium ion aircraft batteries require built-in safety devices
 BATTERY INSTALLATIONS AND
OPERATION
Most modern airliners have at least two batteries - one for the aircraft and
a separate, dedicated battery for APU starting. The main aircraft battery
supplies the power for DC loads while the aircraft is on the ground. In the
air, it supplies standby system power. is includes power to all components
required to deployed the ram air turbine (RAT). Because of it's
independent nature, powered by ram air engine, the RAT is an important
component of emergency power production for the standby system. When
the RAT supplies electrical power from it's generator, the aircraft battery
no long supplies the standby bus. Usually, the same nickel-cadmium
battery is used for both the main aircraft battery and the APU battery.
ey are interchangeable. These batteries weigh near 100 pounds (45 kg).
Attach fittings on a battery facilitate the use of lifting equipment during
removal and installation. Most aircraft use 28V DC batteries but
configurations exist where two 14V batteries are connected in series to
arrive at 28V for bus use.
 BATTERY INSTALLATIONS AND
OPERATION
Typical transport aircraft batteries have two connectors.
The large connector is a terminal block which connects the high power output of the
battery into the bus system. The smaller electrical connector is for battery control
and status signals. Temperature sensors and overheat sensing are common. A
cooling fan may be included in the installation.
The battery system installation includes a battery charger for each battery. The
chargers change AC power into DC power for DC buses in addition to keeping the
batteries charged. They are LRU's that have the same connectors as the batteries.
Status monitoring and control signals are AC powered throughout the small
electrical connector. The battery chargers have multiple charging modes.
Up to 65 amps may be drawn directly from the tightly controlled voltage output of
this TR. Temperature sensing is important during battery charging. Built in sensors
are used to isolate the battery charger should an over temp occur. Most airliner
battery chargers are controlled by a series of relays so that the chargers only
charge when power production is normal. In addition to a control relay in the
charger, a battery thermal switch controlled by battery temperature interrupt
charging when the battery or the charger are hot.
Thank
you