Detection of Low Electrolyte Level for Vented Lead–Acid Batteries Based on Electrical Measurements

Abstract

It is well known that a low level of electrolytes in batteries produces a malfunction or even failure and irreversible damage. There are several kinds of sensors to detect the electrolyte level. Some of them are non-invasive, such as optical sensors of level, while some others are invasive; but both require one sensor per battery. This paper proposes a different approach to detect the low electrolyte level, which neither requires invasive sensors nor one sensor for each battery. The approach is based on the estimation of the internal resistance of an equivalent electrical circuit (EEC) model of the battery. To establish the detection criterion of the low level of electrolytes, a statistical analysis is proposed. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to be considered a valid method, multiple experiments were performed. The experiments consisted of determining how the internal resistance is affected at eight different levels of electrolyte at different aging levels of vented lead–acid (VLA) batteries. The results have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach. Hence, this approach has the potential to be used for the reducing of sensors and avoiding invasive methods to determine the low level of electrolytes.

Water Loss Predictive Tests in Flooded Lead‐Acid Batteries

“…Water loss and corrosion of the positive plate grid represent two of the main aging processes in FLAB and are closely interdependent [2,3] . To date, the most widely used industrial method to determine the water consumption in generic LAB is the weight loss test.…”

“…in an appropriate customized cage. The determination of water consumption in full size configuration is mainly detected by the weight loss and gas analysis tests [3,5–9] . In the latter case, the tests on the outing gas, obtained during the working condition, are carried out exploiting the variation in pressure [10,11] or evaluating the composition and volume of the vented gas with a gas chromatograph [7,8,12–15] .…”

“…Water loss and corrosion of the positive plate grid represent two of the main aging processes in FLAB and are closely interdependent. [2,3] To date, the most widely used industrial method to determine the water consumption in generic LAB is the weight loss test. However, this method doesn't allow to understand the different origins of water loss (for example, hydrogen, oxygen evolution and water vapor itself [4] ).…”

“…The determination of water consumption in full size configuration is mainly detected by the weight loss and gas analysis tests. [3,[5][6][7][8][9] In the latter case, the tests on the outing gas, obtained during the working condition, are carried out exploiting the variation in pressure [10,11] or evaluating the composition and volume of the vented gas with a gas chromatograph. [7,8,[12][13][14][15] Such tests, carried out on full size cell, are developed in constant current or constant voltage mode for at least one day or more (weeks/ months), and in most cases the applied or collected potential is limited to the cell potential without discriminate the positive potential from the negative potential in the overcharging period.…”