Investigation of Tubular Positive Plate Formation in Lead-Acid Batteries by In Situ Electrochemical Scan

Abstract

The tubular positive plate formation in lead-acid batteries has been studied by an in situ electrochemical scan technique to measure the current and potential distributions. The distributions of the current density, potential, and polarization resistance were uneven in the earlier stage of the formation. This is attributed to the conductivity of the positive paste. The formation of the tubular positive plate can be divided into three stages according to the polarization. The first stage is before inputting ϳ50% the charge amount, in which the conductivity of the paste is dominant. After that, the positive polarization depends on both the conductivity and the electrochemical reactions in the formation process between about 50 and 80% charge amount. Finally, the electrochemical reactions become dominant. The charge amount of different parts was also uneven in the entire formation, which was determined by the distribution of the current density in the initial stage of high current charge.

Current and Potential Distributions of Large-Sized Positive Plate in Its Formation of Lead-Acid Batteries

“…To obtain the local current density and potential on the positive plate, an in situ electrochemical scan technique was established. 25 During the formation, the IR drop of six channels in the electrolyte was measured by two in situ scans from bottom to top of the positive plate. The spacing among the channels was 2.4 cm and the data were recorded every 0.5 cm in height in the scan.…”

“…The installation of experiment plates and the measurements of the current density and potential in the formation were described in Ref. 25. The potential reported in this paper was against the Hg/Hg 2 SO 4 /H 2 SO 4 (1.285 g cm Ϫ3 ) reference electrode.…”

“…22,23 In our recent work, an in situ electrochemical scan technique has been established to study the current and potential distributions of the tubular positive plate. 24,25 The formation of the tubular positive plate can be divided into three stages in which the formation rate is controlled by the conductivity of the paste and electrochemical reactions individually or combined together. And the distributions of the current density, potential and polarization resistance are uneven in the earlier stage of the formation.…”

Application of a novel gelled-electrolyte in valve-regulated lead-acid batteries with tubular positive plates

“…However, softening and shedding of PAM in flat plates remain causes for gel battery failure. Since softening and shedding of the active materials in tubular positive plates can be alleviated or prevented, lead-acid batteries with tubular positive plates may present flatter discharge curves, longer cycle life and larger capacity than those with flat plates [1][2][3][4][5][6]. It is expected that gel batteries with tubular positive plates can display excellent performance.…”

In situ electrochemical scan to study the behavior of the asymmetric (single-side) pasted positive plate as used in automotive lead-acid batteries

“…In our previous work [28,29], an in situ electrochemical scan technique was established to measure the current and potential distributions on the lead-acid battery plates. In this paper this technique is used to further study the performances of the two sides of the asymmetric pasted positive plate used in automotive lead-acid batteries.…”