Performance assessment of flooded lead acid cells in telephone central office power plants×focus on round cells

Abstract

IntroductionBattery users have been searching for a simple method of predicting the performance of batteries. Several m t papers have discussed the relationshp between c o n d u c t a n d i c e measunxnents with the level of capacity or the state of health of lead acid batteries 1,23. Much of this work has concentrated on Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) cells. This paper focuses on flooded lead acid batteries only, specifically the AT&T round cell.The paper will present the correlation of the measured conductance data versus the tested capacity of approximately 300 cells collected over the past few years. This paper will also discuss two case studies that illustrate specific examples of power plant evaluations using various methods including capacity testing, inbred thermography and conductance measurements. Finally, some conclusions will be draw on the usefulness and accuracy of using conductance measurements alone to assist in the evaluation of battery plants with the round cell.