UNIT V:

TOPIC 3-
BATTERIES

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 DEFINITIONS
1.A battery is device which converts chemical energy into
electrical energy
2.Batteries consist of two or more voltaic cells connected in series
to provide a steady DC voltage at the output terminals
3.Voltage is produced due to chemical reaction inside the cell.
4.Battery’s output voltage and current rating depends on the
elements used for the electrodes, size of electrodes and type of
electrolyte.
5.Whhether a battery can be recharged or not,depends on the
cells used to make battery.
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 CLASSIFICATION OF BATTERIES
I.PRIMARY BATTERIES:
1.The batteries that are NOT RECHARGABLE are known as Primary
batteries.
2.Eg:Disposable batteries(AA ,AAA type) used in wall clocks,
television remote etc.
II.SECONDARY BATTERIES:
1.The batteries that are RECHARGABLE are known as Secondary
batteries.
2.Eg: batteries used in mobile phones,MP3 players etc.

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 TYPES OF PRIMARY BATTERIES/CELLS
I.CARBON-ZINC DRY CELL:
1. It is the most popular primary cell
2.Output voltage is 1.5V
3.Negative electrode or cathode -zinc,
positive electrode or anode-carbon
4.Performance increases with intermittent operation
II.ALKALINE CELL:
1.It is another popular cell.
2.Output voltage is 1.5V
3. Negative electrode or cathode –Manganese dioxide,
positive electrode or anode-Zinc
4.Due to low resistance,efficiency is high.
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 TYPES OF PRIMARY BATTERIES/CELLS
III.ZINC-CHLORIDE CELL:
1. It is referred as heavy duty type battery
2.It is a modifies zinc-carbon cell
3.As it consumes water along with chemically active materials,liquid leakage
may occur
IV.MERCURY CELL:
1. Negative electrode or cathode –Mercury compound,
positive electrode or anode-Zinc
2.Electroltyte is sodium hydroxide
3.As mercury is dangerous,it is outdated

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 TYPES OF PRIMARY BATTERIES/CELLS
V. SILVER-OXIDE CELL:
1. Negative electrode or cathode –Mercury compound,
positive electrode or anode-Zinc
2.Electroltyte is sodium hydroxide
3.Output voltage is 1.5V
4.They are used in cameras,watches
VI.LITHIUM CELL:
1.It is another popular cell.
2.Output voltage is 1.5V
3. Negative electrode or cathode –Manganese dioxide,
positive electrode or anode-Zinc
4.Due to low resistance,efficiency is high.
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 TYPES OF SECONDARY BATTERIES/CELLS
I.LEAD-ACID CELL:
1.Output voltage is 2.1 V
2.Negative electrode or cathode –Lead dioxide
positive electrode or anode-Porus lead
3.Electrolyte-Sulfuric acid
4.Used in inverters, automobiles(high load currents)
II.NICKEL CADMIUM CELL:
1.Output voltage is 1.2V and can be recharged many times
2. Negative electrode or cathode –Cadmium hydroxide,
positive electrode or anode-Nickel hydroxide
3.Electrolyte-Potassium hydroxide
4.Used in alarm systems, portable audio and
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TV
BATTERIES 7
 TYPES OF SECONDARY BATTERIES/CELLS
III.LITHIUM ION BATTERY:
1.Negative electrode or cathode –Lithium manganese dioxide
positive electrode or anode-Graphite
3.Electrolyte-Mixture of lithium salts
4.Most compact, safe and energy density is 2 times that of Ni-Cd cell.
IV.NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE CELL:
1.Anode,cathode are same as Ni-Cd cell
2.Capacity is 40% more than Ni-Cd cell
3.Used in applications requiring long battery hour usage
4.Most expensive and cannot be cycled as frequently as Ni-Cd cell
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 TYPES OF SECONDARY BATTERIES/CELLS
V.NICKEL IRON(EDISON)BATTERY:
1.Anode-Nickel hydroxide, cathode-Iron
2.Electrolyte- Potassium hydroxide
3.Used where the rate of charge and discharge is high
4.Applications:Emergency lamps in hospitals
VI.FUEL CELL:
1.Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts chemicals(hydrogen and
oxygen) into water and produces electricity
2.Fuel cells are used extensively in space program as a source of DC power
3.They are very efficient and produced 100s of KW power

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 TYPES OF SECONDARY BATTERIES/CELLS
VII.SOLAR CELL:
1.Solar cell converts sun’s light energy into electric energy
2.Solar cells are semiconductor materials
3.Solar cells are arranged in modules, assembled into a large solar array to
produce the required power
4.Voltage capacity increases with series connection of solar cells
5.Current capacity increases with parallel connection of solar cells
6.To increase both current and voltage capacity, solar cells are connected in both
series and parallel.

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERIES
I.CHEMISTRY
1.The main battery chemistries are lead, nickel and lithium
2.They must be charged with specified charger to eliminate misoperation
II.RATED VOLTAGE
1.The rated voltage must be verified before connecting in circuit
III.BATTERY CAPACITY
1.Battery capacity(Ampere-hours) is a measure of the charge stored by the
battery and is determined by the active material in the battery
2. Ampere hour is defined as the amount of energy charge in a battery that will
allow one ampere of current to flow for one hour.

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERIES
3.The energy stored in a battery is known as battery capacity and is
also measured in Watt-hour or Kilo watt hour
4.Battery capacity represents the maximum energy that can be
extracted from the battery
5.The actual battery capacity depends on it’s age, past history,
charging time and discharging time and thus can vary from the
rated capacity
6. Eg: A 12V,7Ah battery is supposed to provide 7A @12V during one
hour

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF BATTERIES
IV.COLD CRANKING AMPERES(CCA)
1.Every battery is numbered with CCA.
2.The number denotes the current the battery is able to
provide at -18°C

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 COMPARISON OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CELLS
S.NO PRIMARY CELLS SECONDARY CELLS
.
1 Cannot be recharged Can be recharged
2 Light weight Heavy weight
3 Short life and low cost Long life and high cost
4 Low power output and High power output and
low efficiency high efficiency
5 Not used continuously Used continuously
6 Less maintenance High maintenance

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