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Effect of LEO cycling on 125 Ah advanced design IPV nickel-hydrogen battery cellsAn advanced 125 Ah individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel-hydrogen cell was designed. The primary function of the advanced cell is to store and deliver energy for long-term, low earth-orbit (LEO) spacecraft missions. The new features of this design are: (1) use of 26 percent rather than 31 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte, (2) use of a patented catalyzed wall wick, (3) use of serrated-edge separators to facilitate gaseous oxygen and hydrogen flow within the cell, while still maintaining physical contact with the wall wick for electrolyte management, and (4) use of a floating rather than a fixed stack (state-of-the-art) to accommodate nickel electrode expansion. Six 125-Ah flight cells based on this design were fabricated by Eagle-Picher. Three of the cells contain all of the advanced features (test cells) and three are the same as the test cells except they don't have catalyst on the wall wick (control cells). All six cells are in the process of being evaluated in a LEO cycle life test. The cells have accumulated about 4700 LEO cycles (60 percent DOD 10 C). There have been no cell failures; the catalyzed wall wick cells, however, are performing better.
Document ID
19910053454
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Smithrick, John J.
(NASA Lewis Research Center Cleveland, OH, United States)
Hall, Stephen W.
(U.S. Navy, Naval Weapons Support Center Crane, IN, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1990
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: August 12, 1990
End Date: August 17, 1990
Accession Number
91A38077
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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