Low-temperature balloon battery Final report, 29 May - 29 Sep. 1968

Development of low temperature electric batteries suitable for balloon

Separator for alkaline electric batteries and method of making

Battery separator membranes of high electrolytic conductivity comprising a cellulose ether and a compatible metallic salt of water soluble aliphatic acids and their hydroxy derivatives are described. It was found that methyl cellulose can be modified by another class of materials, nonpolymeric in nature, to form battery separator membranes of low electrolytic resistance but which have the flexibility of membranes made of unmodified methyl cellulose, and which in many cases enhance flexibility over membranes made with unmodified methyl cellulose. Separator membranes for electrochemical cells comprising a cellulose ether and a modified selected from the group consisting of metallic salts of water soluble alphatic acids and their hydroxy derivatives and to electrochemical cells utilizing said membranes are described

Accelerated test design

The design of an accelerated life test program for electric batteries is discussed. A number of observations and suggestions on the procedures and objectives for conducting an accelerated life test program are presented. Equations based on nonlinear regression analysis for predicting the accelerated life test parameters are discussed

Latent Heat Energy Storage in a Household Refrigerator Powered by Photovoltaic Electricity – Heat Transfer Design and Technical Viability

In remote rural areas without access to the electrical grid, the use of a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) installation to drive a domestic refrigerator can be a viable option for adequate food preservation. In this application, energy storage, probably in electric batteries, is required to guarantee refrigeration conditions during periods without solar energy availability. However, electric batteries are still costly, have limited lifespan and use materials with restricted availability. Latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) can be an alternative to electric batteries with reduced cost and lower environmental impact. The current study presents general design guidelines for a system with a household refrigerator driven by PV power and with LHTES units. The LHTES units consist of finned panels filled with phase change material (PCM) that are placed on the vertical walls of the compartments, and are passively discharged by free convection. A thermodynamic model is used to size the system components and assess the technical viability of the proposed configuration. Special attention is paid to the heat transfer considerations involved in the design of the LHTES units to guarantee the required charge and discharge powers. The analysis is applied to a 400 L sample commercial refrigerator operating in Medellín, Colombia. It is concluded that the refrigerator necessitates moderate modifications to achieve the technical viability of the proposed configuration

Long life communication satellites: Electric power supply during the eclipse period

The electric batteries, essentially nickel-cadmium for French satellites such as D1 A, D1 C, D1 D, D2 B, D5 A, D5 B, etc. and the batteries for such satellites as Symphonie, ANS, INTASAT, ESRO 4, and COS-B are discussed. The experience obtained led to the development of long lifetime batteries for communication satellites. Real simulation tests showed a lifetime of four years and accelerated lifetime tests of twelve years. These batteries will be applied in OTS, METEOSAT, and Marots. At the same time, new batteries are being developed, based on nickel-hydrogen or on silver-hydrogen, which should provide longer lifetime and better reliability

Estudio de viabilidad de aeronaves propulsadas eléctricamente

This work studies the feasibility of using electric batteries in commercial aircraft with the intention of reducing or eliminating the CO2 emissions produced by combustion engines. To achieve this, the functioning of different propulsion systems with electric batteries is explained, followed by the operation and characteristics of different compositions of electric batteries, current and theoretical. The study is based on the characteristics of the batteries and analyses for a number of aircraft and routes, whether it is feasible, in terms of power and weight, to exchange the current fuel for an electric battery. At the end of the study, the advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of electric batteries are listed and it is concluded that although it is possible from a weight point of view, from an economic one, it would not be profitable for airlines with current technologies

Assessment of alternative power sources for mobile mining machinery

Alternative mobile power sources for mining applications were assessed. A wide variety of heat engines and energy systems was examined as potential alternatives to presently used power systems. The present mobile power systems are electrical trailing cable, electrical battery, and diesel - with diesel being largely limited in the United States to noncoal mines. Each candidate power source was evaluated for the following requirements: (1) ability to achieve the duty cycle; (2) ability to meet Government regulations; (3) availability (production readiness); (4) market availability; and (5) packaging capability. Screening reduced the list of candidates to the following power sources: diesel, stirling, gas turbine, rankine (steam), advanced electric (batteries), mechanical energy storage (flywheel), and use of hydrogen evolved from metal hydrides. This list of candidates is divided into two classes of alternative power sources for mining applications, heat engines and energy storage systems