Initial performance of advanced designs for IPV nickel-hydrogen cells

Advanced designs for individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells have been conceived which should improve the cycle life at deep depths-of-discharge and improve thermal management. Features of the designs which are new and not incorporated in either of the contemporary cells (Air Force/Hughes, Comsat) are: (1) use of alternate methods of oxygen recombination, (2) use of serrated edge separators to facilitate movement of gas within the cell while still maintaining required physical contact with the wall wick, and (3) use of an expandable stack to accommodate some of the nickel electrode expansion. The designs also consider electrolyte volume requirements over the life of the cells, and are fully compatible with the Air Force/Hughes design

Effect of storage and LEO cycling on manufacturing technology IPV nickel-hydrogen cells

Yardney Manufacturing Technology (MANTECH) 50 A-hr space weight individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells were evaluated. This consisted of investigating: the effect of storage and charge/discharge cycling on cell performance. For the storage test the cells were precharged with hydrogen, by the manufacturer, to a pressure of 14.5 psia. After undergoing activation and acceptance tests, the cells were discharged at C/10 rate (5A) to 0.1 V or less. The terminals were then shorted. The cells were shipped to NASA Lewis Research Center where they were stored at room temperature in the shorted condition for 1 year. After storage, the acceptance tests were repeated at NASA Lewis. A comparison of test results indicate no significant degradation in electrical performance due to 1 year storage. For the cycle life test the regime was a 90 minute low earth orbit at deep depths of discharge (80 and 60 percent). At the 80 percent DOD the three cells failed on the average at cycle 741. Failure for this test was defined to occur when the cell voltage degraded to 1 V prior to completion of the 35 min discharge. The DOD was reduced to 60 percent. The cycle life test was continued

Validation test of 125 Ah advanced design IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells

An update of validation test results confirming the advanced design nickel-hydrogen cell is presented. An 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, which are not incorporated in state-of-the-art design cells, 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 due to charge/discharge cycling. The significant improvements resulting from these innovations are extended cycle life; enhanced thermal, electrolyte, and oxygen management; and accommodation of 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 do not have catalyst on the wall wick (control cells). All six cells are in the process of being evaluated in a LEO cycle life test at the Naval Weapons Support Center, Crane, IN, under a NASA Lewis Research Center contract. The catalyzed wall wick cells have been cycled for over 19000 cycles with no cell failures in the continuing test. Two of the noncatalyzed wall wick cells failed (cycles 9588 and 13,900)

Effect of KOH concentration on LEO cycle life of IPV nickel-hydrogen flight battery cells

A breakthrough in low earth orbit (LEO) cycle life of individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel hydrogen battery cells was reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte was about 40,000 LEO cycles compared to 3500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH. The effect of KOH concentration on cycle life was studied. The cycle regime was a stressful accelerated LEO, which consisted of a 27.5 min charge followed by a 17.5 min charge (2 x normal rate). The depth of discharge (DOD) was 80 percent. The cell temperature was maintained at 23 C. The next step is to validate these results using flight hardware and a real time LEO test. NASA Lewis has a contract with the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC), Crane, Indiana, to validate the boiler plate test results. Six 48 A-hr Hughes recirculation design IPV nickel-hydrogen flight battery cells are being evaluated. Three of the cells contain 26 percent KOH (test cells) and three contain 31 percent KOH (control cells). They are undergoing real time LEO cycle life testing. The cycle regime is a 90-min LEO orbit consisting of a 54-min charge followed by a 36-min discharge. The depth-of-discharge is 80 percent. The cell temperature is maintained at 10 C. The cells were cycled for over 8000 cycles in the continuing test. There were no failures for the cells containing 26 percent KOH. There was two failures, however, for the cells containing 31 percent KOH

Validation test of advanced technology for IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells: Update

Individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel-hydrogen technology was advanced at NASA Lewis and under Lewis contracts with the intention of improving cycle life and performance. One advancement was to use 26 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte to improve cycle life. Another advancement was to modify the state-of-the-art cell design to eliminate identified failure modes. The modified design is referred to as the advanced design. A breakthrough in the low-earth-orbit (LEO) cycle life of IPV nickel-hydrogen cells has been previously reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent KOH electrolyte was about 40,000 LEO cycles compared to 3,500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH. The boiler plate test results are in the process of being validated using flight hardware and real time LEO testing at the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC), Crane, Indiana under a NASA Lewis Contract. An advanced 125 Ah IPV nickel-hydrogen cell was designed. The primary function of the advanced cell is to store and deliver energy for long-term, LEO spacecraft missions. The new features of this design are: (1) use of 26 percent rather than 31 percent 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 due to charge/discharge cycling. The significant improvements resulting from these innovations are: extended cycle life; enhanced thermal, electrolyte, and oxygen management; and accommodation of nickel electrode expansion. The advanced cell design is in the process of being validated using real time LEO cycle life testing of NWSC, Crane, Indiana. An update of validation test results confirming this technology is presented

Effect of LEO cycling on 125 Ah advanced design IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells. An update

Validation testing of the NASA Lewis 125 Ah advanced design individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel-hydrogen flight cells was conducted. Work consisted of characterization, storage, and cycle life testing. There was no capacity degradation after 52 days of storage with the cells in the discharged state, an open circuit, 0 C, and a hydrogen pressure of 14.5 psia. The catalyzed wall wick cells were cycled for over 11,000 cycles with no cell failures in the continuing test. One of the noncatalyzed wall wick cells failed

Effect of KOH concentration on LEO cycle life of IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells-update 2

An update of validation test results confirming the breakthrough in low earth orbit (LEO) cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells containing 26 percent KOH electrolyte is presented. A breakthrough in the LEO cycle life of individual pressure vessel (IPV nickel-hydrogen cells has been previously reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte was about 40 000 LEO cycles compared to 3500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH. This test was conducted at Hughes Aircraft Company under a NASA Lewis contract. The purpose was to investigate the effect of KOH concentration on cycle life. The cycle regime was a stressful accelerated LEO, which consisted of a 27.5 min charge followed by a 17.5 min discharge (2x normal rate). The depth of discharge (DOD) was 80 percent. The cell temperature was maintained at 23 C. The boiler plate test results are in the process of being validated using flight hardware and real time LEO test at the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC), Crane, Indiana under a NASA Lewis Contract. Six 48 Ah Hughes recirculation design IPV nickel-hydrogen flight battery cells are being evaluated. Three of the cells contain 26 percent KOH (test cells), and three contain 31 percent KOH (control cells). They are undergoing real time LEO cycle life testing. The cycle regime is a 90-min LEO orbit consisting of a 54-min charge followed by a 36-min discharge. The depth-of-discharge is 80 percent. The cell temperature is maintained at 10 C. The three 31 percent KOH cells failed (cycles 3729, 4165, and 11355). One of the 26 percent KOH cells failed at cycle 15314. The other two 26 percent KOH cells were cycled for over 16600 cycles during the continuing test

Nickel hydrogen batteries: An overview

This paper on nickel hydrogen batteries is an overview of the various nickel hydrogen battery design options, technical accomplishments, validation test results and trends. There is more than one nickel hydrogen battery design, each having its advantage for specific applications. The major battery designs are individual pressure vessel (IPV), common pressure vessel (CPV), bipolar and low pressure metal hydride. State-of-the-art (SOA) nickel hydrogen batteries are replacing nickel cadmium batteries in almost all geosynchronous orbit (GEO) applications requiring power above 1 kW. However, for the more severe low earth orbit (LEO) applications (greater than 30,000 cycles), the current cycle life of 4000 to 10,000 cycles at 60 percent DOD should be improved. A LeRC innovative advanced design IPV nickel hydrogen cell led to a breakthrough in cycle life enabling LEO applications at deep depths of discharge (DOD). A trend for some future satellites is to increase the power level to greater than 6 kW. Another trend is to decrease the power to less than 1 kW for small low cost satellites. Hence, the challenge is to reduce battery mass,volume, and cost. A key is to develop a light weight nickel electrode and alternate battery designs. A common pressure vessel (CPV) nickel hydrogen battery is emerging as a viable alternative to the IPV design. It has the advantage of reduced mass, volume and manufacturing costs. A 10 Ah CPV battery has successfully provided power on the relatively short lived Clementine Spacecraft. A bipolar nickel hydrogen battery design has been demonstrated (15,000 LEO cycles, 40 percent DOD). The advantage is also a significant reduction in volume, a modest reduction in mass, and like most bipolar designs, features a high pulse power capability. A low pressure aerospace nickel metal hydride battery cell has been developed and is on the market. It is a prismatic design which has the advantage of a significant reduction in volume and a reduction in manufacturing cost

A review of nickel hydrogen battery technology

This paper on nickel hydrogen batteries is an overview of the various nickel hydrogen battery design options, technical accomplishments, validation test results and trends. There is more than one nickel hydrogen battery design, each having its advantage for specific applications. The major battery designs are individual pressure vessel (IPV), common pressure vessel (CPV), bipolar and low pressure metal hydride. State-of-the-art (SOA) nickel hydrogen batteries are replacing nickel cadmium batteries in almost all geosynchronous orbit (GEO) applications requiring power above 1 kW. However, for the more severe low earth orbit (LEO) applications (greater than 30,000 cycles), the current cycle life of 4000 to 10,000 cycles at 60 percent DOD should be improved. A NASA Lewis Research Center innovative advanced design IPV nickel hydrogen cell led to a breakthrough in cycle life enabling LEO applications at deep depths of discharge (DOD). A trend for some future satellites is to increase the power level to greater than 6 kW. Another trend is to decrease the power to less than 1 kW for small low cost satellites. Hence, the challenge is to reduce battery mass, volume and cost. A key is to develop a light weight nickel electrode and alternate battery designs. A common pressure vessel (CPV) nickel hydrogen battery is emerging as a viable alternative to the IPV design. It has the advantage of reduced mass, volume and manufacturing costs. A 10 Ah CPV battery has successfully provided power on the relatively short lived Clementine Spacecraft. A bipolar nickel hydrogen battery design has been demonstrated (15,000 LEO cycles, 40 percent DOD). The advantage is also a significant reduction in volume, a modest reduction in mass, and like most bipolar designs, features a high pulse power capability. A low pressure aerospace nickel metal hydride battery cell has been developed and is on the market. It is a prismatic design which has the advantage of a significant reduction in volume and a reduction in manufacturing cost

NASA Lewis advanced IPV nickel-hydrogen technology

Individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel-hydrogen technology was advanced at NASA Lewis and under Lewis contracts. Some of the advancements are as follows: to use 26 percent potassium hydroxide electrolyte to improve cycle life and performance, to modify the state of the art cell design to eliminate identified failure modes and further improve cycle life, and to develop a lightweight nickel electrode to reduce battery mass, hence reduce launch and/or increase satellite payload. A breakthrough in the LEO cycle life of individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen battery cells was reported. The cycle life of boiler plate cells containing 26 percent KOH electrolyte was about 40,000 accelerated LEO cycles at 80 percent DOD compared to 3,500 cycles for cells containing 31 percent KOH. Results of the boiler plate cell tests have been validated at NWSC, Crane, Indiana. Forty-eight ampere-hour flight cells containing 26 and 31 percent KOH have undergone real time LEO cycle life testing at an 80 percent DOD, 10 C. The three cells containing 26 percent KOH failed on the average at cycle 19,500. The three cells containing 31 percent KOH failed on the average at cycle 6,400. Validation testing of NASA Lewis 125 Ah advanced design IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells is also being conducted at NWSC, Crane, Indiana under a NASA Lewis contract. This consists of characterization, storage, and cycle life testing. There was no capacity degradation after 52 days of storage with the cells in the discharged state, on open circuit, 0 C, and a hydrogen pressure of 14.5 psia. The catalyzed wall wick cells have been cycled for over 22,694 cycles with no cell failures in the continuing test. All three of the non-catalyzed wall wick cells failed (cycles 9,588; 13,900; and 20,575). Cycle life test results of the Fibrex nickel electrode has demonstrated the feasibility of an improved nickel electrode giving a higher specific energy nickel-hydrogen cell. A nickel-hydrogen boiler plate cell using an 80 mil thick, 90 percent porous Fibrex nickel electrode has been cycled for 10,000 cycles at 40 percent DOD