Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

I. OBJECTIVE, METHOD and STUDY CASE

1.1. Calculation objective

- Determine maximum expected quantities of flammable gas evolution under the most adverse charging conditions for electrical battery systems
- Determine minimum time for gas accumulation to 50% LEL at zero ventilation, in order to ascertain hazardous area requirements
- Determine minimum ventilation requirements to meet IEE requirements for rooms containing batteries and confirm compliance

1.2. Calculation method

Empirical formulae and manufacturer's recommendations
Ventilation calculation as per IEE 1992 Section 14.16

1.3. Study Case

The Batteries will be located on Electrical Equipment Building (EEB)

The EEB is 2 (two) levels building, layout and dimension as follows:

Length, L Width, W Height, H

Level Room Description
(m) (m) (m)
Level 1 Transformer Room 23 5.5 5
Level 1 MV Switchroom 23 4.5 5
Level 2 Main Switchroom 11.5 10 5
Level 2 Emergency Switchroom 6 10 5

Note:
- EEB level 1 and level 2 share the same HVAC unit area, the total HVAC area ventilation are combined

LEVEL 1 - EEB

5.5m
TRANSFORMER ROOM

10m
4.5m
MV SWITCHROOM

23m

LEVEL 2 -EEB
HVAC UNIT
EEB

10m

EMERGENCY
MAIN SWITCHROOM
SWITCHROOM

5.5m 6m 11.5m
23m

Section-1
page 1 of 2
The UPS Batteries data as follow:

Battery Type
C10 Rating C3 Rating Battery
Tag No Description (Vendor
(Ah) (Ah) Location
Data)
Bat-01A Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank A 275 204 2V275 EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom
Bat-01B Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank B 275 204 2V275 EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom
Bat-02A GTG-01 - 120 VDC Battery Bank A 200 148 2V200 EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom
Bat-02B GTG-02 - 120 VDC Battery Bank B 200 148 2V200 EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom
Bat-02C GTG-03 - 120 VDC Battery Bank C 200 148 2V200 EEB Level 1 - MV Switchroom
Bat-03A Main UPS (230 VAC) - Battery Bank A 400 297 2V400 EEB Level 2 - Main Switchroom
Bat-03B Main UPS (230 VAC) - Battery Bank B 400 297 2V400 EEB Level 2 - Main Switchroom
Bat-04A EDG-01 - 24 VDC Battery Bank 200 148 2V200 EEB Level 2 - Emergency Switchroom
Bat-05A Nav Aids - Battery Bank 320 269 2V320 EEB Level 2 - Emergency Switchroom

Note:
- Batteries data is based on PowerSafe V (VRLA Batteries) Vendor data on Appendix-2
- C1 and C3 rating is taken from battery data at EOD = 1.8 VDC, 20 0C
- Boost Charge will not be apply to VRLA batteries, to maintain it's lifetime
- Battery Maximum Charging current is limmited up to 0.3 of it's C10 rating in Ampere (note: normal operation is about 0.1 of C10)
- HVAC temperature is maintain and assummed to be 20 0C

Section-1
page 2 of 2
Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

II. CALCULATION BASIS

2.1. Battery Type and Installation

Batteries are of the sealed valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) type. They are to be installed on racks or within individual enclosures and
suitably ventilated to comply with the requirements in the IEE Recommendations for Electrical and Electronic Equipment
on Mobile and Fixed Offshore Installations, 1992 (to be denoted IEE(1992) herein).

2.2. Battery Capacities

Battery capacities for UPS and DC power suply system are based on typical Vendor data in Appendix-2.
The maximum number of cells in series is based on the maximum tolerable output voltage and the recommended floating voltage.

2.3. Minimum Ventilation Requirements

The following equation derived from clause 14.16(1) of IEE (1192) is used to calculate the minimum ventilation requirements

11 n I
Minimum Ventilation, Qs =
1000
Where, n is the number of cells in series per battery system
I is the battery charging current (A)

The total ventilation requirement for a room containing more than one charger and battery system is determined by summation of
the individual ventilation requirements of all battery systems in the room.

The ventilation of the switchroom is based on the fresh air make-up of the total area serviced by the HVAC system as contaminated
air is being recirculated with fresh air throughout the whole area, not just the switchroom.

2.4. Hydrogen Gas Accumulation

The H2 gas accumulation calculation determines the amount of time required for the batteries to produce enough H 2 to reach 50% of
the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rate.
The result is determined from typical H 2 gas evolution manufacturer data for VRLA type batteries and typical C3 Ah value from manufacturer data
The calculation includes the summated hydrogen evolution from all batteries within each room

Section-2
Page 1 of 1
Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

III. Calculations

The following example calculations show how the minimum ventilation requirements and hydrogen gas evolution value in
the calculation sheets are derived.
The battery capacity requirement is based on study case in section 1.3

3.1. Electrical Equipment Building Ventilation Requirements

The Electrical Equipment Building contains five battery systems, 2 units 110 VDC Supply Battery System for Switchgear (Bat-01A
and Bat-01B), 3 units 120 VDC GTG Back-up LO Pump Battery System (Bat-02A, Bat-02B and Bat-02C), 2 units 230 VAC Main UPS
Battery System (Bat-03A and Bat-03B), 24 VDC Battery System for Diesel Generator and Nav Aids (Bat-04A and Bat-05A)
The ventilation requirements of the electrical equipment building are determined by summation of the ventilation requirements of
the individual battery systems

3.1.1. Example Calculation

- Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank Ventilation Requirement (Tag No. Bat-03A)
Assuming a float DC voltage (between the rectifier and inverter of the UPS) of
Vndc = 242 VDC
And a nominal float voltage
Vf = 2.28 VDC / cell
The maximum number of cells in series required per battery is
nmax = Vndc / Vf = 107 cells per battery
From preliminary Vendor data on section 1.3, UPS batteries require a C 10 Ah capacity of
C10 = 400 Ah

It is assumed the maximum charging current is limited to 0.3 of C 10 battery capacity in Ampere.
(assumption is to demonstrate high charging current, in normal condition VRLA batteries will not be boost charge to maintain it's lifetime,
and normally will use 0.1 of C10 which will take 10hours to reach 80% recharge. See battery catalogue in appendix-2)

Taking the value of C10 as per vendor data in section 1.3, the maximum UPS batteries charge current is then
Imax = 0.3 x 400 = 120 A
The minimum ventilation requirements for the main UPS-A battery, given the maximum charge current and the
maximum number of cells is

11 n max Imax
QUPS = =
3
141.24 m /hr
1000

3.1.2. Calculations Table Summary for Battery Bank Ventilation Requirement

Assumming:
Vf = 2.28 VDC / cell
Imax = 0.3 x C10 battery capacity in Ampere
Vndc = assumed as listed in table bellow

C10 Rating Vndc nmax Imax Q

Tag No Description 3
(Ah) (V DC) (cells/batt) (A) (m /hr)
Bat-01A Switchgear Supply - 110V DC Battery Bank A 275 121.5 54 82.5 49.01
Bat-01B Switchgear Supply - 110V DC Battery Bank B 275 121.5 54 82.5 49.01
Bat-02A GTG-01 - 120V DC Battery Bank A 200 130 58 60 38.28
Bat-02B GTG-02 - 120V DC Battery Bank B 200 130 58 60 38.28
Bat-02C GTG-03 - 120V DC Battery Bank C 200 130 58 60 38.28
Bat-03A Main UPS (230V AC) - Battery Bank A 400 242 107 120 141.24
Bat-03B Main UPS (230V AC) - Battery Bank B 400 242 107 120 141.24
Bat-04A EDG-01 - 24V DC Battery Bank 200 26.4 12 60 7.92
Bat-05A Nav Aids - Battery Bank 320 26.4 12 96 12.67
Total 515.93

Section-3
Page 1 of 3
3.1.3. Total Electrical Equipment Building Ventilation Requirements

The total Electrical Equipment Building ventilation requirements ( Q T-EEB ) are,

3
Q T-EEB = Q01A + Q01B + Q02A + Q02B + Q02C + Q03A + Q03B + Q04A + Q04B = 515.93 m /hr

The design Elect. Equip. Building service area ventilation rate (refer to HVAC calculation in Appendix-1) is
Q A = Q R-LEV1 + Q R-LEV2 = 1823.4 m3/hr

Therefore the design ventilation rate of the room is 3.53 times the required minimum ventilation rate due to the batteries system

The ratio of Minimum Ventilation / Room Ventilation is 28.29%

3.2. Electrical Equipment Building Hydrogen Gas Accumulation

The Electrical Equipment Building is sub-divided into 2 levels, 4 section rooms, which is Transformer Room and MV Switchroom
on Level-1, and Main Switchroom and Emergency Switchroom on Level-2.
The hydrogen gas contributions of each batteries system are calculated individually and then summed based on it's location
to determine the total gas accumulation for each room.

3.2.1 MV Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-1

MV Switchroom contains five batteries system; 2 units of 110VDC supply system battery banks for switchgear supply (Bat-01A,
and Bat-01B) and 3 units of GTG DC Back UP Lube Oil (Bat-02A, Bat-02B and Bat-02C).

- Example Calculation - 110 VDC Battery Bank A (Bat-01A)

From typical manufacturer's data in appendix-2, the rate of hydrogen gas emission (of VRLA batteries during float charge of 2.28V) is
G = 3.7 ml per cell per C3 Ah per month (based on vendor data in Appendix-2)
The maximum number of cells in series required per battery is
nmax = 54 cells per battery (from section 3.1.2)
The battery C3 Ah capacity for the 110VDC Supply system from typical manufacturer data in section 1.3 is
C3 = 204 Ah
The H2 gas evolution of the 110 VDC Supply system batteries is then

G01A = G x nmax x C3 = 40759 ml per month

3
= 0.00136 m /day (assumed 1 month = 30 days)

- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - MV Switchroom (EEB Level-1)
Assumming:
G = 3.7 ml per cell per C3 Ah per month
nmax = as calculated in section 3.1.2

C3 Rating nmax G
Tag No Description 3
(Ah) (cells/batt) (m /day)
Bat-01A Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank A 204 54 0.00136
Bat-01B Switchgear Supply - 110 VDC Battery Bank B 204 54 0.00136
Bat-02A GTG-01 - 120 VDC Battery Bank A 148 58 0.00106
Bat-02B GTG-02 - 120 VDC Battery Bank B 148 58 0.00106
Bat-02C GTG-03 - 120 VDC Battery Bank C 148 58 0.00106
Total 0.0059

The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are, GTot-MVSR = 0.0059 m3/day
3
Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as, VR-MVSW = 518 m

Assumming a lower explosive limit factor, ke (percentage by volume), the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit is
VR 50
T 0.5 LEL = k e days
G tot 100

Section-3
Page 2 of 3
with ke = 4%
then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for MV Switchrom is

VR 50
MV Switchroom T 0.5 LEL = k e = 1756 days or 4.81 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)
G tot 100

3.2.2 Main Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-2

Main Switchroom contains two batteries system; 2 units of 230 VAC Main UPS (Tag.No. Bat-03A and Bat-03B)
Repeating the procedure in section 3.2.1

- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - Main Switchroom (EEB Level-2)
Assumming:
G = 3.7 ml per cell per C3 Ah per month
nmax = as calculated in section 3.1.2
C3 Rating nmax G
Tag No Description
(Ah) (cells/batt) (m3/day)
Bat-03A Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank A 297 107 0.00392
Bat-03B Main UPS 230 VAC Battery Bank B 297 107 0.00392
Total 0.00784

3
The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are, GTot-MainSR = 0.00784 m /day
Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as, VR-MainSW = 575 m3
with ke = 4%
then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for Main Switchrom is

VR 50
Main Switchroom T 0.5 LEL = k e = 1467 days or 4.02 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)
G tot 100

3.2.3 Emergency Switchroom - Electrical Equipment Building Level-2

Emergency Switchroom contains two batteries system; 1 unit of DEG Battery Systems (Tag.No. Bat-04A) and
1 unit of Nav Aids Battery System (Tag. No. Bat-05A)
Repeating the procedure in section 3.2.1

- Calculation Table Summary for Hydrogen Gas Accumulation - Emergency Switchroom (EEB Level-2)
Assumming:
G = 3.7 ml per cell per C3 Ah per month
nmax = as calculated in section 3.1.2
C3 Rating nmax G
Tag No Description 3
(Ah) (cells/batt) (m /day)
Bat-04A EDG-01 - 24 VDC Battery Bank 148 12 0.00022
Bat-05A Nav Aids - Battery Bank 269 12 0.0004
Total 0.00062

3
The total MV Switchroom hydrogen gas accummulation are, GTot-MainSR = 0.00062 m /day
3
Based on calculation on Appendix-1, the MV Switchroom has approximate volume as, VR-MainSW = 300 m
with ke = 4%
then, the time taken to reach 50% lower explosive limit for Emergency Switchrom is

VR 50
Emerg. Switchroom T 0.5 LEL = k e = 9677 days or 26.5 years (assumming 1 year = 365 days)
G tot 100

Note:
The H2 gas accumulation calculation results in section 3.2 are the amount of time required for the batteries to produce
enough H2 to reach 50% of the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rate
of 0.3 times C10 battery capacity in Ampere.

Section-3
Page 3 of 3
Battery Gas Evolution & Accumulation & Minimum Ventilation Calculation

IV. CALCULATION SUMMARY

Minimum Ventilation /
Time to reach 50% LEL
ROOM NAME Room Ventilation
(%) ( years )
MV Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-1 (note 1) 28.29% 4.81 (note 2, 3)

Main Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-2 (note 1) 28.29% 4.02 (note 2, 3)

Emergency Switchroom - Elect. Equipment Building, Level-2 (note 1) 28.29% 26.51 (note 2, 3)

Notes:
1. Electrical Equipment Building Level-1 and Level-2 share the same HVAC service area, hence the minimum ventilation
calculations are combined

2. The H2 gas accumulation calculation results are the amount of time required for the batteries to produce enough H 2
to reach 50% of the gas lower explosive limit in the absence of ventilation system and at maximum charge rates of
0.3 times C10 battery capacity in Ampere.

3. 50% LEL is calculated by assumming a lower explosive limit of ke percentage by volume is 4%

Conclusions:

1. The VRLA Batteries does not require a separate battery room since the hydrogen accummulation will take long time
to reach 50% LEL even in the absence of ventilation system, i.e. hydrogen accummulation can be negligible

2. The ventilation requirements for rooms containing batteries confirm compliance to meet IEE requirements

Section-4
Page 1 of 1
APPENDIX - 1

HVAC Calculations

1. HVAC Service Volumes and Room Volumes

Table-1 HVAC Service Volumes Calculations (refer to section 1.3 for EEB layout)

Length, L Width, W Height, H Volume (VT)

Room Description 3
(m) (m) (m) L x W x H (m )
EEB Level-1 (Transformer Room) 23 5.5 5 633
EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom) 23 4.5 5 518
EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom) 11.5 10 5 575
EEB-Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom) 6 10 5 300
Total HVAC Service Volume Area for Elect. Equip. Building 2026

Table-2 Electrical Room Volumes Calculation (for room containing batteries only)

Length, L Width, W Height, H Volume (VR)

Room Description 3
(m) (m) (m) L x W x H (m )
EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom) 23 4.5 5 518
EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom) 11.5 10 5 575
EEB Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom) 6 10 5 300

2. Room Ventilation

Assuming:
- The minimum of air changes per hour of electrical rooms: (data can get from HVAC philosophy)
Na = 6 air changes/hour
- A minimum fresh air rate per air change of:
Kf = 15 % fresh air rate per air change
The fresh air ventilation rate of each room and HVAC service area is given by
QR = VR x Na x Kf / 100 (Room Ventilation rate)
and QA = VT x Na x Kf / 100 (Total HVAC Ventilation rate)

HVAC Notes: (refer to HVAC design philosophy)

- All enclosed areas of the platform shall be adequately ventilated by the HVAC systems.
- The HVAC systems shall be sized to suit the required number of air changes per hour as per standard
- The minimum requirement for fresh air/make up air quantities introduced into HVAC systems
shall be determined in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 62, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

Table 3. Room Ventilation Calculation

Room Ventilation, Total HVAC Area

Room Description
QR (m3/hr) 3
Ventilation QA (m /hr)

EEB Level-1 (MV Switchroom) 466.20 1823.4 (note 1)

EEB Level-2 (Main Switchroom) 517.50 1823.4 (note 1)
EEB Level-2 (Emergency Switchroom) 270.00 1823.4 (note 1)

Note:
1. EEB Level-1 and EEB Level-2 share the same HVAC Electrical Equipment Building area,
the total HVAC area ventilation are combined

Appendix-1
Page 1 of 1
APPENDIX - 2

1. Enersys PowerSafe V - Battery Data

2. Enersys PowerSafe V - Charging Current Note 3. Enersys PowerSafe V - Hydrogen Emissions

4. Enersys PowerSafe V - LEL factor ke