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INTRODUCING ALBR &

ALBR PRODUCTS

Who is Alber?
Established 1972
Based in Boca Raton Florida
We manufacture battery test equipment based on extensive experience in and knowledge about Battery design and Battery aging characteristics.
We are the Battery Test Experts!

Products
Our main products are: Battery Capacity Test Systems Cellcorder (Battery Multi-meter) Battery monitoring Systems

Presentation Outline
The need for our products
Battery Basics and why Batteries fail Early detection of failures

Product details and applications

Need for Albr products


Batteries Do and Will Fail The only way to protect against Power System Failure is to detect failures at an early stage. This is done by proactively testing and monitoring the State of Health of the battery using our products.

Why Albr equipment?

Because: Our equipment is the most reliable in detecting problems while there is still time to take corrective action. That is a Technical Fact!

Battery Basics
BASIC LEAD ACID CELL

PBO2

PB

ELECTROLYTE - H2SO4

Descargando

PbO2 + Pb +2HPbO Pb + H2SO4 2 +4 2SO


CHARGE

Cargando

2PbSO 2PbSO 4 + 2H2O 4 DISCHARGE

+ 2H2O

Construccion de Baterias

PASTED PLATE

TYPICAL GRID

BATTERY TYPES
FLOODED Characterized by
abundance of free floating electrolyte

VRLA Electrolyte suspended in absorbing mat (AGM) or gel substance (GEL)

Flooded Cell (Wet Cell)


Battery Design Characterized by an excess of Free Electrolyte and in which the products of the electrolyte can freely evaporate through a vent

VRLA Battery Positive (dark) plates isolated from negative (gray) plates by absorbing mat that also holds the electrolyte

Colchoneta

FLOODED vs. VRLA


Both use pasted plates Flooded has excess electrolyte VRLA holds very little. Flooded looses small amount of water during charging VRLA theoretically looses none

FLOODED vs. VRLA


Flooded more reliable longer life VRLA higher energy density VRLA has same failure modes as Flooded plus suffers Dryout and Thermal Runaway

WATER LOSSES
Once a cell is fully charged, the float current breaks down the water (H2O) in the electrolyte into hydrogen and oxygen gasses.

FLOODED WATER LOSSES

Hydrogen and oxygen gases leave the cell and water has to be added typically once a year for Lead Calcium cells.

VRLA WATER LOSSES


Often unrecognized, but probably the most prevalent VRLA failure mode Probably the major cause of premature capacity loss Contributing factors
Grid corrosion Venting of gases as a result of improper charging and temperature controls Loss of plate group compression (lowered recombination efficiency)

WHY BATTERIES FAIL

BATTERY LIFE
All batteries have a finite life

Typical lifespan of well maintained batteries:


Flooded General Purpose = 20+ years Flooded UPS = 12 years VRLA (20 year design) VRLA ( 10 year design) = 7 to 10 years = 4 to 7 years

BATTERY LIFE
Battery life is determined by how long it takes for the positive plates to corrode.
Corrosion is accelerated by high temperatures and high float voltages.

NORMAL BATTERY FAILURE


The normal failure mode that dictates end of life is positive grid corrosion. It takes place gradually as acid penetrates the grid structure.
The grid grows dimensionally and eventually falls apart

BATTERY FAILURE
The grid cross section narrows, causing high internal resistance The grid structure grows, causing paste to lose contact with it, further resulting in high internal resistance

Positive Grid Growth

New PbCa grid superimposed on 15 year old grid

Positive Grid Growth

Paste breaking away from grid causing high Resistance connection

Other failure modes


Are due to:
Manufacturing defects User abuse

Examples:
Sulfation Post corrosion problems Copper contamination Hidden inter-cell problems Dryout

Hidden Intercell Connections

Post corrosion occurs underneath the intercell connector

DRYOUT

This is strictly a VRLA failure mode VRLA also suffers from all the same failures as Vented Cells

PROBLEMS THAT CAN LEAD TO PREMATURE FAILURE


Low Float Voltage - Sulfation & shedding of active material from negative plates.

PROBLEM
Discharge without recharge - Permanent damage (Hydration)

Copper Contamination
Initial loss of capacity, then abrupt failure of conduction path

POST CORROSION

POST CORROSION
Creep corrosion which leads to high resistance at post to inter cell connectors.

This module needs to be replaced

EFFECTS OF FAILURE
REDUCED BACKUP TIME ABRUPT FAILURE

ABRUPT SYSTEM FAILURE ACCOMPANIED BY FIRE

FAULTY INTERCELL CONNECTION CAUSED THIS FIRE

Early Detection

How are Battery failures detected before they cause a costly system failure?

Early Detection
A Battery capacity test is the most accurate measurement of a batterys ability to perform Capacity testing realistically 1-3 years Batteries can fail in between capacity tests Cell resistance is a very reliable indicator of State of Health that can be monitored continuously

Why is a cells resistance a good indicator of its State of Health?

Because almost every single cell failure is preceded by an increase in the internal cell resistance

CONDUCTION PATH
When a battery supplies current to an external load, the current must travel through the following:
Terminal Post Strap Grid structure The connection between Grid and Paste Paste Electrolyte Separator

SIMPLIFIED MODEL - LEAD ACID CELL (Albr Model)

Dynasty Battery Model

Obtained from Johnson Control application note

Simplified equivalent circuit


The conduction path through a battery can be broken down into the equivalent circuit shown:

R2 represents the resistance that is in parallel with the Capacitor formed by the parallel plates C = 1.5 Farads per 100 A-Hr of battery capacity

R1~55%

R2~45%

AC Measurements
The Capacitor becomes a partial short circuit around part of the Resistance path and therefore masks problems that develop in the R2 path

R1~55%

R2~45%

How are Resistance Measurements made?


The instantaneous voltage drop at time zero and when the load is removed shows the voltage drop across the internal resistor

Resistance = V/I

Cell Resistance
It has been shown that when a Cells resistance increases more than 25% above its baseline value, that Cell will not pass a 3 hour capacity test. It may pass an 8 hour capacity test but it will absolutely NOT pass a 30min capacity test

USING OHMIC MEASUREMENTS


The resistance value of a cell depends on the cell design and amp-hour rating. A Telecom cell that is designed to deliver its energy over a 4-5 hour period is designed differently than the same amp-hour rated UPS battery. The UPS battery requires a lot of active surface area (lots of thin plates) to deliver high current for 5-15 minutes.

USING OHMIC MEASUREMENTS


All cells have a known baseline value when they are first manufactured and have a 100% capacity. Because of manufacturing tolerances there is typically an 8% spread from highest to lowest resistance of a given model. For example a Enersys model 3CC-5 Substation battery brand new reads between 1450-1550 Micro-ohms

Typical Resistance values versus battery size


RESISTANCE VS AMP-HR
FOR FLOODED UPS (SG=1.250) & VRLA CELLS 100 to 500 Amp-Hr 1250 1200 1150 1150 1100 1050 1000 950 900 850 800 750 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 100

800

RESISTANCE

525 390 270

200

300 AMP-HR

400

500

Typical Resistance values versus battery size


RESISTANCE VS AMP-HR
FOR FLOODED UPS (SG=1.250) & VRLA CELLS 500 to 1600 Amp-Hr 290 270 280 270 260 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 500

225 190 160 140 130

RESISTANCE

120

115

110

600

700

800

900 AMP-HR

1000

1200

1400

1600

USING OHMIC MEASUREMENTS


Albr believes that the baseline value of a cell should be the high value of the manufacturing tolerance range. For instance the baseline for the 3CC-5 battery is 1550 Micro-ohms. Any field measurements should be compared to baseline. Some people erroneously compare readings to the string average.

RESISTANCE WARNING LEVELS


An increase in internal resistance will affect the capacity performance of a battery. BY HOW MUCH?
Depends on whether it is a chemistry problem or a metallic resistance problem Also depends on discharge rate a high load current will cause high voltage drop across internal resistor

Illustration of effects of high current discharges


Customers has 48 volt string that supports a 1500 amp load for 20-30 minutes. He cannot understand sudden drop to 44 volts when load is applied. EXPLANATION: String resistance is 160 micro-ohms per cell including intercell. Total string R=160x24=3840 micro-ohms. Open circuit voltage of string = 2.08x24 =49.92 volts. When load is applied string voltage drops to 49.92 .00384x1500 = 49.92 5.76 = 44.16 volts If load had been typical telecom 3-4 hour load of 300 or so amps, then initial voltage drop would have been 49.92-.00384x300 = 49.92 1.15 = 48.77 volts

SO AT WHAT RESISTANCE LEVEL DO WE GET CONCERNED?

Our experience shows that at a 25% increase from baseline most batteries will not pass a 3 hour or shorter capacity test. Our recommendation is 25% --either replace or confirm with capacity test (single cell or full string). Batt. Mfgs.want fudge factor for inexperienced testers and their warranty normally states 50% increase in resistance.

Early Detection Methods


Internal resistance measurements can be done Manually with the Cellcorder Automatic with Monitor System

Early Detection Methods


Early detection of failing cells using a Monitor System is achieved by: Proactive internal resistance testing Auto capture of discharge events Real time data display

Case Study
How does a failing cell look like and how can we detect and prevent a catastrophic failure? The following case study Illustrates how the Alber monitor detects a failing cell and how a discharge test confirm the internal resistance reading.

This is an example of a resistance test. It is a string consisting of 60 8-volt jars.

The 941 microohm value of Jar 41 is 22% higher than the other jars in the string and has triggered an alarm turning the bar red.

This is an indication of a bad cell within this jar.

Playback
The following is an actual 20 min battery discharge test with the playback accelerated
It is a battery string consisting of 60 - 6 volt jars. One of the cells in jar 41 fails. Without the real time display ability during the test this failing cell would not have been detected prior to it becoming a hazard.

Now we will step though the discharge.

At 13 min jar 41 begins to fall off.

Jar 41

At 17 minutes jar 41 is 4.99 volts and the test is aborted.

By 18 minutes, the charger has walked back in and there is 90 amps of charge current.

Note that jar 41 is now floating with rest of the jars.

Without the internal resistance alarm, real time capture and storage, this failing cell would have been overlooked and left in service only to fail during an outage!

Confirming the data


We confirmed the data from the resistance test with a discharge test.
Knowing how each individual cell in a battery performs during a discharge is very important. A monitor has to be able to detect a power outage, and capture every battery cell voltage at short intervals during the discharge.

Auto Discharge Capture


Most power outages that occur are less than 30 seconds. Many monitors cannot record cell voltages in these short events. Remember: A battery is only as good as its weakest cell.

Albr Products

CRT-300 Cellcorder
Data Storing Battery Multi meter - Standardized By Many Large Companies Performs Internal And Intercell Resistance Tests Unlimited storing and communication capability Stores Specific Gravity And Temp. Readings Detailed Trending Analysis And Reporting Software

BAS Battery Analysis Software


Complete Trending And Report Generation In all Windows Environments Bar Graph Display Of Cell Voltages, Intercell Connections And Internal Resistance All Graphic Results Can Be Exported To EXCEL, Metafile, Bitmap, Or Text/data File Thresholds Identified By Different Colors

SCT Single Cell Tester


Capacity Tests/recharges Single 2 Volt Cells Profile Test Capabilities

Automatic Operation No Supervision Required (Program & Go) Two Cells Can Be Tested Sequentially
Complements the Cellcorder by Capacity Testing Questionable Cells

BCT Battery Capacity Test System


BCT-2000 Is A Combination Load Control And Data Logging System Acquires All Cell Voltages, Overall String Voltage And Current Capacity Test - Programmed Constant Current Or Constant Power Load Integrity Test - High Current Momentary Load Allows The User To Identify Weak Cells And Conduction Paths

Continuous Load Units

Continuous Load Unit (CLU) product line easily interfaces with the BDS for performing IEEE capacity testing

Battery Monitors
BDS-256
Battery Diagnostic System
UL Certified CE Approved

Monitor any battery system up to 600 volts DC UPS systems Generating stations Industrial

BDS Controller
The Brain that control the system.
Collects and stores data from the DCMs Stand alone No on site PC required. 8 strings of 256 cells per Controller Internal memory that can hold 1 years worth of data

Data Collection Module (DCM)


The Data Collection Module is a scanning volt meter that acquires all readings from the battery
48 cells or modules 2 temperatures Discharge current Charger float current Can be connected in series for strings with more than 48 cells and modules

External Load Module


Provides the resistive load during the automatic resistance test

One ELM for each string


Tests battery in 10 segments 30 A of test current for a maximum of 3 seconds per module. No capacity removed from battery.

Configuration examples

2 strings, 240 jars, 2V per jar

5 DCMs and 1 ELM per string


1 CT and at least 2 temperature probes per string

1 controller Fiber optics for data transfer and 24VAC power supply between DCM and Controller

String 1

String 2

Configuration examples

3 strings, 120 jars, 4V per jar


3 DCM and 1 ELM per string

1 controller

1 CT and at least 2 temperature probes per string

String 1

String 2

String 3

Configuration examples

Configuration examples

1 strings, 240, 2V jars 1 strings, 120, 4V jars

5 DCMs and 1 ELM per string


1 CT and at least 2 temperature probes per string

1 controller Fiber optics for data transfer and 24VAC power supply between DCM and Controller

String 1

3 DCMs and 1 ELM per string


1 CT and at least 2 temperature probes per string

String 2

Ease of Installation
Modular design allows the DCMs to be located near the battery, reducing wire lengths
One 120 vac power connection required for up to 8 strings of 256 cells.

BDS-256 Installation

Rear View of two DCMs

BDS-256 Installation

Multiple BDS Systems

BDS-256 Installation

BDS-256 Installation

BDS-256 Installation

Parameters Monitored
Overall voltage Discharge current Charger float current (optional) 2v cells, NiCad cells, 4v, 6v, 8v and 12v modules Temperature Resistance of all cell/jars, inter-cells, and intertiers

System Level I/O


System inputs
Remote alarm reset 16 digital inputs

System outputs (form C contacts)


Maintenance alarm Critical alarm 8 programmable control outputs(BDS256)

Communication
Two RS-232 for local computer RJ-11 for telco dial up RJ-45 for Ethernet connection Standard Modbus protocol

OPC Compliant

Computer Options
Lockable computer cabinet with desktop computer and optional printer

The NEW optimized UPS cabinet monitor

The BDS-40 Battery Cabinet Monitor

Designed for battery cabinets


Optimized monitor All-in-one enclosure Pre-manufactured cables Tests the complete conduction path
Individual leads for inter-tier

Easy install and setup


Setup Wizard

Built-in decision support


Identifies issues and suggests corrective maintenance procedure

BDS-40
BDS-40 Base unit All-in-one controller, Data Collection Module and Load Module One per system. Can power up 5 Plus units 2 temperatures, 1 current transducer / string Customized harness for easy install Simplified setup 4 U high, 16 deep, 19 wide to be mounted on top of cabinet

BDS-40
BDS-40 Plus unit All-in-one Data Collection Module and Load Module Connects to Base unit via fiber optic cable One unit for cabinets 2-6 2 temperatures, 1 current transducer Customized harness for easy install Simplified setup 3 U high, 16 deep, 19 wide to be mounted on top of cabinet

BEFORE

AFTER

BDS-40 Plus Units

BDS-40 Base Unit

Monitoring via Web-browser


Real time string status

Executive summary and detailed reports Pop-up screens with real time data

Email alert

Decision support reporting


Automatic data analysis with explanations of abnormal data Suggests appropriate maintenance activities Zip & sends test data for expert analysis

MPM-100
Designed for applications below 130VDC UL and CE approved More than 100 battery configurations available Monitors 1 string of 120VDC or up to 4 strings of 12, 24 or 48VDC

Modbus protocol Powered from DC bus or 115VAC Network, Serial, Modem connection options

MPM-100

A typical system has one MPM for one to four strings

Alber

the total solution

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