EXIDE POWERSAFE VRLA STATIONARY

RANGE OF BATTERIES
- AN OVERVIEW

D.SEN CHOUDHURY
R&D CENTRE
EXIDE INDUSTRIES LIMITED

ACTUAL SERVICE IN INDIAN CONDITIONS

FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION

PROLONGED STORAGE BEFORE COMMISSIONING.

WIDELY VARYING OPERATING TEMPERATURES.
FREQUENT DISCHARGE.
PERIODS OF UNDERCHARGE.
PERIODS OF OVERCHARGE.

INADEQUATE ATTENTION / MAINTENANCE.

DESIGN OBJECTIVES

ADEQUATE DESIGN MARGIN.

CHOICE OF POSITIVE ALLOY WITH RESPECT TO OPERATING
CONDITIONS.
MORE ELECTROLYTE PER Ah ALONG WITH MAXIMISED
HEAT DISSIPATION SURFACE AREA.
IMPROVED CYCLIC CAPABILITY WITH ENHANCED CHARGE
ACCEPTANCE.

OPTIMISATION OF Ca & Sn CONTENT IN POSITIVE ALLOY

Corrosion %

100

Tensile Strength
100

80

Corrosion %

70
60

60
50

40

40
30

20

20
10

0
0.5

1.5
Sn % = 1.6

0
2.5

Corrosion %

80

Grid-AM binding tension %

90

Corrosion

110

110

100

100

90

90

80

80

70

70

60

60

50
0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

Ca % = 0.06

0.09

50
0.1

Tensile Strength %

Grid-AM binding tension %

ANCHORED
TO POLE

EXIDE POWERSAFE
VRLA HAS A UNIQUE
ONE-FOOT GRID WHICH
ALLOWS FOR THE
GROWTH OF THE GRID
DURING THE SERVICE
LIFE TIME.

POSITIVE
PLATE

SPACE FOR GROWTH

BOTTOM SUPPORT

SELF DISCHARGE & STORAGE

DESIGN CHOICES THAT DETERMINE RATE OF SELF-DISCHARGE

GRID ALLOY COMPOSITION.
PURITY OF ALL PARTICIPATING COMPONENTS.
DESIGN SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
PLATE PROCESSING METHODOLOGY.
OPERATING TEMPERATURE.
EXIDE POWERSAFE EPST & MST/NMST RANGE OF CELLS HAVE
SELF DISCHARGE RATE OF LESS THAN 2% C10 CAPACITY PER
MONTH AT 27oC. THIS HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIATED REPEATEDLY
DURING TEC TYPE APPROVAL.

STORAGE PERIOD VIS-A-VIS COMMISSIONING CHARGE

DURATION
STORAGE TEMPERATURE: 25 - 30 oC
STORAGE PERIOD
UPTO 3 MONTHS
UPTO 6 MONTHS
UPTO 9 MONTHS
UPTO 12 MONTHS

LENGTH OF
INITIAL CHARGE
NIL
8 - 17 Hrs.
24 - 30 Hrs.
48 - 72 Hrs.

*48V MST 4000Ah AT BIHAR(SAMSTIPUR CIRCLE ), INSTALLED

AFTER 11 MONTHS GAVE 100% CAPACITY (AFTER 72 HRS FLOAT)
ON FIRST CYCLE.

THERMAL RUNAWAY:
THERMAL RUNAWAY IS A STATE OF OPERATION WHERE THE
RATE OF HEAT GENERATION INCREASES FASTER THAN HEAT
DISSIPATION. THE RESULT IS AN ACCELERATED INCREASE OF
THE TEMPERATURE UNTIL THE BATTERY IS DESTROYED.
THE MAIN CAUSE IS THE ACCELERATION OF CHEMICAL
REACTION RATES WITH TEMPERATURE ACCORDING TO THE
ARRHENIUS RATE EQUATION.THIS ACCELERATION CAN BE
TRIGGERED BY ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS:
* INCREASED BATTERY TEMPERATURE.
* HIGHER CHARGE VOLTAGE.

Test Conditions
1 2.45 V
2 2.25 V
3 2.40 V

Thermal Runaway Test Data

T =253 oC
T =75 3 oC
T =75 3 oC

o
Batte r y T e r m in al T e m p e r atu
Cre

80
3
60

40

1
20

BatteryType:
NMST 1000
0
0.02 0.04 0.25 0.5 0.75

1.25 1.5 1.75

Duration (Hrs.)

2.25 2.5 2.75

SUMMARISED PRODUCT FEATURES OF EXIDE

POWERSAFE VRLA STATIONARY RANGE
WIDE RANGE STARTING FROM 40Ah TO 5000Ah.
C10 CAPACITY BY DESIGN REQUIRED TO MEET 1.85 VPC END CUTOFF.
SELF-DISCHARGE LESS THAN 2% C 10 PER MONTH AT 25 C.
20 YRS DESIGN FLOAT LIFE .
CYCLE LIFE:
80% DoD - 1200 CYCLES.
50% DoD - 1800 CYCLES.
20% DoD - 4000 CYCLES.
THERMAL STABILITY: 72 HRS MINIMUM AT 75 C.
EPST RANGE COVERS 40Ah TO 400Ah.
MST/NMST RANGE COVERS 600Ah TO 5000Ah.
ALL CELLS COME IN 2VOLT CONFIGURATION.

NMST
THE NMST CONCEPTUALLY INVOLVES
A MAJOR BREAK THROUGH IN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING
ACTIVE MATERIAL UTILISATION.
THIS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY VERY ADVANCED PLATE
MAKING KNOW-HOW.
THE SAVINGS IN SPACE ACHIEVED BY THE ABOVE IS
UTILISED TO PROVIDE MORE SEPARATOR AND HENCE MORE
ELECTROLYTE, BESIDES FURTHER PROTECTION AGAINST
SHORT-CIRCUIT.
NMST THE ADVANCED VERSION OF MST
DESIGNED
FOR LOWER FLOOR LOADING.
FURTHER ENHANCEMENT IN ABILITY TO WITHSTAND HIGH
TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT.

48V-1000Ah (NMST)
STACKING OPTIONS
BATTERY DIMENSIONS (mm)
ARRANGEMENT

FOOT
PRINT (m2)

BATTERY
FLOOR
WEIGHT (T) LOADING (T/m2)

LENGTH

WIDTH

HEIGHT

3ST-4MOD/ST (STD)

1335

530

1689

0.707

1.802

2.5

4ST-3MOD/ST

1780

530

1298

0.943

1.819

1.9

6ST-2MOD/ST

2670

530

1689

1.414

1.852

1.3

COMPARISON OF MST WITH NMST (48V-1000Ah) :

STD ARRANGEMENT
FOOT
PRINT (m2)

MST
BATTERY
WEIGHT (T)

FLOOR
LOADING (T/m2)

FOOT
PRINT (m2)

0.707

1.991

2.8

0.707

NMST
BATTERY
FLOOR
2
WEIGHT (T) LOADING (T/m )
1.802

2.5

HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF A D.C SYSTEM

GOOD OPERATING PRACTICE STARTS FROM THE
COMMISSIONING CHARGING.
MAINTAINING THE RECOMMENDED CHARGING SCHEDULE
CARRYING OUT PERIODIC MAINTENANCE DISCHARGE &
CHARGE.
KEEPING THE BATTERY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE PROTECTED
FROM DIRECT HEAT & DUST.

GOOD OPERATING PRACTICES

STORAGE BEFORE COMMISSIONING
PREFERRED STORAGE TEMPERATURE: 15 - 35 C.
CELLS TO BE STORED AND PROTECTED FROM RAIN, DIRECT
SUNLIGHT AND DUSTY ATMOSPHERE. AVOID STORAGE AT
AMBIENTS ABOVE 40C.
FRESHENING CHARGE MUST BE GIVEN ONCE IN 6 MONTHS
DURING LONG STORAGE TO OBTAIN FULL PERFORMANCE AND
LIFE. FOR REGIONS EXCEEDING 40C, FRESHENING CHARGE HAS
TO BE GIVEN ONCE IN 3 MONTHS.
RECOMMENDED FRESHENING CHARGE:
2.45V - 10 HOURS / 2.23V - 24 HOURS.

OPERATING GUIDELINES
* FLOAT VOLTAGE TO BE SET AT EXACT LEVEL AS GIVEN IN
THE OPERATING MANUAL. e.g AT AN AVERAGE AMBIENT
TEMPERATURE OF 30C, FLOAT VOLTAGE FOR A 48V
SYSTEM SHOULD BE 53.50.5V.
* CURRENT IN AMPS SHOULD BE LIMITED TO A MAXIMUM OF
15% OF THE RATED C10 Ah CAPACITY. e.g FOR A MST 1000
CELL LIMIT CURRENT SHALL BE SET AT 150 AMPS.
* RECHARGE SHALL BE ON FLOAT MODE ONLY.
* MAXIMUM DISCHARGE CURRENTS TO BE LIMITED TO
1 MIN: 3 x C10 AMPS
5 SEC: 6 x C10 AMPS.
* IN-BUILT LOW VOLTAGE TRIP (ABOUT 1.75VPC)
RECOMMENDED.

CHARGING FEATURES
* MAX VOLTAGE RIPPLE: 2% RMS.
* MAX CURRENT RIPPLE: 5AMPS PER 100 Ah C10 CAPACITY.
* AS A RULE OF THUMB, IF THE BATTERY NEGATIVE
TERMINAL TEMP. HAS A DIFFERENCE OF MORE THAN 3 C
ABOVE THE ROOM TEMP THEN THE CHARGER IS LIKELY TO
HAVE A HIGHER RIPPLE CONTENT.
* RECOMMENDED FLOAT VOLTAGES
AMBIENT
RECOMMENDED FLOAT
MAX. CHARGING
TEMP (C)
VOLTAGE PER CELL (V)
CURRENT (AMPS)
- 5 TO 14
2.27 0.01
0.15 C
15 TO 24
2.25 0.01
0.15 C
25 TO 34
2.23 0.01
0.15 C
35 TO 40
2.20 0.01
0.15 C
C: NOMINAL 10 HR. CAPACITY AT 27 C

MAINTENANCE PRACTICES
* OBSERVE INDIVIDUAL CELL VOLTAGES AT LEAST ONCE IN
A MONTH.
* INDIVIDUAL CELL VOLTAGES AFTER COMMISSIONING MAY
VARY WITHIN A BAND OF 0.05V ON FLOAT.AFTER ABOUT
2/3 MONTHS INDIVIDUAL CELL VOLTAGES SHOULD VARY
WITHIN A BAND OF 0.02V.
* CELLS WITH ABERRANT VOLTAGE READING SHALL BE
MONITORED ON A WEEKLY BASIS. IF THE PROBLEM
PERSISTS OR DETERIORATES THE CELL MIGHT HAVE
DEVELOPED A DEFECT.
* REPLACEMENT OF ONE OR TWO DEFECTIVE CELLS WITHIN
5 YEARS OF SERVICE LIFE WILL NOT AFFECT STRING
PERFORMANCE.

MAINTENANCE PRACTICES
* FULLY CHARGED CELLS SHOULD DRAW A MAXIMIUM
STEADY CURRENT OF 30-50mA/100Ah OF C10 CAPACITY IN
NORMAL FLOAT CONDITIONS (AT 27C)
e.g MST 1000 CELL AT 27C SHOULD DRAW 0.3-0.5
AMPS UNDER FLOAT CONDITIONS. FLOAT CURRENT
APPROX. DOUBLES FOR EVERY 10C RISE IN TEMPERATURE.
* CHARGING SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE THE PROVISION FOR
MEASURING THE FLOAT CURRENT (MAX 5 AMPS)

ANNUAL MAINTENANCE PRACTICES

TEST DISCHARGE AT C10 RATE FOLLOWED BY A

RECHARGE. THE MEASURED C10 CAPACITY IS THE MOST
ACCURATE ESTIMATION OF STATE OF HEALTH.

TEST DISCHARGE AT C5 RATE FOR 10 MINUTES INDIVIDUAL CELL VOLTAGES SHOULD BE 1.9V. THIS GIVES
AN APPROX. IDEA OF THE STATE OF HEALTH.

STATE-OF-THE-ART MANUFACTURING
TECHNOLOGY
* EIRICH PASTE MIXING MACHINE:
CONTROLLED PASTE MIXING DONE UNDER HIGH VACUUM TO ENSURE
PERFECT CONSISTENCY BETWEEN BATCH TO BATCH IN TERMS OF MOISTURE
CONTENT, DENSITY & OTHER PARAMETERS.
* OSI CURING OVENS:
AUTOMATIC HYDRO-SETTING CYCLE WITH INCONTROLLED HUMIDITY
AND TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS FOR EXCELLENT BONDING OF THE PASTE TO
THE GRID AND GENERATION OF TETRA BASIC LEAD SULFATE IN THE PASTE.
* PULSE CHARGING FOR JAR FORMATION:
A PROPRIETARY COMPUTER CONTROLLED PULSE CHARGING METHODOLOGY
FOR VERY FAST AND COMPLETE ACTIVATION OF PASTE MATERIAL. 100%
BATTERIES VOLTAGE & CURRENT DATA ARE DATALOGGED AND MONITORED
PRIOR TO DESPATCH.

FULLY AUTOMATED SHIN-KOBE ASSEMBLY LINE

ROBOT CONTROLLED STACKING.

100% GROUP COMPRESSION CHECK.
AUTOMATIC BOXING.
100% SHORT-CIRCUIT TESTING.
ARGON ARC BASED TIG-WELDING.
AIR LEAK TESTING.
DOUBLE PROTECTION RESIN SEALING.
HIGHLY RELIABLE HELIUM ION TESTING.
VACUUM CONTROLLED ACID FILLING.