A.P.Gen.CO.

WELCOMES YOU
 SELECTION OF BATTERIES FOR
GENERATING STATION AND SUBSTATION

• APPLICATION :

- UNIT BATTERY
- SUBSTATION BATTERY
- PLCC
- 24/26v C & I BATTERY
- UPS BATTERY
- BATTERY FOR VHF SETS
 BATTERY IS CONSIDERED TO BE
THE "HEART" OF THE POWER PLANT

• Battery provides the ultimate and final dc back-up power for

operating emergency equipments which power the turbo
generations (viz : emergency oil pumps, etc.)

• DC power for operation of all switchgear, protection relays, indicating

lamps and facia.

• Power for emergency lighting within the generating station building.

• Uninterrupted power for controlling C & I equipment and associated

ups systems.

• Power for vital communication equipment (plcc), essential for

resynchronising the unit with the grid or for reviving the grid in case
of a major grid failure.
 CAUSES DUE TO BATTERY FAILS

• UNIT BATTERY
- The emergency oil pumps will not operate which could lead
to seizure of the rotor bearings

- Loss of hundreds of crores of rupees towards repairing the

rotor and generation revenue loss while the unit is out of
commission.

- Switchgear associated with generator may not trip which

could lead to generating transformer damage

- Failure of instrumentation and control

- Total darkness in the powerhouse

• SUBSTATION
- Switchgear and relays will not operate causing
extensive damage to transformers and power lines.

• PLCC
- Extremely difficult to resynchronise the unit with
grid.
- Major setback in the process of reviving the grid in
the event of a regional grid failure.

- If the battery fails while the unit is in operation, it

may become essential to shutdown.
 THE SINGLE MOST IMPORT FEATURE OF
BATTERIES FOR POWER SECTOR APPLICATION IS

• RELIABILITY

- RELIABLE STANDBY POWER SOURCE

- DELIVER POWER AS AND WHEN CALLED FOR

- FULL CAPACITY AT ANY POINT OF TIME IN SERVICE LIFE

- PREDICTABILITY
WHAT IS A BATTERY ?

A BATTERY IS AN ARRAY
OF
SIMILAR ELECTRICAL
STORAGE CELLS
WHAT IS A CELL
What is an Electrical Storage Cell ?
AN ELECTRICAL STORAGE CELL CONSISTS OF TWO
DISSIMILAR ELECTRODES IMMERSED IN AN ELECTROLYTE.

IT STORES ELECTRICAL ENERGY IN FORM OF CHEMICAL

ENERGY.

WHEN THE CIRCUIT IS MADE BETWEEN ITS POSITIVE &

NEGATIVE ELECTRODES, THERE IS A CHEMICAL REACTION
IN THE CELL AND IT DELIVERS ELECTRICITY-DIRECT
CURRENT (D.C) THROUGH THE CIRCUIT.
 THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF
ELECTRICAL STORAGE CELLS

Primary cell or dry cell Secondary cell

What is the difference between the two?

 FAMILY TREE OF ELECTRICAL STORAGE CELLS

Primary Cell Secondary Cell

Litihium Ammonium Silver Alkaline Lead Acid

Oxide Chloride Oxide Cells Cells

Ni Cad NiFe

SLI or Industrial
Automotive

Standby Motive Power

VRLA Fiat Pasted Tubular Plante Traction Train Diesel EMU

Lighting Starter
 WHAT IS A LEAD ACID BATTERY
BASIC ELECTROCHEMICAL REACTION PARTICIPANTS :

_ + POSITIVE ELECTRODE : PbO2

NEGATIVE ELECTRODE : Pb
LEAD DIOXIDE
SOFT LEAD

ELECTROLYTE : H2SO4

H2S04 - ELECTROLYTE
HOW DOES A LEAD ACID BATTERY WORK ?

Charged Discharged

+ve -ve electrolyte +ve -ve

Pbo2 + Pb + 2H2SO4 PbSO4 + PbSO4 + 2H2O
Lead Spongy Dilute Lead Lead Water
peroxide Lead Sulphuric Sulphate Sulphate
Acid
 TYPES OF PLATES
A. Positive
l Plante’ Type : Cast out of 99.99% pure Lead
Has a fine lamaellar structure
l Flat Pasted Type : Grid holds the active material and
carries the current
l Tubular Type : Red lead (Pb3O4) and Grey oxide (PbO)
mixture is filled in tubes and spine of
lead-alloy runs through the centre of
entire tube length. Tube retails the
active material firmly and spine carries
the current
B. Negative
l Flat pasted type always
Planté Positive and Negative Plates

Positive Plate
Negative Plate
 PASTED PLATES

CHARGE / DISCHARGE CYCLES

FAILURE BY SHEDDING
MAXIMUM 200 CYCLES
 FEATURES OF AUTOMOTIVE
FLAT PLATE
* GRID - (CURRENT COLLECTOR)
CAST INTO A LATTICE
STRUCTURE

* ACTIVE MATERIAL - PASSED ON TO THE

LATTICE

SUITED FOR :

* HIGH CURRENT DISCHARGE

* SHORT BACKUP TIME (SHALLOW) DISCHARGE

* NON-CYCLIC APPLICATION
 X
Y
LUG

TUBE

BOTTOM BAR
Y
CONSTRUCTION OF TUBULAR
POSITIVE PLATE
 RESIN SHEATH

SPINE (LEAD ALLOY)

SPINE

ACTIVE MATERIAL
ACTIVE MATERIAL (LEAD OXIDE)

TUBE TUBE
RESIN CURED
(TERYLENE GAUNTLET)

BOTTOM BAR

SECTION – ‘YY’ SECTION – ‘XX’

CONSTRUCTION OF TUBULAR POSITIVE PLATE (contd.)

 FEATURES OF TUBULAR POSITIVE

* GRID - CAST IN THE FORM OF A

SERIES OF RODS (SPINES)
ATTACHED TO A COMMON
BAR

* ACTIVE MATERIAL -PHYSICALLY PACKED AROUND

SPINE AND RETAINED IN POSITION
BY A SYNTHETIC MATERIAL
JACKET (GAUNTLET)

SUITED FOR :

* EXTENDED BACKUP TIME (DEEP) DISCHARGE

* CYCLIC (REPEATED CHARGE – DISCHARGE)

APPLICATION
 FEATURES OF PLANTE’ POSITIVE

* GRID / PLATE - CAST OF 99.99% PURE LEAD

* ACTIVE MATERIAL- NO EXTERNALLY INCORPORATED

ACTIVE MATERIAL SURFACE LAYER
OF GRID ITSELF CONVERTED TO
ACTIVE MATERIAL.

SUITED FOR :

* HIGH CURRENT DISCHARGES FOR SHORT BACKUP TIME

* HIGHEST RELIABILITY IN TERMS OF ZERO

DEGRADATION OVER A LONG SERVICE LIFE
 PLANTE’ FEATURES

* HIGH DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PROFILE

* QUICK RECHARGE

* LOW – LOW MAINTENANCE

* NO PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION

* EASY MONITORING

* CLEAN ENVIRONMENT

* EXTENDED LIFE

* HIGH SALVAGE VALUE

 ADVANTAGE PLANTE’

* HIGHER ENERGY OUTPUT COMPARED TO TUBULAR

- LOWER CAPACITY PLANTE CELLS MEET GIVEN

APPLICATION

- PLANTE BATTERIES GIVE ABOUT 90% MORE

ENERGY OUTPUT THAN TUBULAR OF SAME
CAPACITY WHEN DISCHARGED AT 3 HR. RATE UPTO
1.90 V.P.C.
 ADVANTAGE PLANTE’

* VERY LOW MAINTENANCE / TOPPING UP FREQUENCY

- WITH CERAMIC VENT PLUGS, YHP RANGE REQUIRE

TOPPING UP ONCE IN 18 MONTHS

- TUBULARS NEED TOPPING UP ONCE IN 2 MONTHS

 ADVANTAGE PLANTE’

* CAPABLE OF RAPID RECHARGING

- DUE TO LOWER INTERNAL RESISTANCE

- LARGE SURFACE AREA

- LIBERAL AMOUNT OF ELECTROLYTE

- AFTER DEEP DISCHARGE, MAXIMUM

RATE OF 0.25 X C10 UPTO 2.4 VOLTS PER CELL
 ADVANTAGE PLANTE’
* 100% CAPACITY RETENTION DURING LIFE SPAN

- CAPACITY APPRECIATES DURING LIFE AS

FOLLOWS :-

NEW CELL UPTO 5 YEARS UPTO 8 YEARS 12 YEARS

100% 110% 115% 125%

IN THE CASE OF OTHER BATTERIES

- THERE IS A CONSTANT DEGRADATION OF CAPACITY

THROUGHOUT SERVICE LIFE

- MAXIMUM 20% DEGRADATION BY END OF SERVICE

LIFE

- NECESSITATES ADDITION OF DEGRADATION

FACTOR DURING DESIGN STAGE
 ADVANTAGE PLANTE’

* VISUAL ASSURANCE OF BATTERY’S HEALTH

- TRANSPARENT CONTAINERS, EASY

INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE –
TOTALLY RELIABLE

- OTHER BATTERIES HAVE OPAQUE /

TRANSLUCENT CONTAINERS –
PREVENTS VISUAL MONITORING, AND
CAN LEAD TO SUDDEN FAILURES DURING
EMERGENCY DUE TO OPEN CIRCUIT /
SHORT CIRCUITS
 PLANTE’ CELLS
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

* CONFORMS TO IS 1652

* HIGH PERFORMANCE PLANTE POSITIVE PLATES

* PASTED NEGATIVE PLATES

* MICROPOROUS RIBBED SEPERATORS

* TRANSPARENT ‘SAN’ CONTAINERS

* MOISTURE ARRESTING AND EXPLOSION PROOF

MICROPOROUS VENT PLUG.
 PLANTE’ RANGE

PLANTE’ RANGE COMES IN 2V

CONFIGURATION ONLY

* YAMP SERIES : 16 Ah – 64 Ah

* YKP SERIES : 75 Ah – 400 Ah

* YHP SERIES : 535 Ah – 2250 Ah

 MAINTENANCE

• TOPPING UP
• CHARGING

• CHECKING & CLEANING OF

TERMINALS

IN A LEAD ACID BATTERY, CHARGING

& CLEANING / CHECKING OF
TERMINALS CANNOT BE AVOIDED.
 TOPPING UP

WATER LOSS

ELECTROLYSIS EVAPORATION

DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL
TO ANTIMONY CONTENT IN
THE PLATE
 LOW MAINTENANCE
(HOW IT IS ACHIEVED)

• LOW ANTIMONY ALLOY-

LESS ELECTROLYSIS – LESS WATER
LOSS

• MICROPOROUS VENT PLUG

• BIGGER CONTAINER WITH MORE

ELECTROLYTE / HIGH ACID HEAD
ROOM
AQUA TRAP VENT PLUG
 SMF BATTERIES-OPERATION

• NO FREE ELECTROLYTE ELECTROLYTE IS ABSORBED

IN GLASS MAT SEPARATORS

• INSUFFICIENT BUOYANCY FOR OZYGEN GAS TO

TRAVEL UPWARD BY NEGATIVE GRAVITATION

• OXYGEN TRAVELS HORIZONTALLY & REACHES

NEGATIVE PLATE TO REACT WITH METALLIC LEAD.
VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR
A VRLA BATTERY
 THE SEALED MAINTENANCE
FREE ‘VRLA’ RANGE

• BATTERY IS DELIVERED READY TO USE

• NO TOPPING-UP REQUIRED EVER

• ZERO EMISSION UNDER NORMAL

CHARGING CONDITIONS
• COMPACT

• EASY TO HANDLE
 VULNERABILITIES

• HIGH TEMPERATURE

• DEEP DISCHARGE

• CYCLING

• CHARGER SENSITIVE

• RECOVERY FROM OVER DISCHARGE

• UNPREDICTABILITY
SELECTION CRITERIA OF A BATTERY

• PRIMARY FACTORS
• CURRENT LOAD
• BACKUP TIME
• MINIMUM VOLTAGE REQUIREMENTS OF
THE SYSTEM

• THE LOWEST EXPECTED OPERATING

TEMPERATURE.
SELECTION CRITERIA OF A BATTERY

• SECONDARY FACTORS
• EXPECTED FREQUENCY OF DISCHARGE
• DEPTH OF DISCHARGE
• AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
• METHOD OF CHARGING, CONSTRAINT IF ANY
• LIMITATION ON SPACE
• MAINTENANCE LIMITATIONS
• FLOOR LOADING
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

Nominal Voltage
Tubular 2V
VRLA 2V
Plante 2V
Ni-Cd 1.2V, 183 cells of Ni-Cd are required for a 220V
system where 110 cells of Lead Acid are used
Sensivity to overcharge & undercharge
Tubular Quite Sensitive
VRLA Very Sensitive
Plante Quite Sensitive
Ni-Cd Moderately Sensitive
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

DISCHARGE PERFORMANCE

Tubular Standard
VRLA Best
Plante Much superior to HDP Tubular but slightly
inferior to VRLA
Ni-Cd Superior to Plante for very short duration (3 sec
& below) but inferior Plante for longer duration
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

RECHARGE
Tubular Capable of quick recharge by boost
charging upto 2.7vpc and 0.14 C10 Amps recharge
current
VRLA Quick recharge limited to fast charging upto
2.4vpc and Amps limit current
Plante Very fast recharge by boost charging upto
2.7vpc and 0.25 C10 Amps recharge current
Ni-Cd Capable of very fast recharge, however
charge retention is relatively poor
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HIGH TEMPERATURE

NDP Tubular Satisfactory operations upto 48/50 C electrolytic
temperature
VRLA Prolonged operation at high ambient temperature
curtail battery life severely.
Plante Satisfactory operations upto 48/50 C electrolytic
temperature
Ni-Cd Satisfactory operations upto 48/50 C electrolytic
temperature
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

Attributes Tubular VRLA Plante Ni-Cd

Operating 17.5% of 25% of 20% of 17.5%

Voltage band Nominal Nominal Nominal Nominal
Voltage Voltage Voltage Voltage

Space High Low High High

Requirements

Thermal Hardly Very Hardly Hardly

Runaway susceptible susceptible susceptible susceptible
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

Discharge at float operations

Tubular Satisfactory
VRLA Best
Plante Satisfactory
Ni-Cd Ni-Cd does not give full capacity when
discharged after remaining on float for a long
time. In order to obtain the desired capacity,
the capacity of the battery needs to be
increased by 35%
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

MONITORING STATE OF CHARGE

Tubular Can be done by measuring electrolyte

specific gravity
VRLA Cannot be determined externally, acts as a
black box
Plante Others than measuring electrolytic specific
gravity, battery condition can be monitored
visually through the transparent containers
NI-CD Cannot be determined externally acts as a
black box
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

AGEING
Tubular Degrades gradually during service life & falls to about
80% in 8-10 years. 25% capacity has to be increased
to compensate for ageing
VRLA Degrades gradually during service life & falls to about
80% in 10-15 years. 25% capacity has to be increased
to compensate for ageing
Plante Plante capacity does not 100%
PLANTE
NI-CD
drop rather increases in
service life
Capacity
80% —
TUBULAR
Ni-Cd Capacity remains almost VRLA

constant during service life

10 20
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

RELIABILITY
Tubular Quite reliable
VRLA Generally reliable however prone to unexpected
malfunctioning
Plante Most reliable in float operations
Ni-Cd Reliable during routing duty cycles however
prone to unexpected malfunctioning during
emergency requirement
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

Life Expectancy
Tubular 10-12 years 20

L ife in ye a r
VRLA 10-15 years 15

Plante 15-20 years

10

HDP Tubular 10-12 years

Ni-Cd 15-20 years Tubular VRLA Plante Ni-Cd

Internal Resistance
NDP Tubular Highest

Internal Resistance
VRLA Lowest
Plante 30-40% lower than
equivalent HDP
Tubular Cells
Ni-Cd Average Tubular VRLA Plante Ni-Cd
TECHNICAL COMPARISON

TOPPING UP REQUIREMENT

Tubular Toping up upto 3-4 times in a year

VRLA No topping up required
Plante Topping up once in 12-18 months
Ni-Cd Topping up once a year. Existing electrolyte
needs to be changed every 7/8 years
Auto-fill System Removes The Need of Topping Up
4

Routine maintenance is

N o . o f t im e s / y e a r
3

Required for all categories for

batteries 2

1
 MYTHS OF VRLA BATTERIES ?

MYTH 1 — VRLA BATTERIES REQUIRE NO

MAINTENANCE
REALITY
As per Clause No. 5.7 of IEEE 1189 – 1996
l “By the very nature of the designs of VRLA cells, specific
gravity readings and water additions are not practical.
Consequency, the batteries are often referred to as
maintenance free. However, this is true only with respect to
the electrolyte. Otherwise, VRLA Battery Maintenance is
similar to that required for flooded batteries”.
l There exists and IEEE standard [IEEE 1188-1996] which is
dedicated for maintenance and testing of VRLA batteries.
MYTHS OF VRLA BATTERIES ?

MYTH 2 — VRLA BATTERIES CAN BE USED IN

TROPICAL CLIMATES AT HIGH
TEMPERATURES WITHOUT ANY
ADVERSE EFFECTS
REALITY
As per Clause No. B3 of Annexure B of IEEE 1188 – 1996
“As a general rule, continuous prolonged use at elevated
temperatures will reduce the battery life by approximately
one-half for every 8°C above 25°C that VRLA batteries
operate. This effect can be mitigated to some extent by the
use of temperature – compensated charges. Operation at
elevated temperatures can also lead to thermal runaway”.
MYTHS OF VRLA BATTERIES ?

MYTH 3 — VRLA BATTERIES ARE AS PRONE TO

THERMAL RUNWAY AS OTHER
LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
REALITY
As per Clause No. 5.1 of IEEE 1187 – 1996
“While all batteries are susceptible to thermal runaway, VRLA
batteries are more sensitive to the conditions that lead to thermal
runaway”
As per Annexure A of IEEE 1187-1996
“In the gelled electrolyte system, the gel has intimate contact with
the plates and container walls and provides better heat dissipation
characteristics than the absorbed electrolyte system, but not as
good as flooded system”
MYTHS OF VRLA BATTERIES ?

MYTH 4 — VRLA BATTERIES HAVE THE SAME

FAILURE MECHANISMS AS FLOODED
REALITY
As per Clause No. 5.3 of IEEE 1189 – 1996
“The familiar failure mechanisms of positive plate corrosion and
growth, active material failure, post seal leakage and
container/cover seal leakage associated with vented cells are also
present in VRLA cells. However in VRLA cell, the effects of leakage
at the post and/or container cover seals are more significant than in
vented cells.
VRLA cells are susceptible to two failure modes that are normally
not associated with vented cells. These are dryout and thermal
runaway”
WHY THEN VRLA ?

TELECOMMUNICATIONS & UPS APPLICATIONS

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES SECONDARY
REQUIREMENT

l Small Foot Print

l No Emissions

l No Maintenance
POWER STATIONS

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED

l Reliability
- Deliver Power as and when called for full
capacity at any point of time in service life
l Predictability
n Health
n Impending failure
n Expected time of replacement
n Time Tested
n Life
APPLICATION
OUR RECOMMENDATION

NDP TUBULAR VRLA

Ideal for frequent For relatively
Charge / Short time backup with
discharge moderate depth of
cycling duties discharge

PLANTE
Ideal for meeting duty
cycle in float operation

HDP TUBULAR NI-CD

Ideal for frequent Can be used in high
charge/discharge rate of discharge in
cycling duties abusive conditions
THE TRADE-OFF

There is no lead acid battery with

the best product attributes in all the
categories of attributes

A trade-off has to be made for

each application segment considering the
requirements of that segments

Best battery for Best battery for

power application - Telecom application -
PLANTE VRLA
 WAYS & MEANS OF INCREASING LIFE &
PERFORMANCE OF LEAD-ACID BATTERIES
For this, we have to study the normal failure modes of the battery.

NORMAL FAILURE MODES POSSIBLE REASONS

1. SULPHATION l Over-discharge
l Allowing discharged battery to stand idle
l Starvation of plates
l Allowing electrolyte to fall below top of plates
l Impurities (Iron, other acids)

2. BUCKLING OF PLATES l Over-discharge

l Continued operation with battery in discharged
condition
l Charging at high rates
l Non-uniform distribution of current over the
plates
l Undercharging
 WAYS & MEANS OF INCREASING LIFE &
PERFORMANCE OF LEAD-ACID BATTERIES (contd.)
NORMAL FAILURE MODES POSSIBLE REASONS

5. LOSS OF CAPACITY l Impurities in electrolyte

l Sulphation
l Loose active material
l Incorrect proportion of Acid & Water in electrolyte
l Separators clogged
l Shedding
l Low electrolyte levels
l Effect of age

6. SHORT CIRCUIT l Worn out separators

l Continued operation with battery in discharged
condition (due to ‘treeing’)
l Foreign material
l Accumulation of sediment
 WAYS & MEANS OF INCREASING LIFE &
PERFORMANCE OF LEAD-ACID BATTERIES (contd.)
NORMAL FAILURE MODES POSSIBLE REASONS

3. SHEDDING/LOSS OF
ACTIVE MATERIAL l Over charge/deep discharge
l Excessive charging rate
l Charging of sulphated plates at high rate
l Charging only a part of plate (low electrolyte
level
l Freezing

4. TERMINAL/CONNECTOR
CORROSION l Too much water added
l Battery poorly sealed
l Vent caps loose
l Electrolyte spillage on battery top (from
overfilling/ during SG checking, from
hydrometer)
 THANK
U
BY
G.V.VIJAYA KUMAR
ADE,EM&MRT,STG-3