Station Batteries

Battery is the heart of power system control and protection. All the power system control and protection equipments and communication equipments work on D.C. Supply.

Station Batteries


 

Station Battery should supply the load under the following conditions. A) When auxiliary A.C. supply fails. B) Output of the battery charger is interrupted. C) Load on the D.C. system exceeds the maximum output of the charger.

Purpose

Protection  Control  Indication  Communication



Control power supply



The control circuits of substations are designed for 110 Volt /220 Volt DC operation. The individual cell voltage is 2 Volts and 55 / 110 cells are connected in series. The substation is equipped with one or two battery systems for the control, and protection, indication schemes.

Battery Selection Factors

The following factors shall be considered for selection of the cells. 1) Voltage requirement of relays and protection system. (110V / 220 V). 2) Load requirement. (100 Ah to 400 Ah). 3) Type of Cells. Plante / VRLA 4) Physical characteristics, such as size, weight, container material etc. 5) Planned life of installation 6) Frequency and depth of discharge 7) Ambient temperature 8) Maintenance requirements

Loads on Station Battery

Continuous Loads
Indicating Lamps. Continuously energised coils. Continuously operating motors. Inverters. Lighting load.

Loads on Station Battery

Non-Continuous Loads
Emergency Lamps Circuit Breaker Motors Communication system Fire Protection system

Momentary Loads
Switchgear Operation Motor starting currents Motor-driven Valve Operation

DC LOADS IN THE SUBSTATION Number of Load Total load points 220KV feeder panels 110KV Feeder 100MVA Transformer 10 Panel VCB Panel 2 6 2 10 Total Load 50W 50W 50W 30W 100W 300W 100W 300W 800W.

DC LOADS IN THE SUBSTATION

 

   

Total current - 800/110 = 7.28A Simultaneous tripping of breaker due to Bus differential trip = 14 Total watts = 142350 = 9800W Current taken by the breaker = 9800/ 110= 9.9A Emergency light loads = 1060 = 600W Current = 600/110 = 5.45A

DC LOADS IN THE SUBSTATION



    

Spring charging current DC motor of VCB = 4 300 = 1200W Current = 1200/110 = 10.9A Total Current = 7.28 + 9.9 + 5.54 + 10.9 = 33. 53 A Ah capacity of the battery for 10 Hrs. Back up time = 33.5310 = 335.3Ah

DC LOADS IN THE SUBSTATION

Considering the diversity of load and capacity reduction of the battery for a life span of 10Yrs. 400Ah, 110V Plante lead acid battery is selected.

Substances in the lead-acid battery

Metallic lead

Metallic lead acts as a carrier for the active material and as a current conductor. Lead (Pb) and Lead dioxide (PbO2). This oxide is dark brown in colour and is the active material in the positive electrode. Porous lead Also called spongy lead. It is gray in colour and is the active material in the negative plate. It is lead (Pb).

Substances in the lead-acid battery

Electrolyte The electrolyte consists of dilute sulphuric acid (H2SO4). Lead sulphate A compound of lead and sulphuric acid. During discharge the active material in both the positive and the negative plate is converted to leadsulphate. (PbSO4).

Negative Plates
Pasted negative plates are used in virtually all leadacid battery designs. In the pasted plate the carrier of the active material is a lead alloy grid. The thickness ranges from 1 to 5 mm, depending on the application. The grid is pasted with a mixture of lead oxides, organic additives (expanders), sulphuric acid and water. The paste is converted in an electrochemical process, called formation, to highly porous lead.

Positive Plates

Lead Acid Station Battery Types of Cells 1. Plante Cells 2. Pasted Plate Cells 3. Tubular Cells

Station Battery

(Plante Battery)

Station Battery

Plante' Cells
The positive plates in this type are made up largely of pure lead with lead casting as single sheet of pure lead or with lead-antimony frame supporting pure lead inserts. These cells have long life and highest levels of integrity and reliability. They provide constant capacity throughout service life and maintenance requirements are very low. As per IS.1652, the cells shall be designated by letter P followed by the standard rating, a letter indicating the type of cell container, a hyphen and letters HDP for High Discharge Performance.

Pasted Plate of Faure Cells

The positive plates are made by impressing an oxide paste into a current collecting lead alloy grid. The grid alloy is lead-antimony or lead-calcium. The paste forms active material of the plate. Some improved varieties with lead-antimony-selenium alloys or lead-calcium-tin alloys provide very low maintenance levels and temperature tolerances. These cells are of the lowest capital option. The output are good for short discharges. Pasted positive plates are commonly used in valve-regulated batteries and starter batteries.

Tubular Cells
In a tubular cell, the positive plate is constructed from a series of vertical lead alloy spines or fingers resembling a comb. Lead oxide, the active material is packed around each spine and is retained by tubes of woven glass fibre protected by an outer sleeve of woven polyester or perforated PVC. This design enables the cells to withstand frequent charge/discharge cycles. Cells with Lead-Calcium alloy plates always demand less addition of water than the cells with lead-antimony alloy plates. Designation shall be as in the case of Plante cells, except that T indicates Tubular cell. Tubular positive plates are used in traction, standby and submarine batteries.

Ampere-hour capacity (Ah)

Current multiplied by time to indicate the capacity of the battery (after correction to 27 0C), when the cell is discharged at 10 hour rate to a final voltage of 1.85 V. Specific Gravity Readings. Specific gravity of the battery taken with a hydrometer shall be entered in the log sheet. The specific Gravity should be 1.21

Battery Room.


  

 

There should be enough space to accommodate the stands provided for supporting the cells. Exhaust fans for ventilation of gases. Adequate lighting shall be provided. Room temperature should be in between 200C to 350C. Higher temperature decreases life of Battery. Lower temperature reduces capacity.

Control Power supply 110 V D.C.

55 Nos PLANTE type 400 AH Lead Acid Battery

Installation
 

Battery cells are kept on insulators placed on stand. The cells should be stacked in such a way that the positive terminal of one cell should be connected to the negative terminal of the adjacent cell. All copper connection works should be painted with acid resistant paint before filling the acid in the cells. Acid proof ceramic tiles should be used on floor as well as the four walls up to a height of 10 feet.

Filling of Electrolyte.


Battery grade sulphuric acid with specific gravity 1.190+ 0.005 (at 270 C) should be carefully poured into cells till the indicator in each cell rises to maximum recommended level. Open the vent plug and check the level after 24 hours. Top up the electrolyte if the level is reduced due to absorption. Now battery is ready for initial charging.

Initial Charging
    

Initial Charging will take from 50 to 90 hours. Initial Charge is 3 times the capacity of the cell. Eg: For a 300 AH battery 900 AH should be given. 30 Ampere for 30 Hrs. Temperature of the electrolyte should be less than 500 C. After completion of first charge rest should be given for 1 to 12 hour.

Initial Charging


 

 

After rest battery should be again charged at finishing rate for a period not less than 30 hours till sign of completion of charge are observed. Hourly readings of Sp. gravity, Voltage, temperature, level are to be taken. Final voltage per cell 2.75 V for 3 hours. Discharging and charging should be repeated.

D.C. Battery Charger



       

The function of the battery charger is to convert A.C. input to D.C. output and feeds the substation D.C. loads at the time of charging the battery. The Ampere requirement can be determined by: A= AH x 1.15 + L T Where, A - is the minimum rated ampere charger capacity. AH - Ampere hour discharge from battery. T Time allowed for recharge in hours. L Continuous connected load on the battery. 1.15 Efficiency charge factor.

Battery Charger


Eg: If a 100 AH battery is 50% discharged, and it is to be recharged in 10 Hours , and a continuous load of 6 amps to be supplied, ampere requirement will be:
A= (100x0.5) x 1.15 + 6 = 11.75 A 10 The next standard rating is 15A. 30Amp and 60 Amp chargers are commonly used.

   

Battery Charger for Power stations

 

Dual Chargers are used. The system consists of two identical chargers of same capacity . Bothe shall be capable of work as Boost or float charger when required.

Maintenance of Plante Battery

Sl Activity No 1 Cell voltage of Pilot Cells 2 3 4 5 Specific gravity of Pilot Cells Cell voltage of all cells Specific gravity of all cells Check for any excessive gassing (Over heating of cells) Period D D M M D

Maintenance of Plante Battery

Sl No 6 7 8 Activity Battery earth leakage Battery cleaning to remove dust accumulated Tightening of terminal bolts, applying contact grease. Capacity measurement Period D W M

Equalising Charge
An equalising charge or a boost charge is a special charge given to a battery, when non uniformity in voltage or specific gravity has been developed in the cells. For lead-antimony and Plante types, the equalisation charges may be required once in 3 months. Any of the following voltages as shown in Table and corresponding time period shall be applied.

Equalising Charge

Equalising voltage / cell Time - Hrs. 1.24 80 2.27 60 2.30 48 2.33 36 Equalise once a year, even if the preceding conditions do not demand.

Specific Gravity Readings Specific gravity of the battery taken with a hydrometer shall be corrected to 270C and entered in the log. Without temperature correction, the reading is meaningless. For each 10 0 C variation from 27 0C, a correction factor of 0.0007 shall be added or subtracted.

VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid Battery)

In VRLA battery the oxygen gas is transported to the Negative plate through a special type of separator and it will react with the lead on the negative electrode to form lead peroxide. The oxygen is suppressing the Hydrogen Gas evolution at the Negative plate. Hence hydrogen and oxygen will not escape from the cell. An automatic pressure relief vent is provided to release the excess pressure if produced.

400AH VRLA, Battery

Charging of VRLA batteries



 

Constant Voltage out put charging equipment should be used. Recommended float Voltage 2.3 V and 50 mA Current Recommended boost Voltage 2.35 V. While charging OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE (OCV) readings should be taken. The charging current should be as per the instruction manual . (12 %).

Maintenance of VRLA Battery

1)Boost Charge the batteries @ 2.3 Volts per cell once in every six months for 32Hours.  @ a current 10 % of the rated capacity.  Discharge the Batteries up 1.85 V per cell in every Year.  Clean the batteries weekly.  Note down the cell voltages Monthly after switching of the charger.

55 Nos VRLA type 400 AH Lead Acid Battery