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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

An industry and government survey: A nickel-hydrogen testing data base

A survey of the testing data base for nickel-hydrogen (NiH2) battery cells was performed. The objective of this survey was to evaluate the status of testing of cells in general and of the Air Force design nickel-hydrogen cell in particular. Sufficient detail was sought so that a critical evaluation of the test results and of cell performance could be made. Realizing that subtle differences in test conditions can result in large differences in cell performance, an effort was made to define the actual test environment as closely as possible. These data were obtained in the time period February to May 1984, and reflect the status of tests at that time. Periodic updates of the information are planned. The testing data collected from most North American sources indicates that the basis for use of NiH2 cells in high orbits is firm. Results from over 227 cells produced only 14 failures up to 1000 cycles. The failures are of the type that have either been corrected or would be screened out in a flight program. Recent flight experience appears to support this position.

Badcock, C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Effects of cobalt on the hot workability of nickel-base superalloys

The effect of cobalt on the workability of nickel-base superalloys is examined with reference to experimental results for four heats of alloys based on the Nimonic 115 composition with varying amounts of nickel substituted for the nominal 14 percent cobalt. It is shown that Co lowers the gamma-prime solvus, which in turn lowers the Cr23C6 carbide solvus. It is further shown that these solvus temperatures bracket the hot working range for the alloys. However, thermomechanical processing modifications reflecting the effect of Co on the gamma-prime and carbide solvi are shown to restore the workability and the properties of alloys with little or no cobalt.

Jarrett, R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Advanced designs for IPV nickel-hydrogen cells

Advanced designs for individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells have been conceived which should improve the cycle life at deep depths-of-discharge. Features of the designs which are new and not incorporated in either of the contemporary cells (Air Force/Hughes, Comsat) are: (1) use of alternate methods of oxygen recombination, (2) use of serrated edge separators to facilitate movement of gas within the cell while still maintaining required physical contact with the wall wick, and (3) use of an expandable stack to accommodate some of the nickel electrode expansion. The designs also consider electrolyte volume requirements over the life of the cells, and are fully compatible with the Air Force/Hughes design.

Smithrick, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Initial performance of advanced designs for IPV nickel-hydrogen cells

Advanced designs for individual pressure vessel nickel hydrogen cells were conceived which should improve the life cycle at deep depths of discharge and improve thermal management. Features of the designs which are new and not incorporated in either of the contemporary cells (Air Force/Hughes, Comsat) are: (1) the use of alternate methods of oxygen recombination, (2) use of serrated edge separators to facilitate movement of gas within the cell while still maintaining required physical contact with the wall wick, and (3) use of an expandable stack to accommodate some of the nickel electrode expansion. The designs also consider electrolyte volume requirements over the life of the cells, and are fully compatible with the Air Force/Hughes design.

Smithrick, J. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

KOH concentration effect on the cycle life of nickel-hydrogen cells

Effects of KOH concentration on the cycle life of a sintered-type nickel electrode were studied in a boiler plate nickel-hydrogen cell at 23 C using an accelerated 45-min cycle regime at 80 percent depth of discharge. The cycle life improved greatly as the KOH concentration decreased, although the initial capacity of the cell decreased slightly. The cycle life improved by a factor of two or more when the KOH concentration was reduced from 36 to 31 percent and by a similar factor from reductions of 31 to 26 percent. For many applications, this life improvement may outweigh the initial capacity decrease.

Lim, H. S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Life cycle test results of a bipolar nickel hydrogen battery

A history of low earth orbit laboratory test data on a 6.5 Ah bipolar nickel hydrogen battery designed and built at the NASA Lewis Research Center is presented. During the past several years the storage and Thermal Branch has been deeply involved in the design, development, and optimization of nickel hydrogen devices. The bipolar concept is a means of achieving the goal of producing an acceptable battery of higher energy density, able to withstand the demands of low earth orbiter regimes.

Cataldo, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The reactions of cobalt, iron and nickel in SO2 atmospheres Similarities and differences

The reactions of cobalt, iron and nickel in SO2 atmospheres are reviewed and compared. A mixed oxide-sulfide product layer is observed in all cases. Cobalt and nickel exhibit similar behavior. The observed rates are near the sulfidation rates, and the reaction rate is strongly influenced by the outward diffusion of metal through an interconnected sulfide network. A continuous interconnected sulfide is not observed in the oxide-sulfide scales formed on iron, and the reaction rates are more difficult to summarize. The differences and similarities among the three metals are explained in terms of the absence of scale-gas equilibrium and the ratio of the metal diffusivity in the corresponding oxide and sulfide.

Jacobson, N. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Qualification Testing of General Electric 50 Ah Nickel-Cadmium Cells with New Separator and New Positive Plate Processing

Forty-two 50 Ah aerospace nickel-cadmium cells were delivered to Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) by General Electric (GE) in February, 1985, for the purpose of evaluating and qualifying a new nylon separator material Pellon 2536, and the new GE Positive Plate Nickel Attack Control Passivation process. Testing began in May, 1985, at the Naval Weapons Support Center (NWSC) in Crane, Indiana with standard initial evaluation tests. Life cycling in both Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) began in July, 1985, with approximately 1200 LEO cycles complete at this writting. Early test results show that cells with positive plate passivation exhibit higher than normal charge voltage characteristics. Other aspects of performance were nominal.

Morrow, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Lightweight, direct-radiating nickel hydrogen batteries

Two battery module configurations were developed which, in addition to integrating cylindrical nickel hydrogen (NiH2) cells into batteries, provide advances in the means of mounting, monitoring and thermal control of these cells. The main difference between the two modules is the physical arrangement of the cells: vertical versus horizontal. Direct thermal radiation to deep space is accomplished by substituting the battery structure for an exterior spacecraft panel. Unlike most conventional nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and NiH2 batteries, the cells are not tightly packed together; therefore ancillary heat conducting media to outside radiating areas, and spacecraft deck reinforcements for high mass concentration are not necessary. Testing included electrical characterization and a comprehensive regime of environmental exposures. The designs are flexible with respect to quantity and type of cells, orbit altitude and period, power demand profile, and the extent of cell parameter monitoring. This paper compares the characteristics of the two battery modules and summarizes their performance.

Metcalfe, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Impact of shuttle environment on prelaunch handling of nickel-hydrogen batteries

Deployment of the American Satellite Company 1 spacecraft for the Space Shuttle Discovery in August 1985 set a new milestone in nickel-hydrogen battery technology. This communications satellite is equipped with two 35 Ah nickel-hydrogen batteries and it is the first such satellite launched into orbit via the Space Shuttle. The prelaunch activities, combined with the environmental constraints onboard the Shuttle, led to the development of a new battery handling procedure. An outline of the prelaunch activities, with particular attention to battery charging, is presented.

Green, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Initial performance of advanced designs for IPV nickel-hydrogen cells

Advanced designs for individual pressure vessel nickel-hydrogen cells have been conceived which should improve the cycle life at deep depths-of-discharge and improve thermal management. Features of the designs which are new and not incorporated in either of the contemporary cells (Air Force/Hughes, Comsat) are: (1) use of alternate methods of oxygen recombination, (2) use of serrated edge separators to facilitate movement of gas within the cell while still maintaining required physical contact with the wall wick, and (3) use of an expandable stack to accommodate some of the nickel electrode expansion. The designs also consider electrolyte volume requirements over the life of the cells, and are fully compatible with the Air Force/Hughes design.

Smithrick, John J.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Nickel cadmium battery expert system

The applicability of artificial intelligence methodologies for the automation of energy storage management, in this case, nickel cadmium batteries, is demonstrated. With the Hubble Space Telescope Electrical Power System (HST/EPS) testbed as the application domain, an expert system was developed which incorporates the physical characterization of the EPS, in particular, the nickel cadmium batteries, as well as the human's operational knowledge. The expert system returns not only fault diagnostics but also status and advice along with justifications and explanations in the form of decision support.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1986

Requirements specification for nickel cadmium battery expert system

The requirements for performance, design, test, and qualification of a computer program identified as NICBES, Nickel Cadmium Battery Expert System, is established. The specific spacecraft power system configuration selected was the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Electrical Power System (EPS) Testbed. Power for the HST comes from a system of 13 Solar Panel Arrays (SPAs) linked to 6 Nickel Cadmium Batteries which are connected to 3 Busses. An expert system, NICBES, will be developed at Martin Marietta Aerospace to recognize a testbed anomaly, identify the malfunctioning component and recommend a course of action. Besides fault diagnosis, NICBES will be able to evaluate battery status, give advice on battery status and provide decision support for the operator. These requirements are detailed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Component variations and their effects on bipolar nickel-hydrogen cell performance

A 50 cell bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a high voltage stack of cells. Various component combinations were tested in this battery. The battery had approximately 1 ampere-hour of capacity and was constructed from components with an active area of 2" X 2". The components were parametrically varied to give a comparison of nickel electrodes, hydrogen electrodes, separators, fill procedures and electrolyte reservoir plate thicknesses. Groups of five cells were constructed using the same components; ten combinations were tested in all. The battery was thoroughly characterized at various change and discharge rates as well as with various pulse patterns and rates. Over a period of 1400 40% DOD LEO cycles some of the groups began to exhibit performance differences. In general, only separator variations had a significant effect on cell performance. It also appears that shunt currents may have been operating within the stack, resulting in electrolyte transfer from one cell to another, thus contributing to cell performance variations.

Manzo, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Test results of a 60 volt bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery

In July, l986, a high-voltage nickel-hydrogen battery was assembled at the NASA Lewis Research Center. This battery incorporated bipolar construction techniques to build a 50-cell stack with approximately 1.0 A-hr capacity (C) and an open-circuit voltage of 65 V. The battery was characterized at both low and high current rates prior to pulsed and nonpulsed discharges. Pulse discharges at 5 and 10 C were performed before placing the battery on over 1400, 40% depth-of-discharge, low-earth-orbit cycles. The successful demonstration of a high-voltage bipolar battery in one containment vessel has advanced the technology to where nickel-hydrogen high-voltage systems can be constructed of several modules instead of hundreds of individual cells.

Cataldo, Russell L.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Advanced nickel-cadmium batteries for geosynchronous spacecraft

A nickel cadmium battery was developed that can be operated at 80 percent depth of discharge in excess of 10 years in a geosynchronous orbit application, and has about a 30 percent weight savings per spacecraft over present nickel cadmium batteries when used with a 1000 watts eclipse load. The approach used in the development was to replace nylon separators with inert polymer impregnated zirconia, use electrochemically deposited plates in place of conventional chemically precipitated ones, and use an additive to extend negative plate lifetime. The design has undergone extensive testing using both engineering and protoflight cell configurations.

Pickett, David F.↗
NASA NTRS1987

AC impedance study of degradation of porous nickel battery electrodes

AC impedance spectra of porous nickel battery electrodes were recorded periodically during charge/discharge cycling in concentrated KOH solution at various temperatures. A transmission line model (TLM) was adopted to represent the impedance of the porous electrodes, and various model parameters were adjusted in a curve fitting routine to reproduce the experimental impedances. Degradation processes were deduced from changes in model parameters with electrode cycling time. In developing the TLM, impedance spectra of planar (nonporous) electrodes were used to represent the pore wall and backing plate interfacial impedances. These data were measured over a range of potentials and temperatures, and an equivalent circuit model was adopted to represent the planar electrode data. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the characteristics of the oxygen evolution reaction on planar nickel electrodes during charging, since oxygen evolution can affect battery electrode charging efficiency and ultimately electrode cycle life if the overpotential for oxygen evolution is sufficiently low.

Lenhart, Stephen J.↗