Battery pack

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Lead-acid automobile battery pack consisting of 28 Optima Yellow Tops Acp tzero dsc00309.jpg
Lead-acid automobile battery pack consisting of 28 Optima Yellow Tops
Lithium-ion battery pack for Lucid Motors Lucid battery pack 01.jpg
Lithium-ion battery pack for Lucid Motors

A battery pack is a set of any number of (preferably) identical batteries or individual battery cells. [1] [2] They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage and current. The term battery pack is often used in reference to cordless tools, radio-controlled hobby toys, and battery electric vehicles.

Contents

Components of battery packs include the individual batteries or cells, and the interconnects which provide electrical conductivity between them. [3] Rechargeable battery packs often contain voltage and temperature sensors, which the battery charger uses to detect the end of charging. [4] Interconnects are also found in batteries as they are the part which connects each cell, though batteries are most often only arranged in series strings.

When a pack contains groups of cells in parallel there are differing wiring configurations which take into consideration the electrical balance of the circuit. Battery Management System are sometimes used for balancing cells in order to keep their voltages below a maximum value during charging so as to allow the weaker batteries to become fully charged, bringing the whole pack back into balance. [5] Active balancing can also be performed by battery balancer devices which can shuttle energy from strong cells to weaker ones in real time for better balance. [5] A well-balanced pack lasts longer and delivers better performance. [6] [1]

For an inline package, cells are selected and stacked with solder in between them. The cells are pressed together and a current pulse generates heat to solder them together and to weld all connections internal to the cell.

Calculating state of charge

SOC, or state of charge, is the equivalent of a fuel quantity remaining. SOC cannot be determined by a simple voltage measurement, because the terminal voltage of a battery may stay substantially constant until it is completely discharged. In some types of battery, electrolyte specific gravity may be related to state of charge but this is not measurable on typical battery pack cells, and is not related to state of charge on most battery types. Most SOC methods take into account voltage and current as well as temperature and other aspects of the discharge and charge process to in essence count up or down within a pre-defined capacity of a pack. [7] [8] More complex state of charge estimation systems take into account the Peukert effect which relates the capacity of the battery to the discharge rate. [9]

Advantages

An advantage of a battery pack is the ease with which it can be swapped into or out of a device. This allows multiple packs to deliver extended runtimes, freeing up the device for continued use while charging the removed pack separately.

Another advantage is the flexibility of their design and implementation, allowing the use of cheaper high-production cells or batteries to be combined into a pack for nearly any application.

At the end of product life, batteries can be removed and recycled separately, reducing the total volume of hazardous waste.

Disadvantages

Packs are often simpler for end users to repair or tamper with than a sealed non-serviceable battery or cell. Though some might consider this an advantage it is important to take safety precautions when servicing a battery pack as they pose a danger as potential chemical, electrical, and fire risks.

Power bank

Power bank with digital charging state display Power Bank Phantom 13000mAh.jpg
Power bank with digital charging state display

A power bank or battery bank is a portable device that stores energy in its battery. Power banks are made in various sizes and typically based on lithium-ion batteries. A power bank contains battery cells and a voltage converter circuitry. The internal DC-DC converter manages battery charging and converts the battery stack's voltage to the desired output voltage. The advertised capacity on the product in many instances is based on the capacity of the internal cells, however the theoretical mAh available to output depends on the output voltage. The conversion circuit has some energy losses, so the actual output is less than theoretical. [10] [11] The theoretical mAh of a 3.7 V battery power bank with 5 V output is 74% of the battery mAh rating. The RavPower RP-PB41 with advertised capacity of 26,800 mAh that was evaluated in the journal has a theoretical capacity is 19,832 mAh, although the delivered capacity was 15,682 mAh, 78% of theoretical value. Authors attributed the difference to internal resistance in battery and converter losses. [11] The circuit board can contain additional features such as over discharge protection, automatic shut off and charge level indication LEDs. [12] [13] Power banks may be able to detect a connection and power on automatically. If the current load is under a model-specific threshold for a specific duration, a power bank may power down automatically. [14]

Some power banks are able to deliver power wirelessly, some are equipped with an LED flashlight for casual near-distance illumination when necessary, and some have a pass-through charging feature which allows providing power through their USB ports while being charged themselves simultaneously. [15] Some larger power banks have DC connectors (or barrel connectors) for higher power demands such as laptop computers.

Battery cases

Battery cases are small power banks attached to the rear side of a mobile phone like a case. Power may be delivered through the USB charging ports, [16] or wirelessly. [17] Battery cases also exist in the form of a camera grip accessory, as was for the Nokia Lumia 1020. [18] For mobile phones with removable rear cover, extended batteries exist. These are larger internal batteries attached with a dedicated, more spacious rear cover replacing the default one. A disadvantage is incompatibility with other phone cases while attached. [19]

Rental/exchange

In some parts of the world, there are kiosk based power bank rental or subscription services. Customers pay for the use of power bank for a specified period of time and return the depleted power bank to the kiosk. [20] In one case with a brand called FuelRod, it was sold at an elevated price at various amusement parks with the understanding that they get a perk of free exchange at participating locations. [21] FuelRod moved to discontinue the free exchange in 2019 and resulted in a class-action lawsuit reaching a settlement that early adopters would be grandfathered to free exchange privileges. [22]

Air travel restrictions

Per US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, power banks in the United States are not allowed in checked-in luggage. Power banks up to 100 Wh are allowed as carry-on and those 101 Wh to 160 Wh are allowed with airline approval. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickel–metal hydride battery</span> Type of rechargeable battery

A nickel–metal hydride battery is a type of rechargeable battery. The chemical reaction at the positive electrode is similar to that of the nickel-cadmium cell (NiCd), with both using nickel oxide hydroxide (NiOOH). However, the negative electrodes use a hydrogen-absorbing alloy instead of cadmium. NiMH batteries can have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with significantly higher energy density, although only about half that of lithium-ion batteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium-ion battery</span> Rechargeable battery type

A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that uses the reversible intercalation of Li+ ions into electronically conducting solids to store energy. In comparison with other commercial rechargeable batteries, Li-ion batteries are characterized by higher specific energy, higher energy density, higher energy efficiency, a longer cycle life, and a longer calendar life. Also noteworthy is a dramatic improvement in lithium-ion battery properties after their market introduction in 1991: during the next 30 years, their volumetric energy density increased threefold while their cost dropped tenfold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rechargeable battery</span> Type of electrical battery

A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell, is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or primary battery, which is supplied fully charged and discarded after use. It is composed of one or more electrochemical cells. The term "accumulator" is used as it accumulates and stores energy through a reversible electrochemical reaction. Rechargeable batteries are produced in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from button cells to megawatt systems connected to stabilize an electrical distribution network. Several different combinations of electrode materials and electrolytes are used, including lead–acid, zinc–air, nickel–cadmium (NiCd), nickel–metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), and lithium-ion polymer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium polymer battery</span> Lithium-ion battery using a polymer electrolyte

A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly, lithium-ion polymer battery, is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. Highly conductive semisolid (gel) polymers form this electrolyte. These batteries provide higher specific energy than other lithium battery types. They are used in applications where weight is critical, such as mobile devices, radio-controlled aircraft, and some electric vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Automotive battery</span> Rechargeable battery for starting a cars combustion engine

An automotive battery, or car battery, is a rechargeable battery that is used to start a motor vehicle. Its main purpose is to provide an electric current to the electric-powered starting motor, which in turn starts the chemically-powered internal combustion engine that actually propels the vehicle. Once the engine is running, power for the car's electrical systems is still supplied by the battery, with the alternator charging the battery as demands increase or decrease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AA battery</span> Standard size of dry cell battery

The AA battery is a standard size single cell cylindrical dry battery. The IEC 60086 system calls the size R6, and ANSI C18 calls it 15. It is named UM-3 by JIS of Japan. Historically, it is known as D14, U12 – later U7, or HP7 in official documentation in the United Kingdom, or a pen cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battery charger</span> Device used to provide electricity

A battery charger, recharger, or simply charger, is a device that stores energy in an electric battery by running current through it. The charging protocol—how much voltage, current, for how long and what to do when charging is complete—depends on the size and type of the battery being charged. Some battery types have high tolerance for overcharging after the battery has been fully charged and can be recharged by connection to a constant voltage source or a constant current source, depending on battery type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithium iron phosphate battery</span> Type of rechargeable battery

The lithium iron phosphate battery or LFP battery is a type of lithium-ion battery using lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material, and a graphitic carbon electrode with a metallic backing as the anode. Because of their low cost, high safety, low toxicity, long cycle life and other factors, LFP batteries are finding a number of roles in vehicle use, utility-scale stationary applications, and backup power. LFP batteries are cobalt-free. As of September 2022, LFP type battery market share for EVs reached 31%, and of that, 68% were from EV makers Tesla and BYD alone. Chinese manufacturers currently hold a near monopoly of LFP battery type production. With patents having started to expire in 2022 and the increased demand for cheaper EV batteries, LFP type production is expected to rise further and surpass lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) type batteries in 2028.

State of charge (SoC) quantifies the remaining capacity available in a battery at a given time and in relation to a given state of ageing. It is usually expressed as percentage. An alternative form of the same measure is the depth of discharge (DoD), calculated as 1 − SoC. It refers to the amount of charge that may been used up if the cell is fully discharged. State of charge is normally used when discussing the current state of a battery in use, while depth of discharge is most often used to discuss a constant variation of state of charge during repeated cycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric vehicle battery</span> Battery used to power the electric motors of a battery electric vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle

An electric vehicle battery is a rechargeable battery used to power the electric motors of a battery electric vehicle (BEV) or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).

The lithium-titanate or lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) battery is a type of rechargeable battery which has the advantage of being faster to charge than other lithium-ion batteries but the disadvantage is a much lower energy density.

In electronics, the cut-off voltage is the voltage at which a battery is considered fully discharged, beyond which further discharge could cause harm. Some electronic devices, such as cell phones, will automatically shut down when the cut-off voltage has been reached.

A battery management system (BMS) is any electronic system that manages a rechargeable battery by facilitating the safe usage and a long life of the battery in practical scenarios while monitoring and estimating its various states, calculating secondary data, reporting that data, controlling its environment, authenticating or balancing it. Protection circuit module (PCM) is a simpler alternative to BMS. A battery pack built together with a battery management system with an external communication data bus is a smart battery pack. A smart battery pack must be charged by a smart battery charger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric battery</span> Power source with electrochemical cells

An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive terminal is the cathode and its negative terminal is the anode. The terminal marked negative is the source of electrons that will flow through an external electric circuit to the positive terminal. When a battery is connected to an external electric load, a redox reaction converts high-energy reactants to lower-energy products, and the free-energy difference is delivered to the external circuit as electrical energy. Historically the term "battery" specifically referred to a device composed of multiple cells; however, the usage has evolved to include devices composed of a single cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid-state battery</span> Battery with solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte

A solid-state battery is an electrical battery that uses a solid electrolyte for ionic conductions between the electrodes, instead of the liquid or gel polymer electrolytes found in conventional batteries. Solid-state batteries theoretically offer much higher energy density than the typical lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries.

The lithium–air battery (Li–air) is a metal–air electrochemical cell or battery chemistry that uses oxidation of lithium at the anode and reduction of oxygen at the cathode to induce a current flow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium-ion battery</span> Type of rechargeable battery

Sodium-ion batteries (NIBs, SIBs, or Na-ion batteries) are several types of rechargeable batteries, which use sodium ions (Na+) as their charge carriers. In some cases, its working principle and cell construction are similar to those of lithium-ion battery (LIB) types, but it replaces lithium with sodium as the intercalating ion. Sodium belongs to the same group in the periodic table as lithium and thus has similar chemical properties. However, in some cases, such as aqueous batteries, SIBs can be quite different from LIBs.

Aluminium-ion batteries are a class of rechargeable battery in which aluminium ions serve as charge carriers. Aluminium can exchange three electrons per ion. This means that insertion of one Al3+ is equivalent to three Li+ ions. Thus, since the ionic radii of Al3+ (0.54 Å) and Li+ (0.76 Å) are similar, significantly higher numbers of electrons and Al3+ ions can be accepted by cathodes with little damage. Al has 50 times (23.5 megawatt-hours m-3) the energy density of Li and is even higher than coal.

Research in lithium-ion batteries has produced many proposed refinements of lithium-ion batteries. Areas of research interest have focused on improving energy density, safety, rate capability, cycle durability, flexibility, and reducing cost.

The lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxides (abbreviated as Li-NCA, LNCA, or NCA) are a group of mixed metal oxides. Some of them are important due to their application in lithium ion batteries. NCAs are used as active material in the positive electrode (which is the cathode when the battery is discharged). NCAs are composed of the cations of the chemical elements lithium, nickel, cobalt and aluminium. The compounds of this class have a general formula LiNixCoyAlzO2 with x + y + z = 1. In case of the NCA comprising batteries currently available on the market, which are also used in electric cars and electric appliances, x ≈ 0.8, and the voltage of those batteries is between 3.6 V and 4.0 V, at a nominal voltage of 3.6 V or 3.7 V. A version of the oxides currently in use in 2019 is LiNi0.84Co0.12Al0.04O2.

References

  1. 1 2 Hassini, Marwan; Von Hohendorff Seger, Pedro; Redondo-Iglesias, Eduardo; Pelissier, Serge; Venet, Pascal (27 October 2023). "Capacity Dispersion and Impact of Outliers in a Second Life Battery". 2023 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference (VPPC). Milan, Italy. pp. 1–4. doi:10.1109/VPPC60535.2023.10403384. ISBN   979-8-3503-4445-5. S2CID   267337334.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ↑ Li, Wei; Garg, Akhil; Xiao, Mi; Peng, Xiongbin; Le Phung, My Loan; Tran, Van Man; Gao, Liang (2020-10-10). "Intelligent optimization methodology of battery pack for electric vehicles: A multidisciplinary perspective". International Journal of Energy Research. 44 (12): 9686–9706. Bibcode:2020IJER...44.9686L. doi: 10.1002/er.5600 . ISSN   0363-907X.
  3. ↑ Harper, Gavin; Sommerville, Roberto; Kendrick, Emma; Driscoll, Laura; Slater, Peter; Stolkin, Rustam; Walton, Allan; Christensen, Paul; Heidrich, Oliver; Lambert, Simon; Abbott, Andrew; Ryder, Karl; Gaines, Linda; Anderson, Paul (6 November 2019). "Recycling lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles". Nature. 575 (7781): 75–86. Bibcode:2019Natur.575...75H. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1682-5. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   31695206.
  4. ↑ Simpson, Chester (1995). "Battery charging" (PDF). National Semiconductors.
  5. 1 2 Cao, Jian; Schofield, Nigel; Emadi, Ali (2008). "Battery balancing methods: A comprehensive review". 2008 IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conference. pp. 1–6. doi:10.1109/VPPC.2008.4677669. ISBN   978-1-4244-1848-0. S2CID   42399871 . Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  6. ↑ Duraisamy, Thiruvonasundari; Kaliyaperumal, Deepa (2020-06-01). "Active cell balancing for electric vehicle battery management system". International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS). 11 (2): 571. doi:10.11591/ijpeds.v11.i2.pp571-579. ISSN   2722-256X.
  7. ↑ Shuo Pang; Farrell, J.; Jie Du; Barth, M. (2001). "Battery state-of-charge estimation". Proceedings of the 2001 American Control Conference. (Cat. No.01CH37148). pp. 1644-1649 vol.2. doi:10.1109/ACC.2001.945964. ISBN   0-7803-6495-3. S2CID   57885701 . Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  8. ↑ Hassini, Marwan; Redondo-Iglesias, Eduardo; Venet, Pascal (19 July 2023). "Lithium–Ion Battery Data: From Production to Prediction". Batteries. 9 (7): 385. doi: 10.3390/batteries9070385 . ISSN   2313-0105.
  9. ↑ "State of charge (SoC) estimation on LiFePO4 battery module using Coulomb counting methods with modified Peukert". doi:10.1109/rICT-ICeVT.2013.6741545. S2CID   5621134 . Retrieved 2024-01-19.
  10. ↑ Yang; Gu; Guo; Chen (2019-09-20). "Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Mobile Power Banks with Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery". Sustainability. 11 (19): 5148. doi: 10.3390/su11195148 . ISSN   2071-1050.
  11. 1 2 Diao, Weiping; Saxena, Saurabh; Pecht, Michael G. (2020). "Analysis of Specified Capacity in Power Banks". IEEE Access. 8: 21326–21332. Bibcode:2020IEEEA...821326D. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2969410 . ISSN   2169-3536. S2CID   211055705.
  12. ↑ Raja, Ganesh; Madaan, Pushek (Oct 30, 2013). "Power Bank – Power On-The-Go (Part 1)". Electronic Design. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  13. ↑ Raja, Ganesh; Madaan, Pushek (Oct 30, 2013). "Power Bank – Power On-The-Go (Part 2)". Electronic Design. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  14. ↑ "Port detection for power banks". Texas Instruments. April 2016. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  15. ↑ "How Pass Through Tech Lets You Use Power Banks In Creative Ways". RAVPower. 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  16. ↑ Stein, Scott. "Apple Smart Battery Case for iPhone 6S review: Addressing the iPhone's biggest weakness". CNET.
  17. ↑ "Galaxy Note 7 S View Standing Cover and Battery Pack hands on". Android Authority. 2 August 2016.
  18. ↑ "IRL: Testing the Nokia Lumia 1020's optional camera grip / battery case". Engadget. 2013-09-16.
  19. ↑ Klug, Brian (2013-07-23). "Samsung Galaxy S 4 ZeroLemon 7500 mAh Extended Battery Review". Anandtech.com.
  20. ↑ "Would you rent a power bank on the go?". Mintlounge. 2022-07-25. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  21. ↑ "Class-action lawsuit seeks $5 million over portable chargers sold at Disney, Universal and SeaWorld parks". The Mercury News. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  22. ↑ Tuttle, Brittani (2020-07-10). "FuelRod lawsuit ends; 'Founders' can still receive free swaps". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  23. ↑ McInnis, Kaitlyn (2022-05-18). "What's allowed in — and prohibited from — your carry-on bag, according to the TSA's rules". CNN Underscored. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
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