Hubble performance on-orbit

A summary of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) nickel-hydrogen (NiH/sub 2/) battery performance from launch to the present. Over the life of HST vehicle configuration, charge system degradation and failures, together with thermal design limitations, have had a significant effect on the capacity of HST batteries. Changes made to the charge system configuration to protect against power system failures and to maintain battery thermal stability resulted in undercharging of the batteries. This undercharging resulted in decreased usable battery capacity as well as battery cell voltage/capacity divergence. This cell divergence was made evident during on-orbit battery capacity measurements by a relatively shallow slope of the discharge curve following the discharge knee. Early efforts to improve battery performance have been successful. On-orbit capacity measurement data indicates increases in the usable battery capacity of all six batteries as well as improvements in the battery cell voltage/capacity divergence. Additional measures have been implemented to improve battery performance, however, failures within the HST Power Control Unit (PCU) have prevented verification of battery status.     

A microcontroller-based intelligent battery system

State-of-charge indication for a secondary battery is becoming increasingly important for battery-operated electronics. Consumers are demanding fast charging times, increased battery lifetime, and fuel gauge capabilities. All of these demands require that the state of charge within a battery be known. One of the simplest methods employed to determine state of charge is to monitor the voltage of the battery. However, this method alone is not a good indicator of battery energy, since both NiMH and NiCd batteries have voltage-versus-energy curves that are essentially flat. This paper presents a more effective method of determining the state of charge in secondary cell batteries. A NiMH battery is used as our test vehicle, since it is one of the more difficult batteries to determine state of charge. This method monitors the battery's temperature, voltage, and discharge/charge rate. A microcontroller then manipulates the information, using look-up tables to determine the state of charge. Also, by modifying the look-up tables, this technique can be employed in many other battery technologies and is not limited to NiMH     

Hubble Space Telescope at twelve years of age

The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the Space Shuttle Discovery into a 380-mile high Earth orbit on April 25, 1990. It subsequently made outstanding astronomical discoveries with its 8-foot (2.4-meter) telescope and other scientific instruments. Critical to the successful observations was continuous availability of power from its solar arrays during sunlit periods, and from nickel-hydrogen batteries when the satellite was in the Earth's shadow. The adopted nickel-hydrogen batteries were carefully selected and tested to confirm their depth-of-discharge and operating temperature that delivered the longest life in charge/discharge cycling service. These batteries had a design life of 7 years. At 12 years after launch the Hubble batteries have delivered more charge/discharge cycles than any other batteries in low-Earth orbit. However, the Hubble batteries have been subjected to many unexpected stresses, and peculiar reductions in battery capacity have been observed. Battery replacement requires a costly trip to the Hubble Space Telescope by astronauts, so the remaining useful life of the batteries must be predicted. Already in four servicing missions, astronauts have replaced or modified optics, solar arrays, a power control unit, and various science packages. A fifth servicing mission is scheduled in 2004. This paper discusses battery charging hardware and software controls, history of battery events in Hubble, cell performance model and spare battery tests, and capacity walkdown.     

Fast equalization for large lithium ion batteries

Slight differences between the series connected cells in a lithium ion (Lilon) battery pack can produce imbalances in the cell voltages, and this greatly reduces the charge capacity. These batteries cannot be trickle-charged like a lead acid battery since this would slightly overcharge some cells and may cause these cells to ignite. Therefore, an electronic equalizer (EQU) should be used to balance the cell voltages individually. The targeted EQU described herein can be connected to any cell via a set of sealed relays to provide much faster equalization and higher efficiency than previous methods.     

Prediction of electric-powered fixed-wing UAV endurance

To overcome the problems encountered in predicting the endurance of electricpowered fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs),which were stemmed from the dynamic changes in electric power system efficiency and battery discharge characteristics under different operating conditions,the required battery power model and battery discharge model were studied.The required battery power model was determined using an approximate model of electric power system efficiency based on wind tunnel testing and the self-adaptive penalty function.Furthermore,current correction and ambient temperature correction terms were proposed for the trained Kriging model representing the discharge characteristics under standard operation,and then the discharged capacity-terminal voltage model was established.Through numerical integration of this model with the required battery power model,the electric-powered fixed-wing UAV endurance prediction model was obtained.Laboratory tests indicated that the proposed endurance model could precisely calculate the battery discharge time and accurately describe the battery discharge process.The similarity of the theoretical and flight test results reflected the accuracy of the proposed endurance model as well as the importance of considering dynamic changes in power system efficiency in endurance calculations.The proposed endurance model meeting precision requirements can be used in practical engineering applications.     

Fast intelligent battery charging: neural-fuzzy approach

This paper focuses on the design of a super fast battery charger based on National's proprietary neural network based NeuFuz technology. In this application, we have used a NiCd battery pack as the test vehicle. However, this technology can be extended to other chemistries such as Ni-MH, Li-ion, etc. This technology allows the designer to accurately model the charge controller using a neural network, based on battery charge characteristics provided by the manufacturer. This approach continuously monitors the battery status, and modifies the charge current accordingly. It also eliminates the need for standard charge termination methods used in today's conventional chargers. The result is super fast charging in 20 to 30 minutes, and increased battery life. A low cost embedded controller (COP8) performs all the fuel-gauging and charge control functions by processing data obtained from the battery circuitry     

Life cycle testing of a sealed 24-V, 42-Ah nickel-cadmium aircraftbattery

Extensive research has been conducted in the design and manufacture of very long life sealed maintenance free nickel-cadmium aircraft batteries. This study presents data on a 100% depth of discharge (DOD) life test performed on a nominal capacity 42-Ah battery. The purpose of this study is to validate design concepts, determine the life characteristics of the newly designed sealed Ni-Cd batteries, and develop baseline information on failure rates and mechanisms. The data from this experiment can be used to compare depth of discharge versus battery life with similar tests such as the lower DOD experiments performed on spacecraft batteries. This information is important in the ongoing development of long life batteries and in developing failure models for life prediction     

基于性能退化数据的液体火箭发动机可靠性Bayes评定

性能退化表征的是产品的工作能力随时间逐渐降低的现象。对于液体火箭发动机等试验费用昂贵的高可靠性产品,失效时间数据难以得到,此时性能退化数据是评定其可靠性的重要信息。文章提出用线性随机过程模型来描述产品性能参数逼近临界值的过程,再根据产品的失效机理,推导出产品的失效分布函数形式。相对于传统的寿命分布模型,文中推导的失效分布函数中的参数因物理含义明确而易于通过实时跟踪测量性能参数时间序列数据估计得到。文中还通过一个数值实例说明了该方法在工程上应用的有效性。     

Spacecraft energy storage systems

Flywheel Energy Storage Systems represent an exciting alternative to traditional battery storage systems used to power satellites during periods of eclipse. The increasing demand for reliable communication and data access is driving explosive growth in the number of satellite systems being developed as well as their performance requirements. Power-on orbit is the key to this performance, and batteries are becoming increasingly unattractive as an energy storage media. Flywheel systems offer very attractive characteristics for both energy storage, in terms of energy density and the number of charge/discharge cycles, and the important side benefit of spacecraft attitude control     

一种基于SOC补偿器的并联型 电池系统等效电路模型

以锂离子电池为载体的电源系统为航天器稳定、可靠运行提供了一种有效 的方式。通过多个电池单体的并联可扩大电池系统容量,即并联型电池系统。针对锂离 子并联型电池系统的工作特性,因电池单体性能参数不一致而难以被准确表征的问题, 分析各电池单体性能参数与电池系统性能参数的扩展关系及并联电路工作特性,提出一 种基于SOC 补偿器的并联型电池系统等效电路模型;在Matlab/Simulink 环境下搭建电池 系统仿真平台,通过仿真结果与实验数据对比分析验证所提出模型的准确性。     

富锂锰基正极材料研究进展

随着社会发展,电动汽车、消费类(3C)电子产品、储能装置等对锂离子电池的能量密度提出了更高要求。富锂锰基正极材料具有高比容量(≈250 mAh/g)、高工作电压(≈3.6 V)及低成本等优势,有望成为下一代商用高比能电池正极材料。首次库仑效率低、倍率性能差、电压/容量衰减快等问题限制了富锂锰基正极材料的工程化应用。本文综述了富锂锰基正极材料的最新研究进展,重点从材料结构、电化学反应机理、失效机制和改性方法等几方面进行了阐述。研究表明,采用离子掺杂、表面包覆、晶体结构调控等技术,可显著改善富锂锰基正极材料的电化学性能。最后,对富锂锰基正极材料的发展方向进行了展望。     

Development of a long cycle life sealed nickel-zinc battery forhigh energy-density applications

Nickel-zinc battery technology is being developed for commercial applications requiring high energy density and high power capability. Development cells have demonstrated the ability to deliver over 60 Watt-hours per kilogram at the one hour rate. Cycle life has been improved to more than 600 cycles at 80% depth of discharge by using a patented, reduced solubility zinc electrode and an improved sealed cell design. More than 8000 charge/discharge cycles at 10% depth-of-discharge have been completed. Large quantities of sealed prismatic cells have been manufactured, including a 140 cell, 220 V battery for a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV)     

Charging the new batteries-IC controllers track new technologies

Demands for portability have fueled significant developments in new battery technology. These developments have resulted in many more options in selecting the battery type for use in a particular project, but since most applications today are opting for rechargeable battery systems, the availability of battery charging solutions can become an equally important criteria in the selection process. Complicating this process are the demands for fast-but safe-charging with charge algorithms easily implemented with low-cost hardware. With the higher levels of complexity attendant with these more demanding algorithms, solutions have come primarily from the integrated circuit industry and the purpose of this paper is to provide a few examples of the latest efforts in this arena, specifically as addressed to lead-acid, nickel metal-hydride, and lithium-ion technologies     

Aerospace lithium solid polymer batteries

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space and Ultralife Batteries, Inc. are developing batteries for spacecraft and launchers based on Li-ion solid-polymer-electrolyte cell technology. These cells utilize a carbon anode, a manganese dioxide cathode and a solid polymer electrolyte. Electrode and electrolyte layers are thin and flexible. The electrode assembly is easily fabricated into thin, flat prismatic shapes using ordinary lamination techniques and is hermetically sealed in thin foil packaging. Cells ranging in capacity from 4 Ah to 50 Ah have been designed and are in development testing. The packaged cells have specific energies in excess of 100 Wh/kg. Prototype 30 volt batteries have also been designed and are being assembled and tested along with the critical battery cell charge management controllers needed to recharge all cells to full capacity while preventing overvoltage damage. The major results of this development effort are reviewed and the key issues for advancing this technology to flight qualification demonstrations are discussed     

Charge measurement circuit for electric vehicle batteries

Calculating the state of charge (SOC) of an electric vehicle (EV) battery is an inherently error prone process that depends on several variables. However, the accuracy of the required charge flow measurements can be greatly improved by using a voltage to frequency (V/F) converter in conjunction with a digital counter to integrate the measured battery current.     

Advanced lithium ion battery charger

A lithium ion battery charger has been developed for four and eight cell batteries or multiples thereof. This charger has the advantage over those using commercial lithium ion charging chips in that the individual cells are allowed to be taper charged at their upper charging voltage rather than be cutoff when all cells of the string have reached the upper charging voltage limit. Since 30-60% of the capacity of lithium ion cells may be restored during the taper charge, this charger has a distinct benefit of fully charging lithium ion batteries by restoring all of the available capacity to all of its cells     

Behavior of a cycled Ni-Cd battery during pulse discharge

The pulse discharge behavior of a 9-Ah, 6-V nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery fabricated for the FAST program was studied. The response of the battery voltage to a pulse with a current of 60 A and duration of 10 to 200 ms was measured, along with the capacity remaining at the end of pulse discharge. The maximum drop in voltage at the beginning of the pulse was 505 to 1,049 mV, and battery capacity remained stable     

小型电动无人机航程航时估算模型

小型电动无人机通常采用锂电池、无刷电机和螺旋桨组成能源动力系统,飞行过程中锂电池的实际工作电压发生变化,但飞机的总重量不变,其航程航时的估算方法与传统的燃油飞机有所不同。为了准确评估动力系统对飞机设计的影响,建立了以锂电池为动力的电动飞机推进系统模型,通过与实验数据比较,验证了各部分模型的准确性。利用该动力系统模型,对某款小型电动无人机进行了航程和航时估算,结果表明本文的建模方法准确有效,航程航时估算接近实验数据,可作为小型电动无人机设计的重要参考。     

Sealed nickel cadmium and nickel metal hydride cell advances

Nickel cadmium cells have almost doubled in capacity since 1980 after being stagnated in performance for twenty years. Nickel metal hydride cells, introduced in 1992, have shown a 170 percent increase in energy density to be competitive on a volume basis with lithium ion. Other characteristics, such as charge retention, charge rate, high temperature operation, and rate capability have also advanced with improvements in materials and constructions. These two cell types account for roughly one half of the value of the small secondary battery market     

TMR-BITE16位单片机容错系统SCFT

介绍~种以16位单片机MCS-96为基础的TMR-BITE(也称TMR-Duplex-Simplex)容错计算机系统SCFT。该系统具有故障检测、恢复和逐步降级的功能;特点是结构紧凑、体积小、可靠性高和表决时间开销小等,能广泛适用于航空航天技术,飞控系统和自动控制系统。文中详细论述了SCFT系统的工作原理、设计方法、同步技术和通讯方式,并对系统的可靠性进行了分析。