Performance Characterization of 40 Ah Common Pressure Vessel Nickel-Hydrogen Cell

The electrical and thermal performance of a 40 Ah dual stack Nickel-Hydrogen (NiH₂) cell has been characterized at 0°C and 10°C. The testing included standard capacity tests and electrical cycling using 100 minute cycling regimens, utilizing one of three modes: 1) Cycling containing 77A pulse loads applied for 6 msec followed by a 24A charge for 6 msec; 2) Constant current, constant depth-of-discharge (DOD) cycles; and 3) Constant DOD cycles with step changes in cell current at three points in the discharge. The testing was performed with the cell in a heat conduction calorimeter.

The results of the test included amount of instantaneous heat generation during a typical LEO cycle, pressure vs. cutoff voltage data to establish a temperature-compensated voltage cutoff curve, and voltage characteristics suitable to generate a voltage prediction model. The inductive response to pulse loads is of interest and is discussed in the paper.