Lead acid battery

• A cell is a source of e.m.f. in which chemical energy is

converted into electrical energy
• Primary cells: A cell in which chemical action is not
reversible is called a primary cell. As a primary cell delivers
current, the active materials are used up.
• e.g., Daniel cell, Lachlanche cell, dry cell
• Secondary cells: A cell in which chemical action is
reversible is called a secondary cell or storage cell.
• When the cell is delivering current
• (i.e., discharging), the chemical action changes the
composition of plates. When the cell is exhausted, the
chemical action can be reversed by passing current through
the cell in the reverse direction to that in which the cell
provided current.
• i)Lead-acid cell (ii) Nickel-iron-alkaline cell (or Edison cell)
• (iii) Nickel-cadmium-alkaline cell.
 constructional details of lead acid cell
• lead-acid battery is a collection of a number of lead-
acid cells connected in series
• for 12-volt type, six cells are series-connected
• (i) Container.
• The container houses the plates and the electrolyte.
• The container of some batteries is made of glass or
transparent synthetic plastic material. The container is
• sealed off at the top to prevent the spilling of
electrolyte. A large space is left at the bottom of the
container so that any sediment that drops from the
plates may collect there without causing the short-
circuit between positive and negative plates.
• ii)Plates. The capacity of a lead-acid cell
depends upon the plate area.
• To increase the effective area of plates
without increasing the size of the cell, we use
a large number of thin plates in the cell .
• The alternate positive(PbO2) (chocolate
brown) and negative plates(Pb) (grey )of the
cell are sandwiched together with insulators
(called separators).
• All negative plates are connected together
and all the positive plates are connected
together
• (iii) Separators. In order to save space and to reduce
the internal resistance of the cell,
• The plates are placed close together. To prevent the
plates from touching each other if they wrap or buckle,
they are separated by non-conducting materials (e.g.
wood, rubber etc) called separators.
• (iv) Electrolyte. The electrolyte is dilute sulphuric acid
(H2SO4) solution mixed in 3:1 ratio
• In a fully charged battery, its specific gravity is about
1.28. During the normal life of a battery that is properly
cared for, the electrolyte loses none of the acid.
• occasionally replace the water that has evaporated.
• To ensure normal battery life, only pure distilled water
should be added.
• (v) Cell cover. Each cell compartment has a cover,
usually made of moulded hard rubber.
• Openings are provided in these covers for the two
terminal posts and for a vent. The joints between
covers and container are sealed with an acid-resistant
material.
• (vi) Vent caps. Each cell cover has a hole into which is
fitted the vent cap.
• This cap has a vent hole to allow the free exit of the gas
formed in the cell. The vent caps can be easily removed
for adding water or taking hydrometer reading.
• (vii) Inter-cell connector. It is a lead alloy link that
joins the cells in series.
• (viii) Cell terminals. Each cell has two terminals.
• The terminals are generally made of lead as it does
not corrode due to the electrolyte.
working of lead acid cell
Discharging
• (i) When the cell supplies current to a load (i.e.
discharging), the chemical action that takes place forms
lead sulphate (PbSO4) on both the plates with water being
formed in the electrolyte. After a certain amount of energy
has been withdrawn from the cell, both plates
• are transformed into the same material (i.e. PbSO4) and
the specific gravity of the electrolyte (H2SO4) is lowered.
The cell is then said to be discharged.
• (ii) To charge the cell, direct current is passed through the
cell in the reverse direction to that in which the cell
provided current.
• This reverses the chemical process and again forms a lead
peroxide (PbO2) positive plate and a pure lead (Pb)
negative plate. At the same time, H2SO4 is formed at the
expense of water, restoring the electrolyte (H2SO4) to its
original condition.
 Chemical Changes
• By discharging of a cell, we mean that it is delivering current to the external circuit.
• Sulphuric acid splits up into hydrogen ions (H+H+) and sulphate ions (SO4−−).
• The sulphate ions move towards the cathode and hydrogen ions move towards the
anode causing the following chemical reactions
 Discharging
• As the cell delivers current, both the plates start getting converted
into lead sulphate (PbSO4). The water produced in the chemical
reactions above dilutes the electrolyte (H2SO4) and lowers its
specific gravity. When the specific gravity (which can be measured
by a hydrometer) of the electrolyte falls to 1.18, the cell is fully
discharged.
• (i) Both the plates are converted into lead sulphate (PbSO4) which
is whitish in colour.
• (ii) Water is formed which lowers the specific gravity of the
electrolyte (H2SO4). When the cell is fully discharged, the specific
gravity of H2SO4 falls to about 1.18.
• (iii) The e.m.f. of the cell falls. The lead-acid cell should not be
discharged beyond the point where its e.m.f. falls to about 1.8
volts.
• (iv) The chemical energy stored in the cell is converted into
electrical energy.
working of lead acid cell
Charging
 Charging
• In order to recharge the cell, direct current is passed through the cell in the
reverse direction to that in which the cell provided current. The electrolyte
(H2SO4) breaks up into hydrogen ions (H+H+) and sulphate ions (SO4 – –).
Hydrogen ions move towards cathode and sulphate ions move towards anode
causing the following chemical reactions
 Charging
• As the charging process goes on, the anode is converted into PbO2
and cathode into Pb. The H2SO4 produced in the chemical reactions
above increases the specific gravity of the electrolyte.
• (i) The positive plate (anode) is converted into PbO2 and the
negative plate (cathode) into Pb.
• (ii) H2SO4 is formed in the reactions. Therefore, the specific
gravity of the electrolyte is raised. When the cell is fully charged,
the specific gravity rises to about 1.28.
• (iii) The e.m.f. of cell rises. The e.m.f. of a fully charged lead-acid
cell is about 2 volts.
• (iv) Electrical energy supplied is converted into chemical energy
which is stored in the cell.
 method of charging lead acid cell
• i)Constant current charging
• the charging current is kept constant throughout the charging period
• by varying the supply voltage to overcome the increased back e.m.f. of the
cells on being charged. The terminal voltage V of a battery on charge is
given by V=E+Ir
• As the battery charges, its e.m.f. E increases progressively. Therefore, in
order to maintain the charging current constant, the supply voltage must
be increased progressively to
• compensate for the increased e.m.f. In case the d.c. shunt generator is
used to charge the battery, the necessary voltage change can be obtained
by varying the field current of the generator.
• The drawback of this method is that it fails to take into account the state
of charge of the battery because a high charging rate is required in the
beginning when the battery is fully discharged and a low rate of charge is
desirable as the battery approaches full state of charge.
• this method requires longer time for complete charging.
• ii) Constant voltage charging.
• In this method, the charging voltage is kept constant
throughout the charging process.
• A variable resistance is connected in series with the
circuit. As the battery charges, its e.m.f. increases
progressively and series resistance is reduced
progressively to maintain the correct charging current.
This method is the most common
• method of charging lead-acid batteries. It is because this
method reduces the charging time by about 50% and
increases cell capacity by about 20%.
 efficiency of batteries.
• Ampere-hour efficiency.: It is the ratio of
output ampere-hours to the input ampere-
hours of the cell

• Ah efficiency-90-95%
• Wh efficency-72-80%
• Rating
• Capacity(Ah) is the product of current in
amperes and time in hours during which
battery can supply current.
• How much current it can supply continuously
for 20hours. If 4A....,it is 80Ah
Damaged cell
 maintenance
• Check the level of electrolyte in all the cells and top up
distilled water if necessary
• Check the specific gravity and voltage of cells
periodically
• Check the inter cell connection for looseness and crack
in container. Rectify if necessary
• Keep the top of battery clean and dry at all times to
prevent corrosion and leakage of current
• In case of sulphation of terminals remove the
connections, clean, put back and apply petroleum jelly
• Dont keep in discharged condition for long time
 UPS system
Battery+Inverter