Technical Paper
Results of Real-Time Life Test of Aerospace Ni-Cd Battery Cells for 26,000 Cycles with and without Scheduled Reconditioning
1999-08-02
1999-01-2487
Two eight-cell groups of 50 ampere-hour (AH) nickel-cadmium cells containing Pellon 2536 separators were tested for 26,000 low-earth-orbit (LEO) cycles over an eight-year period. The test was run at 5°C. One group was deep discharge reconditioned every 2400 cycles. The other group was kept on trickle charge, which simulated suntime in orbit, while the first group was being reconditioned. An accidental deep discharge of both groups occurred following 15,700 cycles. This dramatically improved the performance of the cells not previously reconditioned, bringing them to the same level of performance as the other group. Post-life test characterization testing showed excellent performance of both groups after 10 years of wet life.
