Description/Abstract
Two new thermal battery electrolyte materials were investigated with the intent of extending the life of lithium silicon/iron disulfide [Li(Si)/FeS{sub 2}] thermal batteries. These new electrolyte materials freeze at a lower temperature than the standard electrolyte, which should extend the life of the thermal batteries in which they are used. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque requested that the GE Neutron Devices (GEND) Power Sources Engineering group evaluate these new electrolytes in 40 MC3575 thermal batteries and compare the performance to an established data base. It was found that the batteries using the lower-melting electrolytes performed equal to or better than the batteries in the data base using the standard LiCl/KCl electrolyte at the same test conditions. The usage of these electrolytes increased the battery life, suppressed the voltage spikes, reduced heat requirements, shortened battery stack heights, and produced faster rise times. All of these improvements would merit further investigation of the new electrolyte materials. |
