Publications

Characterization of the Li(Si)/CoS(2) couple for a high-voltage, high-power thermal battery

Guidotti, Ronald A.; Reinhardt, Frederick W.

In order to determined the capabilities of a thermal battery with high-voltage and high-power requirements, a detailed characterization of the candidate LiSi/LiCl-LiBr-LiF/CoS{sub 2} electrochemical couple was conducted. The rate capability of this system was investigated using 0.75 inch-dia. and 1.25 inch-dia. single and multiple cells under isothermal conditions, where the cells were regularly pulsed at increasingly higher currents. Limitations of the electronic loads and power supplies necessitated using batteries to obtain the desired maximum current densities possible for this system. Both 1.25 inch-dia. and 3 inch-dia. stacks were used with the number of cells ranging from 5 to 20. Initial tests involved 1.25 inch-dia. cells, where current densities in excess of 15 A/cm{sup 2} (>200 W/cm{sup 2}) were attained with 20-cell batteries during 1-s pulses. In subsequent follow-up tests with 3 inch-dia., 10-cell batteries, ten 400-A 1-s pulses were delivered over an operating period often minutes. These tests formed the foundation for subsequent full-sized battery tests with 125 cells with this chemistry.