Developing Feedback to Control an Intelligent Battery Charger for Wet Batteries

Battery charge acceptance changes as the state of charge (SOC) increases. Over-potential voltage at any time during the battery charging results in the release of hydrogen and oxygen with a resulting loss of water. Overcharging has long term negative impacts on both wet lead-acid and nickel-iron Edison alkaline batteries’ life and capacity. To establish a fast-charging variable scheme, a feedback mechanism is required to be found to allow an intelligent charger to respond to SOC. The aim is as SOC changes, then varying the applied voltage and current to follow the varying charge acceptance. This investigation is the first step in developing such a feedback mechanism to allow fast-charging while minimising electrolyte water loss.