Characterization of 109 Ah Ni–MH batteries charging with hydrogen sensing termination

The use of Ni–MH batteries for traction applications in electric and hybrid vehicles is increasingly attractive and reliable. Besides the energy and power handling, and the cost issues, high tolerance to abuse is an important aspect of the Ni–MH technology. Thus, the ability to reduce charging time and to absorb regenerative breaking is highly desirable in these traction applications. This requires an accurate control of the charge termination. To facilitate an easy and reliable charging control and to avoid battery premature failure or ageing it is very important to know the behavior of the battery under a range of charging conditions. In this paper, we described the performance of high capacity commercial Ni–MH traction batteries (12 V, 109 Ah modules) when subjected to different charging rates (0.1, 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 C) from 100% depth of discharge (DOD). Changes in battery voltage and temperature during charging were monitored, with a particular emphasis on the detection of the presence of hydrogen near the battery. This unique hydrogen detection outside the battery was used as the method for the end-of-charge termination to prevent overcharging of the battery. Relevant parameters, such as charge acceptance, energy efficiency, and charging time, were analyzed for comparison.