Battery Pack Design

lithium ion battery schematic

A battery pack design could be for a single or group of cells arranged in series and parallel, depending on application this may include: thermal control, electrical switching and management system. In it’s simplest for a phone battery pack design is a single cell that has temperature and voltage monitoring. The battery pack design for … Read more

Lead Acid Battery

old lead acid battery

The Lead Acid Battery is a battery with electrodes of lead oxide and metallic lead that are separated by an electrolyte of sulphuric acid. The overall reaction is: PbO2 + Pb + 2H2SO4 <=> 2PbSO4 + 2H2O Some batteries manufactured for use in very hot or very cold climates may have stronger or weaker acid. … Read more

Nickel Metal Hydride Battery

nickel metal hydride battery

The Nickel Metal Hydride battery has a nickel-hydroxide cathode, a metal hydride (a variety of metal alloys are used) anode, and aqueous potassium hydroxide electrolyte. This is a rechargeable battery chemistry that has been superseded by lithium ion, but has seen a lot of use in Toyota hybrids. The overall reaction is: 2NiOOH + MH … Read more

Lithium Ion Battery

lithium ion battery schematic

In a rechargeable lithium ion battery lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging. The cathode is a lithium transition metal oxide, eg manganese or cobalt or a combination of transitional metals. The anode is a graphite-based material, which can intercalate or release lithium. When charging … Read more

Flywheel Design Principles

a cast iron flywheel

Flywheel design principles, primarily the wheel on the end of the crankshaft that gives the crankshaft momentum to carry the pistons through the compression stroke. Normally constructed from a heavy steel or iron disc. A flywheel has two main functions: Moderating speed fluctuations in an engine through its inertia. Any sudden increase due to fuelling … Read more

Fuel Cell System

fuel cell diagram

I was reading an article about using a fuel cell energy storage system for a drone and how it was a high energy density option. This made me wonder how a fuel cell works and what options there are around for the model maker. What is a fuel cell? A device that converts the chemical … Read more