Integration of battery packs and charging options

A secondary battery is always designed and manufactured for a particular duty (or narrow range of duties). An analysis of the supply needs must be performed prior to selection of a cell type. Therefore, one needs to define characteristics which may be measured and used to judge whether a battery is suitable for a particular application. In many cases, no battery system presently available will have all of the essential properties for an application. Battery selection is largely a process of compromise. Some of the battery characteristics are not independent of each other and commonly a change designed to improve one will have an adverse effect on another. The authors discuss important factors relating to the charging options for secondary batteries. These include: overcharge/overdischarge behaviour, battery capacity, charge acceptance, cycle life, discharge rate, energy density, power density etc. Custom pack design (integrated battery and electronics) is also briefly discussed.