Thermal characteristics of batteries

A simplified overall enthalpy balance of a battery is presented and discussed in terms of certain physical and thermophysical properties of batteries. These properties include enthalpy of the reaction(s) and internal resistance, overall heat transfer coefficient, and heat capacity of the battery. The operative components of the balances for batteries under discharge, charge, and open circuit are identified and demonstrated for tests of commercial Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries under various charge/discharge/open circuit rate, and heat transfer conditions. Finally, these results are used to describe methods of evaluating thermophysical properties for these and other battery systems.