Modulated high power thermal battery test stand

The purpose of this research is to develop a modulated high power test stand to characterize thermal batteries. Thermal batteries have a very high theoretical specific energy, making them attractive for compact pulsed power applications. Many of today's commercially available thermal batteries have had little characterization beyond verifying that they meet a customer's specifications. Initial work with Lithium-polymer batteries indicates agreement between measured specific energy and power and documented values. Future work includes a semiconductor based load capable of higher frequency switching as well as constant current and constant power characteristics. Initial battery characterization will be presented.