Measuring Battery Health - Secondary cell dynamics and electrochemistry

Abstract

Research on the application of inductive pulse charging (IPC) to chemical batteries has shown clear evidence of energy gains that are not explained by current mainstream theories. There are two distinct possibilities for the source of the energy: either it arises from within the battery itself or from the local environment by as yet unspecified processes and pathways. Despite various reasons why the former option is unlikely, looking at a battery’s state of health (SoH) allows the assessment of both internal damage and the function of the electrochemistry together with its capacity to store and deliver energy and charge. Various forms of ageing and electrode degradation are considered for Lead-Acid and Lithium batteries as well as methods to assess SoH and the practical means to apply and interpret them in this context. A detailed analysis of the relevant electrochemistry and thermodynamics is undertaken, together with quantitative chemistry, as a means to determine if an electrochemical deficit can account for observed energy gains.