BCI INNOVATION AWARDS: 2016–2019 Daramic: Continued from page 38
The system allows for a direct comparison between batteries based on different working patterns and battery environments. Data are collected via an external drive and transferred using USB ports on the machine. A versatile t-slotted rail system allows for quick and adjustable tie down of batteries of multiple configurations and sizes. The year before, the firm showcased its latest product using carbon coated separator technology. This reduces sulfation crystal growth, delivering a more active surface area on the plates for improved conductance of the electrode. This received an honourable mention. “Carbon applied directly to the separator, using a proprietary method, while being in contact with the negative active materials shows increased dynamic change acceptance at the cell and battery levels versus standard separators,” said Daramic at the time. “This has been proven to slow the growth of lead sulfate crystals, which otherwise tend to grow more rapidly in batteries continuously operating in partial states of charge.
2018: Carbon Coated Separator Technology
Digatron “This is part of the Daramic EFB solution roadmap, to support this new battery working pattern.” In 2017, using advanced computational fluid dynamics, Daramic developed two new separator solutions — Daramic EFS and Daramic RipTide. Daramic EFS is specifically designed to support start-stop vehicle batteries by reducing the battery’s internal resistance and improving voltage drop and CCA. Daramic RipTide combines the latest innovations of Daramic with novel separator profile designs using advanced computational fluid dynamics computer modelling to enhance EFB durability by reducing acid stratification in a partial state of charge environment, which is more typical in start-stop applications. Daramic’s first entry to the BCI Innovation Awards in 2016 was for a product innovation invented three years ago with research continuing on further refinements. Called DuraLife, this helps protect and maintain the quality and performance in battery designs that use less lead content — a technique that many battery producers have adopted as a way of reducing the overall cost of their products. DuraLife is a new, high performance polyethylene battery separator. Its design improves battery performance, improves efficiency and yield during battery assembly and, most importantly, compensates for lack of performance or lifespan in battery designs where manufacturers are looking to reduce the amount of lead.
2019: The Daramic Shuttle Table was designed to mimic real world scenarios during testing
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Battery testing’s next leap forward: rethinking switch mode technology
D
igatron Power Electronics approached the innovation award in 2016 with a different angle — looking to reinvent the battery testing system from scratch with what it calls the world’s first laboratory test system with siliconcarbide technology. “Points of departure from the norm,” said the firm, “were customer demands with regard to energy efficiency, construction size, circuit density, ergonomics, power and dynamic envelope, as well as the latest semiconductor technology derived from military and aeronautics: Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs.” Digatron introduced battery testers with active frontends and output amplifiers in SiC-technology in their Repoweren UBT (20V) and MCT (6V) lines. These systems provide up to six 1.8kW test circuits in one 4U (178mm) rack module. This is equivalent to an almost 10-fold increase of power density compared to any previous designs. “Our Biconditional Energy Supply Tracking (BEST) system ensures optimum energy efficiency under any operating condition,” says the firm. “This process automatically balances the energy flows between the six circuits and tracks the energy balance of the DC link accordingly, either to regenerate 100% in the DC realm (and top off from AC as needed), or to feed excess energy back to the three-phase grid.” The Repoweren units can be cascaded in standard 19 inch rack systems. Test circuits can be paralleled up to several kiloamperes. Extra expenses for climatization or acoustic insulation are unnecessary.
Batteries International • BCI 2021 Yearbook • 39
