SMALL HIGH RATE BATTERY FOR DISTRESS TRANSMITTERS

THIS PROJECT EVALUATES THE POTENTIAL OF A NEW CLASS OF CATHODE CATALYSTS TO IMPROVE THE SAFETY AND THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH-RATE LI/SOCL(2) BATTERIES. A SAFER LI/SOCL(2) BATTERY WITH IMPROVED CAPACITY, RATE CAPABILITY AND VOLTAGE DELAY PROVIDES A PRACTICAL LONG-LIFE ENERGY/POWER DENSITY LITHIUM-BASED POWER SOURCE. THE MAJOR OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER COMMERCIAL HIGH-RATE LI/SOCL(2) BATTERIES WITH CATALYZED CATHODES HAVE IMPROVED SAFETY UNDER PULSE LOAD, SHORT-CIRCUIT AND FORCED OVER- DISCHARGE WHEN OPERATED IN THE TEMPERATURE RANGE OF 0 DEGREES CENTIGRADE TO 75 DEGREES CENTIGRADE. A SECOND OBJECTIVE IS TO FORECAST THE SAFETY, RELIABILITY AND PRODUCIBILITY OF LARGER BATTERY SYSTEMS. THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF THE USE OF THE CATALYZED CATHODE IS THE CHANGE IN REACTION MECHANISM AWAY FROM SO(2) FORMATION WITHOUT AFFECTING BATTERY COST. THE PROGRAM APPROACH IS TO HEAVILY STRESS HIGH-RATE AA-SIZE CATALYZED-CATHODE BATTERIES SUPPLIED BY TWO COMMERCIAL SUPPLIERS. BATTERY TEMPERATURE CHANGE, CELL AND ANODE PERFORMANCE, AND REACTION PRODUCTS WILL BE IDENTIFIED.