NI-CD BATTERY SEPARATOR DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

THIS PROPOSAL IS ADDRESSED TO THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A LONG-TERM REPLACEMENT SEPARATOR FOR AEROSPACE NI-CD CELLS. AT THE PRESENT TIME PELLON 2505 NYLON SEPARATOR, DEMONSTRATED TO SUPPORT MORE THAN 5 YEARS OF LOW-EARTH-ORBIT(LEO) CYCLING IN NI-CD CELLS, IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE, AND THE ALTERNATIVE NYLON SEPARATOR, PELLON 2536, HAS PROVEN NOT TO BE A DIRECT REPLACEMENT IN TERMS OF CELL PERFORMANCE. MORE FUNDAMENTALLY, THE DESIGN AND FABRICATIONOF NI-CD CELLS HAVE BEEN EMPIRICALLY ADJUSTED TO ACCOMMODATETHE DEFICIENCIES OF PELLON 2505, E.G., NYLON-BASED SEPARATORS ARE CHEMICALLY UNSTABLE IN THE CELL ENVIRONMENT AND HAVE NOT BEEN OPTIMIZED FOR THIS APPLICATION. WE PROPOSE, THEREFORE, TO DEVELOP A REPLACEMENT SEPARATOR ON THE BASIS OF A RATIONAL DESIGN, SPECIFICALLY, 1) THE MATERIALS WILL BE ESSENTIALLY INERT IN THE CELL ENVIRONMENT,AND 2) THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, PRIMARILY ELECTROLYTE RETENTION AND OXYGEN-TRANSPORT, WILL BE PERMANENT AND OPTIMIZED FOR SEALED NI-CD LEO-CYCLING OPERATION.