International Lead Zinc Research Organization-sponsored field-data collection and analysis to determine relationships between service conditions and reliability of valve-regulated lead-acid batteries in stationary applications

The International Lead Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO), in cooperation w ith Sandia National Laboratories, has initiated a multi-phase project with the following aims: to characterize relationships between valve-regulated l ead-acid (VRLA) batteries, service conditions, and failure modes; to establ ish the degree of correlation between specific operating procedures and PCL ; to identify operating procedures that mitigate PCL; to identify best-fits between the operating requirements of specific applications and the capabi lities of specific VRLA technologies; to recommend combinations of battery design, manufacturing processes, and operating conditions that enhance VRLA performance and reliability. In the first phase of this project, ILZRO has contracted with Energetics to identify and survey manufacturers and users of VRLA batteries for stationary applications (including electric utilities , telecommunications companies, and government facilities). The confidentia l survey is collecting the service conditions of specific applications and performance records for specific VRLA technologies. From the data collected , Energetics is constructing a database of the service histories and analyz ing the data to determine trends in performance for particular technologies in specific service conditions. ILZRO plans to make the final report of th e analysis and a version of the database (that contains no proprietary info rmation) available to ILZRO members, participants in the survey, and partic ipants in a follow-on workshop for stakeholders in VRLA reliability. This p aper presents the surveys distributed to manufacturers and end-users, discu sses the analytic approach, presents an overview of the responses to the su rveys and trends that have emerged in the early analysis of the data, and p reviews the functionality of the database being constructed. (C) 1999 Elsev ier Science S.A. All rights reserved.