The recovery effect is a phenomenon observed in battery usage where the available energy is less than the difference between energy charged and energy consumed. Intuitively, this is because the energy has been consumed from the edge of the battery and the charge has not yet diffused evenly around the battery.
When power is extracted continuously voltage decreases in a smooth curve, but the recovery effect can result in the voltage partially increasing if the current is interrupted.
The KiBaM battery model describes the recovery effect for
lead-acid batteries and is also a good approximation to the observed effects in
Li-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
.
In some batteries, the gains from the recovery life can extend battery life by up to 45% by alternating discharging and inactive periods rather than constantly discharging. The size of the recovery effect depends on the battery load, recovery time and depth of discharge.
Even though the recovery effect phenomenon is prominent in the
lead acid battery
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, le ...
chemistry, its existence in
alkaline
In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...
,
Ni-MH and
Li-Ion
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible Redox, reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It als ...
batteries is still questionable. For instance, a systematic experimental case study
shows that an intermittent discharge current in case of alkaline, Ni-MH and Li-ion batteries results in a decreased usable energy output compared to a continuous discharge current of the same average value. This is primarily due to the increased
overpotential experienced due to the high peak currents of the intermittent discharge over the continuous discharge current of same average value.
See also
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Capacity fading
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State of health
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State of charge
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Smart battery
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Battery management system
References
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Battery charging
Rechargeable batteries
Scientific phenomena
Phenomena
Physical phenomena