Week 5 Challenge
Question 1:
Consider a scenario where an aggressive driver is accelerating very rapidly and braking harshly in a city driving. Is battery better a choice to supply power than UC in this scenario?
- True
- False
Why :-
False , Battery is not better choice in this condition.
Battery :
- A battery is usualy converts chemical energy into electrical energy & it is reversible in chemical reactions.
- They have low power density
- The battery charge / discharge process is relatively slower.
Ultra-Capacitor :
- Ultra-capacitor are also known as supercapacitors.
- The source of energy is electrical density.
- As the Ultra-capacitors are bigger capacitors , they store large amount of electrical charge than chemical batteries.
- They are having high power density.
- Ultracapacitors undergo a quick charge & discharge rate.
Result:
As per the above comparison between battery and ultracapacitor, it is understood that Ultracapacitors are more suitable for vehicles that accelerate and decelerate very frequently.
Question 2:
Consider the following components.
1) Lead acid battery 2) Nickel cadmium battery 3) Nickel Metal hydride battery 4) Lithium ion (specify chemistry) battery 5) Ultra Capacitor
Note: In case of a range of energy density, take the average value for the plot.
Create a plot with energy density on the X Axis and cell voltage on the Y axis.
Comment on the capabilities of these batteries based on the plot created.
Answer :
Energy Density :
It is the measure of how much energy a battery contains in proportion to its weight. This measurement is typically presented in watt-hours/kilogram. The higher the energy density, the longer the runtime.
Lead Acid batteries :
Lead Acid batteries heve retavely low energy density.
Nickel-Cadmimum battery :
Nickel-Cadmimum battery has much higher energy compared to lead-acid batteries.
Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery :
Ni-MH batteries can have two to three times the capacity of NiCd batteries of the same size, with high significance and also much less than lithium-ion batteries.
Li-ion battrey :
Li-ion batteries have high energy density.
Ultracapacitor:
Energy density is more in ultracapacitors compared to capacitors.
The values of energy densities of different batteries and cell voltage are shown in the below table and also the same is represented in the X-Y plot shown below ,
|
Battery name |
Energy density |
Cell voltage |
|
Lead-acid battery |
35-40 |
2.1 |
|
Nickel Cadmium |
40-60 |
1.2 |
|
Nickel Metal Hydride |
60-120 |
1.2 |
|
Lithium-ion |
100-265 |
3.6/ 3.7/ 3.8/ 3.85 |
|
Ultracapacitor |
89.6 |
3.5 |

Question 3:
For the above-mentioned components on the same plot (retain the previous plot) created in the previous
Create a plot with power density on the X axis and cell voltage on the Y axis.
Answer :
The power density of the above set of batteries is shown below ,
|
Battery name |
Power density (W/Kg) |
Cell voltage (V) |
|
Lead-acid battery |
180 |
2.1 |
|
Nickel Cadmium |
150 |
1.2 |
|
Nickel Metal Hydride |
1000 |
1.2 |
|
Lithium-ion |
340 |
3.6 |
|
Ultracapacitor |
496 |
3.5 |
The power density plot of the batteries is shown below in the plot ,

Question 4:
Consider the following scenario:
A battery has just been manufactured in the industry and has been connected to a charger for the first time. The electrode marked as (1) in the picture below is the negative electrode.
- True
- False

Answer :
True : The number indicated as 1 is a Negetive Electrode.
Li-ion batteries generates DC power by utilizing chemical reactions .


- During discharge, lithium ion sfrom negetive anode move through the electrolyte to gets interactive the positive cathode.
- During charging, electrons move from anode to cathode in the external circuit.
- Electrons flow to balance the cell voltage.
- During the electrochemical process, the anode is -ve and the cathode is +ve.
- At the first time charging, the lithium-ion from the cathode gets attached to anode and it forms the inseparable layer on the anode.
- A solid Electrolyte Interface (SEI) is formed at the anode. Anode gets decomposed if it comes in contact with the electrolyte. SEI protects the anode.