Donn Arnold- Krum ISD
Laura de Lemos- Carrollton Farmers Branch ISD
RET Project- Summer 2009
College of Engineering, Dept of Electrical Engineering
University of North Texas
NSF Grants: NSF IIS-0844342, DLR, 0431818, CI-TEAM
0636421, CRI 0709285
August 13, 2009
Thermal Effects on
Lifespan of Battery Charge When
Deployed in a
Wireless Sensor Network
Will insulation of the sensor boxes help to sustain the
lifespan of battery charge by maintaining battery
temperatures within their optimal (manufacturer’s
recommended) operating temperature ranges?
Introduction
•Initial concern: extreme thermal effects on the wireless
sensor and the lifespan of the battery’s charge
•After research, our primary concern became the thermal
effects on the batteries themselves
•We decided to study the effects on the lifespan of the
battery’s charge when insulation is installed in wireless
sensor boxes
Introduction
Hypothesis:
By controlling the internal temperature of the boxes
within manufacturer’s prescribed operating temperature
range, the lifespan of the battery’s charge will be
extended.
During the testing of the effects of insulation, 3 types of
batteries were tested: alkaline, nickel metal hydride, and
lithium ion batteries.
Research- Battery
•Limiting factor
for motes is generally the battery [1]
•Battery must be kept within a limited operating
temperature (manufacture recommended) range so that
a battery charge’s lifespan can be extended[2]
•At the lower extreme, the electrolyte will freeze [3]
•At the upper extreme, active chemicals may break
down destroying the battery [3]
•In between these limits, cell performance generally
improves with temperature (with an upper limit)[3]
Research- Alkaline Battery
•Optimum performance: -20 to 54°C [4]
•Manufacturer recommended operating temperature:
-18 to 55° C [5]
•For most cells, up to 75% of rated capacity at room
temperature can be delivered at O° C [4]
Research- Alkaline Battery
•Battery performance still impacted by temperature
within the recommended range [5]
•Due to how fast critical fuels, water and hydroxyl ions
can move and react [5]
•Lower temperature limit is in part due to where the
electrolyte freezes [5]
•Current flow stops at the freezing point
•High drain rates in cold environments [5]
Research- NiMH Battery
•Optimum performance: 0 to 45° C [6]
•At -20° C, the battery ceases to function [7]
•For optimum battery life and maximum life cycle, the
battery should be operated at or near room temperature
(20° C) [6]
•Capacity of the battery decreases as current increases,
especially at lower temperatures [6]
•Very poor low temperature discharge performance [8]
Research- NiMH Battery
•Higher temperature yields higher self discharge rate [9]
•Cycle Life and Temperature
•30° C, cycle life reduced by 20%
•40° C, cycle life reduced by 40%
•45° C, cycle life reduced by 50% [7]
•Operation at high temperatures can:
•Cause cell to vent, releasing gas and possibly
electrolyte through the safety vent
•Hasten the deterioration of the separator and other
materials in the cell [6]
Research- Lithium Ion Battery
Also known as the lithium iron disulfide battery (LiFeS2)
•Optimum temperature range: 20 to 40° C [10]
•At -20° C, the battery ceases to function [7]
•Lowering the discharge temperature causes a reduction
of capacity and an increase in slope of discharge curve
[10]
•Rate of voltage decrease is more rapid at colder
temperatures [10]
Research- Lithium Ion Battery
•At higher temperatures, chemical deterioration may be
rapid enough during discharge to cause a loss of capacity
[10]
•Higher discharge rates with elevated temperatures can
cause self-heating [11]
•Contains safety features:
• thermal switch- limits current when temperature
reaches 85 to 95˚C
•pressure release valve- activated by excessive internal
pressure [12]
Related Work
•Arizona State University-recommended thermal insulation
[13]
•NASA Mars rovers- efforts to maximize thermal resistance
[14]
•Worcester Polytechnic Institute- lithium ion batteries
subjected to high temperatures can explode [15]
•Chulsung Park at the University of California at Irvine & NEC
Laboratories of America- effects of high and low
temperatures on batteries [16]
•UNT Electrical Engineering Department- motes need to be
able to survive in extreme environmental conditions [17]
Problem Definition
High and low temperature extremes cause batteries to selfdischarge. This reduces the current available for wireless
sensor operation.
To reduce these effects, we will implement a pattern of
insulation of the wireless sensor boxes thus:
•1 box- uninsulated (control)
•1 box- polystyrene rigid foam board (pink)
•1 box- foil-faced polystyrene rigid foam board (white)
Boxes will be subjected to high summer temperature
extremes.
Experimental Design
Throughout all the experiments, each sensor box contained
the following:
•Crossbow Mote: IRIS XM 2110 2.4 GHz
(micro computer board)
•Two AA Battery Pack
•MDA 300 Acquisition Board
Experimental Design
Throughout all the experiments, 4 types of sensor boxes
were implemented.
Experimental
DesignDiscovery
Park
st
1 Deployment
•30 motes in 30 sensor boxes spaced about 10 m apart
•All were powered by alkaline batteries
•2 boxes contained pink insulation
•2 boxes contained white insulation
•2 remaining boxes contained no insulation
•Note: the second set of three boxes allow for an
experimental redundancy
•Data collected July 25 to July 27
•1 reading every 6 minutes
Experimental Design- DP
1st Deployment- All alkaline batteries
15
14
13
12
11
10 9*
8
7*
6
5
4
3*
2
1
30
29
28
27
26
25
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16*
24
Our focus in this deployment were boxes #2, 8, 10, and 15.
transparent lid,
uninsulated
non-transparent lid,
pink insulation
non-transparent lid,
uninsulated
non-transparent lid,
white insulation
*This indicates an experimental redundancy.
Results- DP
1st Deployment
•Weather conditions were cloudy and overcast greatly
reducing the effect of the radiant barrier
•Very similar results with pink and white insulation
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
Results- DP
1st Deployment
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
•Unusual results for the transparent lid, uninsulated box
Results- DP
1st Deployment
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
•#8 retained 0.1 v less than both of the insulated boxes
Experimental Design- Discovery Park
2nd Deployment
•21 motes in 21 sensor boxes spaced about 5 m apart
•3 rows of 7 each
•Data collected from August 5 to August 10
•1 reading every 5 minutes
Sensor Box Insulation Pattern- DP
2nd Deployment
transparent lid,
non-transparent lid,
uninsulated
uninsulated*
Battery
non-transparent lid,
non-transparent lid,
pink insulation*
white insulation*
*This indicates an experimental redundancy.
Experimental Design- DP
2nd Deployment
2
6
18*
15
28*
9
12*
3
7
19*
16
29*
10
13*
4
8
20*
17
30*
11
14*
Alkaline Battery
NiMH Battery
*This indicates an experimental redundancy.
Lithium Ion Battery
Results & Discussion
2nd Deployment
Alkaline
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
•All alkaline battery graphs were essentially the same.
Results & Discussion
2nd Deployment
NiMH
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
•Non-transparent & pink insulated boxes- similar graphs
•Box #10: greater lifespan (3.82 days)
Results & Discussion
2nd Deployment
Li Ion
Time (sec)
Time (sec)
•Pink & white insulated boxes- similar graphs
•Box #8: greater lifespan (3.99 days)
Conclusions & Recommendations
•Peak
internal temperature of all the nontransparent lid
sensor boxes was the same
•Try thicker insulation in larger sensor box
•Foil-faced polystyrene foam insulation
•Difference in lifespan of NiMH batteries
•No effect in lifespan of alkaline batteries
•Shortened lifespan of lithium ion batteries
•Overall, the alkaline battery’s charge lifespan was the
greatest of all with insulation or without
•
Conclusions & Recommendations
•Direct sunlight conditions
•Discovery Park and Water Treatment site
•Recommend NiMH batteries
•Solar panel recharge device
•Shaded conditions
•Greenbelt site
•Recommend alkaline batteries
•Lifespan is the longest
Future Work: Winter Temperatures
•We did not have time to conduct a winter temperature
simulation with sensors in an ice chest
•We would like to run an experimental design identical to
deployment 2 in Discovery Park in January
•Extreme winter temperatures could have a greater
effect on the lifespan of a battery’s voltage, as per
manufacturer’s specifications
The following people were instrumental in bringing
us to UNT to conduct this research. We wish to thank
them all for going far above and beyond the call of
duty in assisting us with our project.
Dr. Murali Varanasi
Dr. Oscar Garcia
Dr. Miguel Garcia Rubio
Dr. Miguel Acevedo
Jue (Jerry) Yang
Dr. Xinrong Li
Ning (Martin) Xu
Dr. Yan Huang
Nitya Kandukuri
Dr. Shengli Fu
Mitchell Horton
Works
Cited
[1]
Punn, Alex. “RE: Case Response for Case# 00004712.”E-mail to Donn Arnold.
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
16 July 2009.
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<http://www.mpoweruk.com/performance.htm>.
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primary/alkaline/ alkefftemp.asp.>
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[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
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nickel_metal_tech.asp>.
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[11]
Buchmann, Isidor. Is lithium-ion the ideal battery?.
[12]
[13]
[14]
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<http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-5.htm>.
“AA Portable Power Corp: Product Specification: Lithium/Iron Disulfide.” 3
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Cited
[15]
Capozzo, Daniel, et al. “Lithium Ion Battery Safety.” 14 Dec. 2006.
[16]
[17]
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