Page 292 - Lindens Handbook of Batteries

12.12 PRIMARY BATTERIES

50.0
20°C
0°C
20.0

10.0
–10°C
Amperes/liter 2.0
5.0

1.0

0.5

0.2
2 5 10 20 50 100 200 500
Hours of service to 0.9 V
FIGURE 12.13 Service life of typical zinc/mercuric oxide battery (dispersed
anode) on a volume basis.

12.6 PERFORmANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF CADmIum/
mERCuRIC OXIDE BATTERIES

12.6.1 Discharge
An outstanding feature of the cadmium/mercuric oxide battery is its ability to operate over a wide tem-
perature range. The usual operating range is from -55 to +80°C, but with the low gassing rate and ther-
mal stability of the cell, operating temperatures to 180°C have been achieved with special designs.
Figure 12.14 shows the discharge curves for a typical button battery at various temperatures.
Excellent voltage stability and flat discharge curves are characteristic of these but at a low operating
voltage (open-circuit voltage is only 0.9 V). Figure 12.15 shows the effect of temperature on the

1.0
Constant resistance of 21.5 ohms (40 mA)
0.9
Cell voltage, V 0.8 20°C

0.7
–40°C –30°C
0.6
5 10 15
Hours of discharge
FIGURE 12.14 Discharge curves—cadmium/mercuric oxide button battery (500 mAh size).