What is Cycle Life?
| Charge Discharge Cycle Life |
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What causes a battery to wear down - is it mechanical or chemical? The answer is both. A battery is a perishable product that starts deteriorating right from the time it leaves the factory. Similar to a spring under tension, a battery seeks to revert back to its lowest denominator. The speed of aging is subject to the depth of discharge, environmental conditions, charge methods and maintenance procedures, or the lack thereof. Aging and user-conditions affect each battery chemistry differently. As part of an ongoing research program to find the optimum battery system for wireless applications, many have performed life-cycle tests on nickel cadmium (NiCd), nickel metal-hydride (NiMH) and lithium-ion batteries. The batteries received an initial full-charge, and then underwent a regime of continued discharge / charge cycles. The internal resistance was measured and the self-discharge was obtained by reading the capacity loss incurred during a 48-hour rest period. The tests involved 53 batteries of different models and chemistries. When conducting battery tests in a laboratory, it should be noted that the performance in a protected environment is commonly superior to those in field use. Elements of stress and inconsistency that are present in everyday use cannot always be simulated accurately in the lab. |
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