CHAPTER 10
7. Overheating. This was explained in Chapter 9. See page 66.
Buckling
Buckling is the bending or twisting of plates due to unequal expansion of the different parts of the plate, Figs. 207 and 208. It is natural and unavoidable for plates to expand. As a battery discharges, lead sulphate forms. This sulphate occupies more space than the lead peroxide and spongy lead, and the active materials expand. Heat expands both active materials and grids. As long as all parts of a plate expand equally, no buckling will occur. Unequal expansion, however, causes buckling.
1. Over discharge. If discharge is carried too far, the expansion of the active material on account of the formation of lead sulphate will bend the grids out of shape, and may even break them.
2. Continued Operation with Battery in a Discharged Condition. When a considerable amount of lead sulphate has, formed, and current is still drawn from the battery, those portions of the plate which have the least amount of sulphate will carry most of the current, and will therefore become heated and expand. The parts covered with sulphate will not expand, and the result is that the parts that do expand will twist the plate out of shape. A normal rate of discharge may be sufficient to cause buckling in a sulphated plate.
3.
Charging at High Rates. If the charging rate is excessive, the temperature will rise so high that excessive expansion will take place. This is usually unequal in the different parts of the plate, and buckling results. With a battery that has been over discharged, the charging current will be carried by those parts of the plates which are the least sulphated. These parts will therefore expand while others will not, and buckling results.
4. Non-Uniform Distribution of Current Over the Plates. Buckling may occur in a battery which has not been over-discharged, if the current carried by the various parts of the plate is not uniform on account of faulty design, or careless application of the paste. This is a fault of the manufacturers, and not the operating conditions.
5. Defective Grid Alloy. If the metals of which the grids are composed are not uniformly mixed throughout the plate, areas of pure lead may be left here and there, with air holes at various points. The electrolyte enters the air holes, attacks the lead and converts the grid partly into active material. This causes expansion and consequent distortion and buckling.
Buckling will not necessarily cause trouble, and batteries with buckled plates may operate satisfactorily for a long time. If, however, the expansion and twisting has caused much of the active material to break away from the grid, or has loosened the active material from the grids, much of the battery capacity is lost. Another danger is that the lower edges of a plate may press against the separator with sufficient force to cut through it, touch the next plate, and cause a short-circuit.
