EVALUATION OF THE MECHANICAL AND ELECTROCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF PB-CASN ALLOYS SUBJECTED TO DIFFERENT RECRYSTALLIZATION TREATMENTS
Lead acid battery, Pb-Ca-Sn alloy, grid corrosion, grain boundary engineering
In this study, a grain boundary engineering approach will be employed to improve a Pb-Ca-Sn lead alloy used in the production of positive grids for lead-acid batteries. The process involves cold rolling and annealing of strips with the aim of increasing the alloy's resistance to corrosion and other issues that positive grids suffer throughout the battery's useful life. These challenges are common in lead-acid batteries, affecting not only durability but also product quality and cost, as it is necessary to apply a safety factor when sizing the thickness of the grids. Therefore, tests will be carried out under different annealing conditions, varying deformation rates, recrystallization temperatures and times, with the aim of analyzing the mechanical and electrochemical properties of this lead alloy, and quantifying the key processing factors in obtaining these properties.