ELECTRONICS LABORATORY EXPERIMENT 2 BATTERY CHARGER Objective The objective of this experiment is to practice design with bipolar transistors

and obtain something that is quite useful for household electricity needs. Introduction With the widespread use of portable electronic devices, rechargeable batteries have been the center of attention. There are various kinds of rechargeable batteries including lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, and nickel-metal hydrate batteries. Each type of battery has its own characteristics. For the Electronics Engineering students, a battery charger circuit could be an interesting application of transistors. The purpose of this experiment is to have the students familiarized with battery charger circuits in addition to having them practice the design of transistor circuits. There are two main approaches in battery charger circuits: Constant current battery chargers and constant voltage battery chargers. (See Figure 1 and 2)
Vcc
A R1 current monitor Vcc

R1

+ Battery to be Charged _

R2 RE

R2

+ Battery to be Charged _

Figure 1. Constant Current Battery Charger. The charging current is adjusted by RE.

Figure 2. Constant Voltage Battery Charger. The charging voltage is adjusted by R2.

1. The Constant Current Battery Charger. The circuit in Figure 1 may be used as a constant-current battery charger. In this circuit, the voltage divider, which is made of resistors R1 and R2, sets a constant base voltage for the transistor: VB = VCC R2/(R1+R2)
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The base-emitter voltage of the transistor is almost constant. The resistor RE sets the emitter current: IE (VB VBE)/RE The emitter current can approximate the collector current. The power supply voltage VCC and the base voltage determine the maximum battery voltage. The transistor must stay in the active mode. (VBE 0.7V and VCESAT 0.2 V for silicon BJT.) VBATmax = VCC (VE +VCESAT) VBATmax = VCC (VB VBE + VCESAT) VBATmax VCC VB

2. Constant Voltage Battery Charger The circuit in Figure 2 may be used as a constant-voltage battery charger. In this circuit, the resistors R1 and R2 sets a constant base voltage for the transistor: VB = VCC R2/(R1+R2) In this circuit, the emitter current depends on the battery voltage: IE = (VB VBE VBAT)/RTH where RTH = R1||R2 As the battery is charged, its voltage raises, and the charging current gets smaller. When the battery voltage reaches (VB VBE) the charging current practically stops. The maximum emitter current in this circuit may be calculated by taking VBAT = 0. The emitter current can approximate the collector current. The power supply voltage VCC and the base-emitter voltage VBE determine the maximum battery voltage. For this, R2 is opencircuited. VBATmax = VCC VBE

Preliminary Work 1. Search for the cell voltages for the following batteries: Lead-acid cell: _________ NiCd cell: ___________ NiMH cell: ___________ Li-ion cell: ___________

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(A possible source: www.energizer.com) 2. Find information on memory effect and lazy battery effect. 3. Check your local battery retailer on the availability of the following rechargeable batteries: Battery Type Dry Lead-Acid NiCd (medium capacity) NiCd (high capacity) NiMH (medium capacity) NiMH (high capacity) Capacity _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ Price ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________ ____________

4. Get two NiCd or NiMH rechargeable battery cells. Put them in series 5. Design a 200mA constant-current battery charger for the batteries you have. Calculate power dissipated in each component. Determine the time it requires to charge the empty batteries completely. 6. Design a constant-voltage battery charger for the batteries you have. Calculate the maximum charging current and the power dissipation in each component at this current level. 7. Select the components for the experimental work. Make sure that the resistors and the transistors can handle the required currents and power dissipations. Here is a list of transistors that may be suitable for your design: BC337 (NPN, 500 mA 45 V) BD135 (NPN, 1.5 A, 45 V) BD137 (NPN, 1.5 A, 60 V) BD139 (NPN, 1.5 A, 80 V)

Experimental Work 1. Build and test the constant current battery charger that you have designed. Measure the battery voltage once every third minute for 30 minutes. Graph the voltage versus time. 2. Build and test the constant voltage battery charger that you have designed. Measure the battery current once every third minute for 30 minutes. Graph the current versus time.

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