Team seeks to extend battery life in all-electric locomotive

The locomotive, Norfolk Southern Railway No. 999, is the first all-electric, battery-powered locomotive in the US and employs 1,000 lead-acid batteries.

The experimental locomotive’s batteries are, however, finitely rechargeable and the locomotive shuts down when one battery fails.

According to Penn State, a leading cause of damage in lead-acid batteries is sulphation, a degradation of the battery caused by frequent charging and discharging that creates an accumulation of lead sulphate.

In a recent study, the researchers looked for ways to improve regular battery management practices.

The methods had to be non-destructive, simple and economical, using as few sensors, electronics and supporting hardware as possible while still remaining effective at identifying and decreasing sulphation.

‘We wanted to reverse the sulphation to rejuvenate the battery and bring it back to life,’ said Christopher Rahn, professor of mechanical engineering.

Rahn, along with mechanical engineering research assistants Ying Shi and Christopher Ferone, cycled a lead-acid battery for three months in the same way it would be used in a locomotive.