NiMH Battery News & Industry Insights

Testing and Certifying Electric Ground Support Equipment Batteries: The IEC, EN and UN Qualification Plan for Sealed NiMH Packs in Electric Baggage Tractors and Electrical Ground Power Units

2026-10-11

Paper C: testing and certifying an electric ground support equipment battery. Qualify sealed nickel cells and packs against IEC 61951-2 for performance (capacity, charge retention, cycle endurance, overcharge, internal resistance) and IEC 62133-1 for safety (vibration, short circuit, fall, shock, thermal abuse, crush, temperature cycling); then qualify the machine within EN 1915 and EN 12312-15/-20 for CE, read aging and failures, and ship under UN 3496 rather than the lithium UN 38.3 regime.

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Sizing Electric Ground Support Equipment Batteries: Selecting Chemistry, Cell Count, Charging and Thermal Design for Electric Baggage Tractors and Battery Ground Power Units

2026-10-10

Paper B: how to size and design an electric ground support equipment battery. Begin with two constraints - peak power from drawbar-pull and engine-start surges, and shift energy in kWh - then set the voltage and count series/parallel NiMH cells (an 80 V pack needs about 67 cells). Size pulse sag for cold and end-of-life resistance, design temperature-aware charging and thermal protection, and compare lead-acid, lithium and NiMH against IEC 61951-2, IEC 62133-1 and EN 12312.

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Electric Ground Support Equipment on the Airport Ramp: The Operating Profile, Duty Cycle and Working Principle Behind Battery Baggage Tractors and Ground Power Units

2026-10-09

Paper A: how battery power works on the airport ramp. Map the eGSE fleet - electric baggage tractors, belt loaders and battery ground power units - and the governing standards (EN 1915, EN 12312). Walk a turnaround duty cycle from drawbar-pull and inching peaks to standby, then the aircraft interface (28.5 VDC, 115/200 V 400 Hz); compare lead-acid, lithium and NiMH on pulse delivery, cold-ramp performance, cycle life and safety; and see why an aqueous NiMH pack is a qualified ramp alternative.

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Testing and Certifying Aircraft Emergency Battery Power Supplies: TSO-C173a, RTCA DO-293A and DO-160G Qualification, the 10-Minute Capacity Demonstration and the Two-Year Capacity Check

2026-10-08

Paper C: qualifying and maintaining a NiMH emergency supply. Map the certification stack - TSO-C173a for the battery, RTCA DO-293A as the MOPS and RTCA DO-160G for environmental and EMC conditions; demonstrate the 14 CFR 25.812 ten-minute capacity floor at critical ambient conditions and the 25.561 crash-restraint loads; run capacity, charge-retention, endurance and abuse tests plus temperature, altitude, vibration and shock; and define the two-year capacity check and non-lithium transport.

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Selecting and Sizing Aircraft Emergency Battery Power Supplies: NiMH vs NiCad, Cell Count, Capacity Derating and the 10-Minute Rule

2026-10-07

Paper B: emergency battery power supplies for cabin, exit and critical equipment. Build the load budget and apply the 14 CFR 25.812 ten-minute floor at critical ambient conditions; compare NiMH with vented NiCad, lead-acid and certified lithium; set cell count and voltage window to match equipment cut-off; size capacity with cold and end-of-life deratings for the pulse and sustained draw; and design charge control (-dV, dT/dt, temperature cut-off) and venting for a form-fit NiCad replacement.

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Aircraft Emergency Electrical Power: The Battery Load Profile Behind RAT Deployment, Essential Buses and NiMH Emergency Lighting Supplies

2026-10-06

The battery load profile after a transport-category aircraft loses all generation: engine and APU generators, the ram air turbine (RAT), ship batteries and emergency battery power supplies (EBPS); the deployment gap the battery bridges; high-pulse contactor and inverter starting, then a long low draw on the AC/DC essential buses; the static inverter producing 115 V/400 Hz for standby instruments; and why certified NiMH EBPS now replace legacy NiCad for emergency lighting.

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Testing and Certification of Sealed NiMH Packs in the EPIRB Service Ecosystem: IEC 61951-2, IEC 62133-1, Annual Testing and Shore-Based Maintenance Dossiers

2026-09-22

How a sealed NiMH service pack for EPIRB programmers, 406 MHz test receivers and GMDSS testers is tested, qualified and documented. Five compliance layers - beacon type approval, test instrument/calibration, IEC 61951-2 cell performance, IEC 62133-1 safety and transport class - plus annual testing to MSC.1/Circ.1040 and overhaul to MSC.1/Circ.1039; the beacon's primary lithium battery stays untouched.

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Selecting and Sizing Sealed NiMH Packs for the EPIRB Service Ecosystem: 406 MHz Programmers, Test Receivers, Portable GMDSS Testers and Training Beacons

2026-09-22

Selection and design Paper B for the rechargeable equipment that surrounds the non-rechargeable 406 MHz EPIRB: load profiles of shore programmers, 406 test receivers, portable GMDSS testers, training beacons and shop standby; sealed NiMH vs Ni-Cd, Li-ion and lead-acid; series/capacity sizing with de-rating; -dV/dT charging and thermal design; IEC 61951-2, IEC 62133-1 and non-Class-9 transport. The approved primary-lithium beacon pack stays out of scope.

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