Re:Planning scientific equipment for Antarctic conditions
by sirk1882 on Monday January 21, 2019 @07:11AM
(#18959816)
Battery systems aren't designed for temperatures below -40°C.
I'm currently looking at building a cold weather tower for use as a non-rotator SatNOGS ground station.
One solution I've found is using snow as an insulator. If you insulate a battery box then cover it in one foot of snow you can effectively insulate batteries against cold temperatures.
Tests I've conducted with temperature sensors: -34°C air temperature. -24°C under 2" of snow. -17°C under one foot of snow. That's without heating.
If you use a heater and an alternative energy source, you can keep the batteries warm and toasty within their optimal operational specification of 0°C to 20°C.
I'm in the Canadian arctic and seasonal winter temperatures are between -35°C and -44°C.
I'm also looking at using SkelCaps from Skeleton Technologies out of Estonia. I haven't tested them yet, but I suspect their curved graphene ultra capacitors should do quite well in the extreme cold.
I'm currently looking at building a cold weather tower for use as a non-rotator SatNOGS ground station.
One solution I've found is using snow as an insulator. If you insulate a battery box then cover it in one foot of snow you can effectively insulate batteries against cold temperatures.
Tests I've conducted with temperature sensors: -34°C air temperature. -24°C under 2" of snow. -17°C under one foot of snow. That's without heating.
If you use a heater and an alternative energy source, you can keep the batteries warm and toasty within their optimal operational specification of 0°C to 20°C.
I'm in the Canadian arctic and seasonal winter temperatures are between -35°C and -44°C.
I'm also looking at using SkelCaps from Skeleton Technologies out of Estonia. I haven't tested them yet, but I suspect their curved graphene ultra capacitors should do quite well in the extreme cold.