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Introduction

In the fields of modern logistics and industrial production, forklifts, as key material handling equipment, the performance of their power sources directly affects operational efficiency and operating costs. Lead-acid batteries have long dominated the power systems of forklifts due to their advantages such as low cost, mature technology and good high-current discharge performance. However, in the face of the increasing demand for efficient, environmentally friendly and long-life operations, traditional lead-acid batteries have exposed many drawbacks, such as low energy density, long charging time, limited cycle life and large maintenance workload. To break through these development bottlenecks, the industry has carried out a series of technical optimization studies on forklift lead-acid batteries. Through material innovation, structural improvement, and the introduction of intelligent management systems, the aim is to enhance the comprehensive performance of lead-acid batteries, enabling them to better adapt to complex, diverse, and high-intensity forklift operation scenarios.

Analysis of Existing Problems of Lead-Acid Batteries

Sorting out existing problems

- ** Energy density limitation ** : The energy density of lead-acid batteries is relatively low, which limits the driving range of forklifts. In large logistics warehouses or scenarios of long-term continuous operation, frequent charging shortens the effective operation time of forklifts and reduces the overall logistics efficiency.

- ** Charging time problem ** : Conventional lead-acid batteries use constant current and constant voltage charging methods, which take a relatively long time to charge, usually 6 to 8 hours to fully charge. During the peak usage period of forklifts, excessively long charging times seriously affect the equipment turnover rate, increase the number of forklifts that enterprises need to equip to meet operational demands, and thereby raise operating costs.

- ** Cycle life constraint ** : The cycle life of a common lead-acid battery is approximately 1,500 charge and discharge cycles. As the number of cycles increases, problems such as plate sulfation and active material shedding gradually intensify, leading to a decline in battery capacity. Eventually, it fails to meet the normal operation requirements of forklifts. Frequent battery replacement not only consumes funds but also generates a large number of used batteries, exerting environmental pressure.

- ** Complex maintenance work ** : During the use of flooded lead-acid batteries, the moisture in the electrolyte will gradually decrease due to gas evolution during charging and discharging, etc. It is necessary to regularly check the liquid level and add distilled water. Meanwhile, flammable and explosive gases such as hydrogen produced during the charging process require that the charging site have good ventilation conditions. The maintenance work is both time-consuming and poses certain safety risks.

Technical optimization Path and comparative analysis

Material optimization dimension

1. Plate alloy improvement 

- ** Traditional alloy problem ** : Although traditional lead-antimony alloy plates have a certain mechanical strength, the antimony element will accelerate the hydrogen evolution reaction on the negative plate, causing the electrolyte to lose water too quickly, resulting in a high self-discharge rate of the battery and shortening the battery's service life.

- ** Advantages of the new alloy ** : The application of high-purity lead-calcium alloy grid plates effectively suppresses hydrogen evolution, reduces self-discharge, and enables the battery to maintain a high capacity even when it is idle or in standby mode for a long time. For instance, Lishen lead-acid batteries adopt high-purity lead-calcium alloy grid plates, combined with a porous active material filling process. In addition, some enterprises have developed multi-alloy plates, such as lead-calcium-tin-aluminum alloys. Through the synergistic effect of multiple elements, the corrosion resistance and conductivity of the plates have been further enhanced, and the stability of the battery under complex working conditions has been improved.

2. Improvement of active substances

- ** Insufficient traditional active materials ** : During the charging and discharging process, traditional active materials are prone to problems such as low utilization rate of active materials, coarse and irreversible lead sulfate crystals, which lead to rapid capacity decline of the battery, especially after deep discharge, it is difficult to restore capacity.

- ** Performance improvement of optimized active substances ** : By optimizing the formula of active substances and modifying them with special additives or nanomaterials, the microstructure and electrochemical performance of active substances can be effectively improved.

3.  Electrolyte Innovation 

- ** Defects of conventional electrolyte ** : Conventional sulfuric acid electrolyte is volatile in high-temperature environments, causing concentration changes and affecting battery performance; Meanwhile, its corrosive effect on the plates to some extent limits the battery life.

- ** Advantages of New electrolytes ** : Developing new electrolyte additives or adopting ionic liquid electrolytes has become an optimization direction. For instance, adding additives such as boric acid to the sulfuric acid electrolyte can form a protective film on the surface of the plates, inhibit plate corrosion, and enhance the high-temperature stability of the battery. Ionic liquid electrolytes have advantages such as a wide potential window, low volatility, and high ionic conductivity, which can significantly enhance the energy density and cycle life of batteries. However, their current high cost limits their large-scale application.

Structural design optimization dimensions

1.  Plate structure improvement 

- ** Drawbacks of traditional plate structure ** : When discharging at high current, the current distribution of traditional flat plates is uneven, which can easily lead to local overheating and active material shedding, affecting battery performance and lifespan.

- ** Advantages of the new plate structure ** : It adopts a tubular plate structure, encapsulating the positive electrode active material in a specially designed tube sleeve, which can effectively prevent the active material from falling off and enhance the mechanical strength and stability of the plate. At the same time, increasing the surface area of the plates, adopting a thin plate design or optimizing the plate spacing can increase the contact area between the active material and the electrolyte, reduce the internal resistance of the battery, and improve the charging and discharging efficiency.

2. Optimization of the internal layout of the battery

- ** Traditional layout issue ** : The electrolyte inside traditional lead-acid batteries is unevenly distributed, which can easily lead to local drying up and affect the overall performance consistency of the battery.

- ** Optimized layout effect ** : By improving the internal structure design of the battery, such as setting up electrolyte flow channels and optimizing the separator structure, the uniform distribution of the electrolyte can be promoted, ensuring the uniformity of reactions on each plate. Meanwhile, it adopts a sealed structure design to reduce the risk of electrolyte leakage and enhance the reliability of the battery under complex working conditions such as vibration and tilting. For instance, some maintenance-free lead-acid batteries use special separators to adsorb the electrolyte, forming semi-solid or gel-like substances. This effectively reduces electrolyte shaking and leakage, lowers maintenance workload, and extends the battery's service life.

3. Optimization of heat dissipation structure

- ** Impact of High Temperature on Batteries ** : During the charging and discharging process of lead-acid batteries, heat is generated. If it cannot be dissipated in time, it will cause the battery temperature to rise, accelerate the corrosion of the plates and the loss of water in the electrolyte, and reduce the battery's performance and lifespan.

- ** Improvement measures for heat Dissipation structure ** : Designing an efficient heat dissipation structure has become the key. Such as adopting honeycomb-shaped heat dissipation shells, built-in heat sinks or liquid cooling heat dissipation systems, etc. Take a certain lead-acid battery with a honeycomb-shaped heat dissipation structure as an example. Under continuous high-temperature working conditions, its capacity retention rate is approximately 25% higher than that of conventional products, effectively ensuring stable voltage output of the battery in high-temperature environments. It is particularly suitable for forklifts in high-temperature operation scenarios such as tropical regions or open-pit mining.

Conclusions and Prospects

Through a comparative analysis of the technical optimization of forklift lead-acid batteries in multiple dimensions such as materials, structural design, and intelligent management systems, it can be seen that each optimization technology has achieved remarkable results in improving battery performance. Material optimization has improved the electrochemical performance and stability of the battery from aspects such as plate alloys, active substances, and electrolytes. The structural design optimization has enhanced the battery's reliability and adaptability to complex working conditions by improving the plate structure, internal layout and heat dissipation structure. The intelligent management system optimization has achieved precise control, real-time status monitoring and balanced management of the battery charging and discharging process, significantly enhancing the overall performance and lifespan of the battery. ​

However, at present, the technical optimization of lead-acid batteries still faces some challenges, such as the high cost of some new materials, which limits their large-scale application; The stability and compatibility of the intelligent management system need to be further improved, etc. Looking ahead, with the continuous development of fields such as materials science, electronic technology and artificial intelligence, forklift lead-acid batteries are expected to achieve greater breakthroughs in key performance indicators such as energy density, charging speed and cycle life. At the same time, reducing the cost of optimization technology and strengthening collaborative innovation among different technologies will be the key directions for promoting the continuous development of lead-acid batteries in the forklift field and better meeting the demands of modern logistics and industrial production for efficient, environmentally friendly and low-cost operations.