The Secretary of State for Industry in Her Britannic Majesty's

Secretary of State for Industry in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

John Richard Harbar

Leslie Samuel Evans

Roger J Bones

The invention comprises an electric battery of the kind for use with a liquid anode, a liquid cathode and a solid electrolyte, and having a number of cells nested one within the other such that adjacent cells share and are separated by a common electrode. The common electrode may provide a series connection or a parallel connection between adjacent cells.

Electric batteries

In an electric cell having a solid electrolyte which bounds on one side a mpartment for liquid anode and on its opposite side a compartment for liquid cathode, the liquid anode compartment is made of very limited capacity. The bulk of the liquid anode required by the cell is held in a reservoir and fed to the liquid anode compartment by a capillary duct to provide a restricted feed which limits the flow of liquid anode therebetween. The reservoir may be disposed within the cell, or outside the cell, and may supply liquid anode to several cells.

Electric cells

A sodium-sulphur cell is provided having a ceramic spacer means disposed in he liquid sulphur compartment to provide a region substantially free from cathodic reactions. The spacer means is disposed adjacent to materials likely to be adversely affected by said cathodic reactions, such as glass seals used to join the solid electrolyte to a ceramic support member, or a metallic end cap provided to close the liquid sulphur compartment.

Sodium-sulfur electric batteries with ceramic spacer in sulfur

In a sodium-sulphur electric cell, a circuit breaking device responsive to temperature or current is inserted inside the cell in series in the internal electric circuit of the cell so as to open circuit the cell in the event of either an abnormal cell temperature or current. The circuit breaking device may be in the form of a fusible metal link or a temperature sensitive switch.

In a sodium-sulphur battery cell, an extended surface area current collector is sandwiched between portions of solid electrolyte, also of extended surface area, which provide between them a space for the liquid sulphur. The spacing between the current collector and each of the portions does not exceed the maximum distance that the sodium ions can diffuse in the liquid sulphur during a specified recharge time. A plurality of portions defining a plurality of spaces for the liquid sulphur may be provided, each space having an extended surface area current collector sandwiched between the portions defining the space. A plurality of these battery cells may be arranged so that they are separated one from another by a bipolar electrode to provide a series connection.

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Wantage, United Kingdom

John Richard Harbar