The Ruben Cell—A New Alkaline Primary Dry Cell Battery: Its Design and Manufacture, Electrochemical Principles, Performance Characteristics, and Applications

Abstract

The Ruben cell, a new alkaline dry cell, is discussed. This cell comprises the electrochemical system Zn | Zn ( OH ) 2 ( solid ) KOH aq. HgO ( solid ) | Hg and has a rated capacity of 200 milliampere‐hours for each 1.6 gram unit of active material. The open‐circuit voltage of the cell is nominally 1.34 volts and the initial closed‐circuit voltage under normal loads varies from 1.24 to 1.31 v., depending on the load applied. The discharge curves obtained with the Ruben cell on normal drains are substantially flat, thus insuring reasonably uniform voltage output. The utilization of active materials is approximately 80% to 90% and is extremely efficient compared with other types of commercial dry cells. The service obtainable from the Ruben cell under high current drains is approximately 4 to 7 times that of conventional dry cells of equivalent volume when discharged to the usual cutoff potentials of 0.75 to 1.0 volt. Two basic designs are described, one making use of a “roll anode” and the other of a “pressed powder anode” construction. The roll anode cell structure was the first design to go into large scale production, the entire output having been allocated to the Armed Forces during the last war. The pressed powder anode cell, which incorporates such improvements as additional volume reductions for given watt‐hour capacities, may supplant the roll anode cell for commercial applications. These new designs, although still failing to bring the cost of the Ruben cell down to that of conventional dry cells, will offer a distinct advantage when considered from a cost/service ratio. The development of improved production methods will make it commercially competitive, particularly for applications where its small space requirements, long service performance and flat voltage discharge characteristics are important factors.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.1149/1.3071815

Journal

Transactions of The Electrochemical Society

Year

1947