According to Reuters it appears Boeing is close to a fix for the Dreamliner battery problem, it appears they are going to increase the space between the cells and is speculated they put ceramic plates in the void space left. It is anticipated the aircraft will be cleared to return to passenger service in April.

Wonder what the daily penalty has been for the grounded fleet! Equiv to the treasury debt of a medium sized African nation I'm guessing......

If it's a peak load temp increase that'll help. If it's a long-term temp load it won't.

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Originally posted by coyoteboy
If it's a peak load temp increase that'll help. If it's a long-term temp load it won't.

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I guess it depends on the thermal efficiency of the ceramic plates.

If the air space is big enough it should be fine I would guess.

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Originally posted by matt_gsxrI hope they have thought of that!

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Bring back lead acids, they're the future

The ceramic plates are more likely involved as a safety mechanism rather than for reliability purposes. Thermally isolating cells with a high temperature insulator (i.e. ceramic) would prevent the heat/flames from a faulty cell triggering the same reaction in neighboring cells.

Re compensation it seems Quantas are doing very nicely out the Boeing payout. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21528443

Surely Somebody must be getting their ass kicked over this ....

The shareholders will be wanting their pound of flesh over this debacle

Looks like it will be awhile yet before it gets cleared.

BBC News Link