Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence (한국산업융합학회 논문집)

The Korean Society of Industry Convergence (한국산업융합학회)
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An Experiment Study on Electric Vehicle Fire and Fire Response Procedures

전기차 화재 실험 및 대응방안에 관한 연구

  • Ki-Hun Nam (Dept. of Fire & Disaster Preventinon Engineering, Changshin University) ;
  • Jun-Sik Lee (Dept. of Aeronautical & Mechanical Engineering, Changshin Univeristy)
  • 남기훈 (창신대학교 소방방재공학과) ;
  • 이준식 (창신대학교 항공기계공학과)
  • Received : 2024.01.05
  • Accepted : 2024.01.25
  • Published : 2024.02.28
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Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are widely used in various sectors, such as transportation (e.g., electric vehicles (EV)) and energy (e.g., energy storage facilities) due to their high energy density, broad operating temperature (-20 ℃ ~ 60 ℃), and high capacities. LIBs are powerful but fragile on external factors, including pressure, physical damage, overheating, and overcharging, that cause thermal runaway causing fires and explosions. During a LIB fire, a large amount of oxygen is generated from the decomposition of ionogenic materials. A water fire extinguisher that helps with cooling and suffocating must be essentially required at the same time. In fact, however, it is difficult to suppress LIB fires in the case of EVs because a LIB is installed with a battery pack housing that interrupts direct extinguishing by water. Thus, this study aims to investigate effective fire extinguishing measurements for LIB fires by using an EV. Relevant documents, including research articles and reports, were reviewed to identify effective ways of LIBs fire extinguishing. A real-scale fire experiment generating thermal runaway was carried out to figure out the combustion characteristics of EVs. This study revealed that the most effective fire extinguishing measurements for LIB fires are applying fire blankets and water tanks. However, there is still a lack of adequate regulation and guidelines for LIB fire extinguishment. Taking this into account, developing functional fire extinguishment measurements and available regulatory instruments is an urgent issue to secure the safety of firefighters and citizens.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

본 논문은 2023학년도 창신대학교 교내연구비(과제번호 창신-2023-011) 및 정부(과학기술정보통신부)의 재원으로 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임(No. 2022R1F1A1074289)

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