A Review of Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Suppression

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are a proven technology for energy storage systems, mobile electronics, power tools, aerospace, automotive and maritime applications. LiBs have attracted interest from academia and industry ‎due to their high power and energy densities compared to other battery technologies. Despite the extensive usage of LiBs, there is a substantial fire risk associated ‎with their use which is a concern, especially when utilised in electric vehicles, aeroplanes, and submarines. ‎This review presents LiB hazards, techniques for mitigating risks, the suppression of LiB fires and identification of shortcomings for future improvement. Water is identified as an efficient cooling and suppressing agent and water mist is considered the most promising technique to extinguish LiB fires. In the initial stages, the present review covers some relevant information regarding the material constitution and configuration of the cell assemblies, and phenomenological evolution of the thermal runaway reactions, which in turn can potentially lead to flaming combustion of cells and battery assemblies. This is followed by short descriptions of various active fire control agents to suppress fires involving LiBs in general, and water as a superior extinguishing medium in particular. In the latter parts of the review, the phenomena associated with water mist suppression of LiB fires are comprehensively reviewed.

A Review of Experimental and Numerical Studies of Lithium Ion Battery Fires

“…During abnormal operating conditions (abuse conditions), the temperature of LIB may increase and exceed the safe/normal operating condition, which may consequently lead into TR. The abuse conditions include mechanical abuse, electrical abuse, and environmental abuse [63]. Table 2 shows the abuse conditions and possible causes.…”

“…For a battery system, in addition to the thermal hazards that are typically observed in a single battery including high-temperature, safety valve burst, venting, combustion, explosion, and toxic gases during TR, the heat propagation to surrounding batteries can be also exhibited. Within a battery pack, the propagation is a serious thermal hazard which may result into catastrophic consequences; thus countermeasures should be taken into account to cease the failure propagation [10,63,69,[90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98].…”

“…Results of experimental studies conducted by the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) [132], Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) [133], and Det Norske Veritas and Germanischer Lloyd (DNVGL) [134] suggest that water-based extinguishing agents were the most effective to combat LIB fires. For detailed information of LIBs' extinguishing agents, fire protection, and suppression systems, please refer to Ghiji et al's review paper [63].…”

The Performance of Filava-Polysiloxane, Silres® H62C Composite in High Temperature Application

“…Nonetheless, the density of FPC (1.45 g/cm 3 ) is lower than the equivalent carbon, aramid or glass fibres epoxy composite. It was reported in a previous research that flame temperature of LIB can reach up to 900 • C in the worst case scenario [5]. High softening temperature (950 • C) and acceptable service temperature (720 • C) of FPC makes it suitable as a fire-retardant composite in LIB enclosures.…”

“…The excellent thermal performance of Filava fibre stated by manufacturers exhibited good mechanical properties up to 950 • C. By contrast, carbon fibre epoxy composite had turned to ash at 500 • C. This has made Filava fibres an excellent suitable material for automotive exhaust and braking pads [4], as the fibres are nearly incombustible and emit low smoke and ash when exposed to a high temperature flame as shown in the video [Supplementary Video S1]. The fire-resistant properties make Filava fabrics highly suitable for fire retardant application for interior components in road vehicles and aircraft [5]. Additional industrial applications of Filava fibres include the marine application, where fibres can be used to reinforce Hulls in high performance yachts [4].…”