Lithium Battery Thermal Runaway Vent Gas Analysis

Details

• Creators:
  Maloney, Thomas
• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center. Fire Safety Section
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Aircraft Exhaust Gases Combustion Fire Resistance Flammability Flammability Tests Lithium Lithium Batteries Thermal Analysis Thermal Runaway Vent Gas
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/TC-15/59
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration. William J. Hughes Technical Center
• Abstract:
  Thermal runaway of lithium-metal and lithium-ion cells has resulted in numerous fires. Often the fires are fueled by the flammable gases that are vented from the batteries during thermal runaway. In addition to those installed on the aircraft, millions of lithium batteries are shipped every year as cargo. A Class C cargo compartment is equipped to have an initial concentration of 5% Halon 1301 fire-suppressing agent, followed by a residual concentration of 3% for the remainder of a flight. These halon concentrations are effective at mitigating fires involving typical cargo; however, there is concern whether these concentrations are sufficient to handle a cargo fire involving lithium batteries and to mitigate the risks of a potential explosion of the accumulated vented battery gases. Tests were conducted to analyze the various gases that were vented from lithium cells in thermal runaway and evaluate the risk of the buildup and ignition of the gases within an aircraft cargo environment.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  FAA Fire Safety FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center for Advanced Aerospace
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9dab85038e4e8dd574a493fcbf30c513f113a3c74a028ec1d6eb7596e301a564772b4552bb479a87e0fa2ccbe292a144bbeef39c3ad483836d4b6d690faa2f57
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/57657/dot_57657_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.59 MB ]