From
Li-Ion Battery Fire Hazards and Safety Strategies: Kong et al;
There have been numerous incidents of Li-ion batteries catching fire and exploding. For example,
the United States (U.S.) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported 206 air/airport Li-ion battery
fire/explosion incidents from March 1991 to January 2018 [2]. In May 2011, a Chevrolet Volt caught
fire three weeks after a crash test [3]. In 2013, several Tesla Model S sedans caught fire after they
were damaged by road debris. Although Tesla strengthened the battery shield on its new and
existing cars, in August 2016, a Tesla electric car caught fire in France during a promotional tour.
In 2016, 92 Samsung Note 7 smartphones caught fire and caused a mass product recall [4]. Other
Li-ion battery-powered devices have also been mentioned in fire-type incidents, such as notebook
computers [4,5], hoverboards [4], and electronic cigarettes [6,7]. The corresponding causes for the
Li-ion battery incidents vary. Short circuits, mechanical abuse, battery overcharging, and design and
manufacturing flaws can all result in a battery fire/explosion. Saxena et al. [8] investigated e-cigarette
incidents and found that the e-cigarette market is not regulated. Low-quality or even defective batteries
are entering the market, which increases the risk of Li-ion battery explosions.
In conventional Li-ion batteries with liquid electrolytes, there are five key components: anode,
cathode, separator, current collectors, and electrolyte. Among these components, the separator and
the electrolyte are less tolerant to increasing temperature than the electrodes and current collectors,
Energies 2018, 11, 2191; doi:10.3390/en11092191
www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
Energies 2018, 11, 2191 2 of 11
which are made of metal oxide/graphite or metal. A Li-ion battery uses a polymer separator and a
flammable electrolyte, which are both constrained to certain temperature limits for safe performance.
When a Li-ion battery’s temperature increases to approximately 130–150 ◦C, the high-energy
materials and the organic components are not stable and are prone to generate more heat [9]. If the
generated heat does not dissipate, the battery temperature will further increase and accelerate the
heat-releasing process. Thermal runaway may be triggered if a battery has certain defects that can lead
to short-circuiting, is overheated, is subject to high pulse power usage, or is punctured. Generally, the
passivation layer (solid electrolyte interphase, SEI) on the electrode decomposes at around 69 ◦C [10].
After the breakdown of the SEI layer, the electrolyte reacts with the electrode and releases flammable
hydrocarbon gases [11]. The polymer separator melts when the temperature is around 130 ◦C [9].
At higher temperatures, the positive electrode decomposes and releases oxygen.
Thermal runaway can be mitigated by methods that take effect at different stages of the thermal
runaway process. These measures can be classified into three categories based on their effects on the
process. In general, the potential for thermal runaway is influenced by the state of charge, operation
conditions, battery electrode materials, electrolyte, and separator. The first category is preventive
measures, wherein flame retardants are added for battery thermal stability. The second category
is fail-safe measures that stop or decrease the damage caused by thermal runaway; these include
separator shutdown and cell venting. The third catego.......
Cave divers had an incident years ago in N FL at a charge station. I, myself, totaled a car one time during a light charge. And, caused a sheet metal fire charging a ridiculously large dive light battery pack in a different car. Since then, I've been in several safety roles, including convincing the USN that a certain Li-ion cell pack was safe for transport.
If I ran a dive boat, the charge station needs to be a fireproof surface (steel), and NO foam rubber, etc for quite a ways around.