Full-Scale Fire Testing to Assess the Risk of Battery Electric Vehicle Fires in Underground Car Parks.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Full-Scale Fire Testing to Assess the Risk of Battery Electric Vehicle Fires in Underground Car Parks.
Authors: Kang, Sungwook1 (AUTHOR) sungwookkang@kcl.re.kr, Kwon, Minjae1 (AUTHOR) mj.kwon@kcl.re.kr, Choi, Joung Yoon1 (AUTHOR) j.yoon.choi@kcl.re.kr, Choi, Sengkwan2 (AUTHOR) sengkwanchoi@hotmail.com
Source: Fire Technology. Nov2025, Vol. 61 Issue 6, p4133-4163. 31p.
Subjects: Electric vehicles, Fire testing, Underground storage, Fire prevention, Thermal instability, Safety regulations
Abstract: Battery-only electric vehicle (BEV) fires have recently emerged as a significant safety concern in modern society, particularly when they occur in car parking spaces, where the consequences can be severe. While relatively few fatalities and injuries are reported, the associated economic losses are substantial. Car park structures present several challenges from a fire safety perspective, including high energy content, confined geometry, and difficulties in detecting and accessing to the fire's origin due to smoke accumulation in spaces with limited ventilation and exits. This study investigates this fire hazard by conducting a full-scale fire test on a modern BEV in an instrumented test rig that simulates a segment of an underground car park. The data obtained were compared with standard fire curves to assess the hazard's characteristics and with the data from a companion study to identify differences between BEV fires in underground and surface car parks. The primary difference observed was deflagration venting, which occurred shortly after the initial ignition of combustible gases accumulated beneath the ceiling, lasting until 13 min and 5 s. This phenomenon led to a rapid initial growth of the BEV fire, which burned more intensely for a shorter duration in the semi-enclosed configuration comparted to the open configuration. The enclosed fire recorded an average ceiling-jet temperature of approximately 1100°C and a peak incident heat flux exceeding 225 kW/m2. Additionally, thermal runaway within the lithium-ion battery cells was analysed to understand the adverse effects of the enclosed environment on thermal runaway propagation. This fire testing provides critical insights for developing firefighting strategies including the proper preparation of equipment and the design of fire protection systems. The principal findings could inform tactics for mitigating unforeseen fire risks and contribute to revisions of fire safety regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Fire Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 189909996
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Full-Scale Fire Testing to Assess the Risk of Battery Electric Vehicle Fires in Underground Car Parks.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kang%2C+Sungwook%22">Kang, Sungwook</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sungwookkang@kcl.re.kr</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kwon%2C+Minjae%22">Kwon, Minjae</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mj.kwon@kcl.re.kr</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Choi%2C+Joung+Yoon%22">Choi, Joung Yoon</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> j.yoon.choi@kcl.re.kr</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Choi%2C+Sengkwan%22">Choi, Sengkwan</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> sengkwanchoi@hotmail.com</i>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Fire+Technology%22">Fire Technology</searchLink>. Nov2025, Vol. 61 Issue 6, p4133-4163. 31p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electric+vehicles%22">Electric vehicles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fire+testing%22">Fire testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Underground+storage%22">Underground storage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fire+prevention%22">Fire prevention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thermal+instability%22">Thermal instability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Safety+regulations%22">Safety regulations</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Battery-only electric vehicle (BEV) fires have recently emerged as a significant safety concern in modern society, particularly when they occur in car parking spaces, where the consequences can be severe. While relatively few fatalities and injuries are reported, the associated economic losses are substantial. Car park structures present several challenges from a fire safety perspective, including high energy content, confined geometry, and difficulties in detecting and accessing to the fire's origin due to smoke accumulation in spaces with limited ventilation and exits. This study investigates this fire hazard by conducting a full-scale fire test on a modern BEV in an instrumented test rig that simulates a segment of an underground car park. The data obtained were compared with standard fire curves to assess the hazard's characteristics and with the data from a companion study to identify differences between BEV fires in underground and surface car parks. The primary difference observed was deflagration venting, which occurred shortly after the initial ignition of combustible gases accumulated beneath the ceiling, lasting until 13 min and 5 s. This phenomenon led to a rapid initial growth of the BEV fire, which burned more intensely for a shorter duration in the semi-enclosed configuration comparted to the open configuration. The enclosed fire recorded an average ceiling-jet temperature of approximately 1100°C and a peak incident heat flux exceeding 225 kW/m2. Additionally, thermal runaway within the lithium-ion battery cells was analysed to understand the adverse effects of the enclosed environment on thermal runaway propagation. This fire testing provides critical insights for developing firefighting strategies including the proper preparation of equipment and the design of fire protection systems. The principal findings could inform tactics for mitigating unforeseen fire risks and contribute to revisions of fire safety regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Fire Technology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=189909996
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10694-024-01694-7
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 31
        StartPage: 4133
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Electric vehicles
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fire testing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Underground storage
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Fire prevention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Thermal instability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Safety regulations
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Full-Scale Fire Testing to Assess the Risk of Battery Electric Vehicle Fires in Underground Car Parks.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kang, Sungwook
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kwon, Minjae
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Choi, Joung Yoon
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Choi, Sengkwan
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Text: Nov2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 00152684
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 61
            – Type: issue
              Value: 6
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Fire Technology
              Type: main
ResultId 1