Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB) have dominated the energy market for several of decades due to their high energy density and long-life cycle. However, several fire accidents in electric vehicles have raised questions about their safety concerns. Researchers have identified thermal runaways to be the major reason for the fire susceptibility of LIBs. One of the major risks in accidents involving LIB fires is toxic gaseous emissions. Hence, it is necessary to understand those toxic emissions to properly counter them. In this study, small-scale battery fire tests will be performed, and the toxic gases will be analyzed using different tools such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and multi-gas detectors ultimately. However, so far, we have performed preliminary experiments to sturdy the surface temperature of cell. The results of this study showed that the thermal runaway of the cell is triggered when the surface temperature of the cell reaches 190°C, and it keeps on increasing for up to 208°C, even without the use of the heating source, the duration of the experiment varies from 30min to 45min. Based on the study results, suitable experiments scenarios are designed the study the gaseous analysis of the LIB on cell level.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are finding more use as power sources in the mining industry. However, they are known to pose significant fire and explosion hazards. When a Li-ion battery is exposed to excessive operating conditions, its internal temperature may exceed a normal operating range, allowing the active component materials to decompose or react with each other, eventually leading to thermal runaway. A Li-ion battery contains certain oxidizing agents making suppression of a battery fire very challenging. A series of Li-ion battery fire suppression tests were conducted by researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to evaluate the effectiveness of different fire suppression test systems including dry chemical, water spray/mist, and Class D extinguisher powder. The batteries tested are commercial nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs. The results indicated that dry chemical and Class D powder could extinguish the fire temporarily, but a reignition occurred. Water mist was able to extinguish the battery fire completely with continuous cooling of the battery to prevent the reignition. The suppression results for both NMC and LFP chemistries were also compared. These test results can be used to develop appropriate firefighting strategies for safe and effective suppression of battery fires in a mine.

An experimental investigation of temperature decay and maximum smoke temperature beneath an underground mine drift (54 m long, 2.6 m wide, and a height of 3.2 m) was carried out to examine the effect of ceiling smoke extraction on fire evolution in an underground mine. A single non-centralized smoke extraction with an extraction flow rate between 0.24-5.42 m3/s was considered, the measured longitudinal velocity was between 0.012-0.220 m/s, and the fire heat release rate (HRR) was between 85-425 KW. The results show that the maximum temperature decreases with the increase in exhaust air volume under the same HRR. Furthermore, an empirical correlation was developed to predict smoke temperature decay under the ceiling due to the effect of a single exhaust smoke extraction point. In this study, a comparison of temperature models for a different number of extraction points is further analyzed to investigate the effect of the number of smoke extraction points on the temperature attenuation coefficient. The model can be applied to other practical solutions to predict temperature decay beneath the ceiling for axis-symmetric fires in an underground mine drift for a single-point smoke extraction system. 

Secondary Li-ion batteries are considered the most sustainable power supplies for electric vehicles (EVs). With the extensive implementation of EVs, we are starting to find an expanding number of safety accidents triggered by Li-ion batteries in EVs globally. Battery EV fire produces intense heat, smoke, and complex toxic gasses. Among them, toxic gasses are a major threat to human health. Therefore, it is necessary to study the detailed identification of gas emissions from the battery fire. Previous studies reported the emission of toxic gases after firing the different types of batteries, still unknown gasses are not studied or quantified. Particularly, real-time gas analysis is not explored very well which motivates us to conduct this work. In this study, we will conduct a large-scale battery fire test at the predesigned fire station, subsequently, the collected gas will be analyzed using appropriate gas monitoring analytical tools like FT-IR and gas chromatography (GC). In the end, we will compare the offline and online gas analyses followed by quantifying the toxic gases. This investigation will provide a detailed understanding of battery electric vehicle fire and associated health risks.