Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Experimental study on thermal runaway evolution and toxicity hazard of lithium-ion batteries in a tunnel under longitudinal air flow

Zhu, Nannan ; Tang, Fei ; Peng, Xinyu ; Sun, Xiepeng ; Hu, Longhua and Mcnamee, Margaret LU (2025) In Journal of Energy Storage 114.
Abstract

The widespread adoption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage has introduced significant fire risks, particularly in confined and restricted environments such as tunnels. This study investigated thermal runaway (TR) behavior in a model tunnel at ventilation speeds ranging from 0 m/s to 2.5 m/s, using LiFePO4 (LFP) and LiNixCoyMnzO2 (NCM) batteries. The experiments identified two critical phases (e.g., safe venting and uncontrollable TR) that govern flame propagation within the tunnel. NCM batteries exhibited a maximum ceiling temperature exceeding 127 °C at wind speeds below 2.0 m/s, while LFP cells surpassed this threshold even without ventilation. Furthermore, CO emissions from... (More)

The widespread adoption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage has introduced significant fire risks, particularly in confined and restricted environments such as tunnels. This study investigated thermal runaway (TR) behavior in a model tunnel at ventilation speeds ranging from 0 m/s to 2.5 m/s, using LiFePO4 (LFP) and LiNixCoyMnzO2 (NCM) batteries. The experiments identified two critical phases (e.g., safe venting and uncontrollable TR) that govern flame propagation within the tunnel. NCM batteries exhibited a maximum ceiling temperature exceeding 127 °C at wind speeds below 2.0 m/s, while LFP cells surpassed this threshold even without ventilation. Furthermore, CO emissions from LFP battery TR were significantly reduced (~90 %) with an increase in ventilation speed to 2.0 m/s. However, mitigating the toxic CO emissions from NCM battery TR required substantially higher ventilation speeds. The maximum ceiling temperature rise due to longitudinal airflow was characterized using a power function. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the hazards posed by battery TR in confined spaces and offer insights into enhancing the resilience of critical urban infrastructure.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Li-ion battery fire, Longitudinal ventilation, Thermal runaway, Toxicity, Tunnel fire
in
Journal of Energy Storage
volume
114
article number
115651
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85217088962
ISSN
2352-1538
DOI
10.1016/j.est.2025.115651
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6dab0cb2-b8a9-496d-890e-419771389f74
date added to LUP
2025-03-17 15:41:16
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:20:59
@article{6dab0cb2-b8a9-496d-890e-419771389f74,
  abstract     = {{<p>The widespread adoption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for energy storage has introduced significant fire risks, particularly in confined and restricted environments such as tunnels. This study investigated thermal runaway (TR) behavior in a model tunnel at ventilation speeds ranging from 0 m/s to 2.5 m/s, using LiFePO<sub>4</sub> (LFP) and LiNi<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>y</sub>MnzO<sub>2</sub> (NCM) batteries. The experiments identified two critical phases (e.g., safe venting and uncontrollable TR) that govern flame propagation within the tunnel. NCM batteries exhibited a maximum ceiling temperature exceeding 127 °C at wind speeds below 2.0 m/s, while LFP cells surpassed this threshold even without ventilation. Furthermore, CO emissions from LFP battery TR were significantly reduced (~90 %) with an increase in ventilation speed to 2.0 m/s. However, mitigating the toxic CO emissions from NCM battery TR required substantially higher ventilation speeds. The maximum ceiling temperature rise due to longitudinal airflow was characterized using a power function. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the hazards posed by battery TR in confined spaces and offer insights into enhancing the resilience of critical urban infrastructure.</p>}},
  author       = {{Zhu, Nannan and Tang, Fei and Peng, Xinyu and Sun, Xiepeng and Hu, Longhua and Mcnamee, Margaret}},
  issn         = {{2352-1538}},
  keywords     = {{Li-ion battery fire; Longitudinal ventilation; Thermal runaway; Toxicity; Tunnel fire}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Journal of Energy Storage}},
  title        = {{Experimental study on thermal runaway evolution and toxicity hazard of lithium-ion batteries in a tunnel under longitudinal air flow}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2025.115651}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.est.2025.115651}},
  volume       = {{114}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}