Design fire scenarios for hazard assessment of modern battery electric and internal combustion engine passenger vehicles

Abstract

Full-scale fire testing of battery electric (BEVs) and internal combustion engine (ICEVs) passenger vehicles has historically shown peak heat release rates (HRRs) ranging from 5–10 MW. However, the vehicles tested in these studies are smaller with less energy capacity than vehicles currently on the market. This paper presents a model to extrapolate data from full-scale vehicle fire tests to evaluate the fire hazard associated with larger passenger vehicles. The model is validated on 20 full-scale vehicle experiments in the public literature and is then used to develop conservatively bounding fire scenarios for vehicles representative of the current market environment. No significant difference was observed in the HRRs between the similarly sized ICEVs and BEVs in this work; however, the predicted HRRs for both vehicle types significantly exceeded existing design guidance. While the model may be shown to be overly conservative in future testing, it is validated using the data that currently exists, and points to an alarming trend in the fire protection industry, where the hazard posed by single passenger vehicles may exceed existing design guidance.