Identifying Effect of Car Fire Blankets on Chosen Fire Parameter Using Large-Scale Fire Tests of Internal Combustion Engine Vehicle and High-Voltage Traction Battery—Comparative Slovak Case Study

Abstract

Firefighting units in the Slovak Republic are well prepared for extinguishing fires of vehicles with internal combustion engines. However, the expansion of electromobility is also coming to Slovakia. It is essential to pay attention to this topic from the point of view of repression. This article deals with car fire blankets. The main objective is to verify and compare the effectiveness of extinguishing internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) fires and high-voltage traction battery (HTB) fires using car fire blankets. The effectiveness of a car fire blanket was determined based on the analysis of temperature drops during large-scale fire tests of ICEVs and HTBs. The temperature was recorded by four thermocouples. Two thermocouples were placed at 0.7 m from the ICEV and HTB; one thermocouple was placed in the interior of the ICEV and inside the HTB; one thermocouple was placed on the roof of the ICEV and the surface of the HTB. Subsequently, the results were compared based on temperature–time curves obtained from experimental measurements. Applying the car fire blanket to the ICEV fire caused a drop in temperature on all thermocouples. The most significant temperature drop was recorded in the interior of the vehicle. Specifically, the temperature dropped from 724 °C to 140 °C. However, the application of the car fire blanket had a different effect on the HTB fire. There was a minimal temperature change in the thermocouple on the right side at a 0.7 distance. The other thermocouples identified a slight increase in temperature.

Keywords

• internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV)
• high-voltage traction battery (HTB)
• large-scale fire test
• car fire blanket