Presenter: William Meyring, 3M
Lithium-ion batteries are in widespread use worldwide in a vast array of electronic and electronic devices ranging from hybrid and electric vehicles, power tools, portable computers and mobile devices, as well as energy storage facilities. While generally safe and reliable energy storage devices, lithium-ion batteries are subject to a catastrophic failure mode known as thermal runaway under certain conditions, presenting a significant fire hazard. The increasing wide-spread adoption and use of lithium-ion batteries, coupled with the potentially catastrophic failure mode of thermal runaway, has created a fire safety issue that must be addressed. Mechanical damage and internal shorts cannot always be avoided and the resulting energy release must be contained or lessened. This presentation will address a new approach to mitigate this risk. Experiments have shown that immersion of the battery packs in a specific volume of dielectric fluid greatly reduced the maximum surface temperature of the initial cell with the internal short, eliminated external combustion, and prevented failure in adjacent cells.
Bill Meyring, P.E. is a fire protection engineer with 3M Company working in a Product Development Specialist role where he is directly involved with Novec 1230 research and development activities involving unique and highly specialized commercial and military fire protection applications as well as conducting FM and UL test programs involving Novec 1230 systems. Prior to joining 3M, he worked at FM Approvals managing fire protection approval programs and full-scale fire performance testing of sprinkler systems. He holds Mechanical Engineering and Fire Protection PE licenses as well as masters degrees in Mechanical and Fire Protection Engineering.
