Abstract
Thermal runaway (TR) of lithium-ion batteries caused by electrical, thermal, and mechanical abuse is a primary contributor to electric vehicle (EV) fires. To address the unclear propagation mechanisms and hazard characteristics of thermal runaway fires in full-scale EV battery packs, a comprehensive thermal runaway fire test on battery pack was conducted in this study. The experimental results revealed that TR propagated from individual cells to adjacent cells, ultimately engulfing the entire pack. The combustion dynamics of battery packs differed significantly from those of individual cells, exhibiting rapid fire escalation and complex combustion-explosion behaviors. A thermal radiation prediction model was established based on experimental data, according to the thermal radiation prediction model, the thermal radiation intensity of the battery pack at different distances can be obtained, so that the safe distance between various types of equipment and the electric vehicle can be determined, providing critical insights for designing safety distances and suppressing TR propagation in battery systems of EV.
Data availability
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are not publicly available due the confidentiality of the data used but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- TR:
-
Thermal runaway
- LIBs:
-
Lithium-ion batteries
- EV:
-
Electric vehicle
- SOC:
-
State of charge
- NCM:
-
LiNixCoyMn1−x−yO2, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide
- q:
-
Heat radiation intensity (kW/m2)
- r:
-
Distance (m)
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Mengbai Ma: Conceptualization, Methodology, Experimental design, Data curation, Writing–Original draft preparation. Hui Jiang: Conduct of the experiment, Writing–Reviewing and Editing. Guanlin Peng: Conduct of the experiment. Xiaolei Bi: Writing–Reviewing and Editing. Shiqiang Wang: Writing–Reviewing and Editing. Bin Tao: Writing–Reviewing and Editing.
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Ma, M., Jiang, H., Peng, G. et al. Research on the hazard characteristics of thermal runaway fire in electric vehicle power battery pack. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16050-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-16050-0
