Quote:
Originally Posted by dtennent
Water reacts with lithium therefore is a poor choice for putting out the fire. Systems need to be developed that will rapidly coat the fire with salt (sodium chloride)or sand. Basically, you need to remove oxygen or water from reaching the fire.
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It looks like this is the wrong approach and could actually intensify the fire.
It seems lithium battery fires are self-sustaining, the fire actually generates enough oxygen to keep itself burning. Smothering it to keep external oxygen away won't stop it and insulating it with a heavy layer of sand would keep heat in and help keep the fire burning.
One of the serious problems with lithium battery fires is "thermal runaway." One cell becomes damaged and ignites which generates enough heat to damage the next cell and cause it to ignite. The only way to stop this is to remove the heat to keep the next cell from igniting. This is where water is useful.
A problem with electric car fires is the compartment that protects the batteries from damage is designed to be waterproof. It is difficult to get water onto the batteries because the car is designed to prevent water from reaching the batteries. Tens of thousands of gallons of water are needed because so little of the water actually reaches the batteries themselves.
A firefighting tool has been designed that may help.
This tool from an Austrian company punctures the battery compartment and delivers water directly to the batteries. The claim is it will take only 1,000 to 2,000 gallons to cool the batteries and stop the fire. I haven't seen any articles about it being used in practice yet.