ASSESSMENT OF THE FIRE RISKS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Abstract

Statistics on electric vehicle fires and relevant research in this direction indicate that the frequency of electric vehicle fires worldwide is much lower compared to the statistics of fires in cars running on internal combustion engines. In the USA, 284,130 internal combustion engine fires account for 55 cases of electric vehicle fires. In addition, studies show that the probability of an electric vehicle battery catching fire in a traffic accident is much lower than that of a conventional car catching fire. The purpose of the work is to assess the risk of ignition of the lithium-ion battery of an electric vehicle. To achieve the set goal, the following tasks were carried out: risk factors for the occurrence of fires in the lithiumion battery of an electric car were identified, statistical data and cases of electric cars catching fire due to the failure of the lithium-ion battery were analysed, and a matrix of risks of fires in an electric car was constructed. To achieve the goal of the work, a comparative analysis of statistical indicators was used, followed by analytical processing of the obtained results and their generalization and identification of relevant patterns. According to the carried out assessment of the risk of electric cars catching fire, the following main reasons for electric cars catching fire were determined, namely: human negligence/negligence in production (10%), spontaneous combustion for unknown reasons (22%), malfunction of the battery during charging or after (28%), road accident (30%), drowning (5%), fire action (5%). Taking into account the conducted analysis and existing approaches to the procedure for conducting risk assessment, a matrix for assessing the risks of ignition of electric vehicles was formed. The resulting matrix of risks of electric cars catching fire demonstrated and confirmed the following: the risk of catching fire of electric cars and other similar vehicles in the overwhelming majority can be attributed to three degrees of probability (very low, low and high; the lack of filling in a significant number of cells of the matrix indicates the urgent need for a detailed analysis of each case of fire electric cars with the most clear definition of the cause of ignition. The specified research results, respectively, are a prerequisite for further research and improvement of the resulting risk matrix of electric vehicles.