The most important characteristic of a fire extinguishing agent when extinguishing a lithium battery fire is its ability to cool—in part, because cooling the cell helps to prevent the internal flammable contents from igniting.
In fire extinguishing tests the single cell was heated up to a temperature of about 650°C and then the extinguishing agent was applied. Carbon dioxide, foam, dry powder, pure water, and water mist were used to extinguish the Li-ion cell fires. For the battery pack fire, water was used as extinguisher.
Screening tests for battery fire extinguishing agents were also performed. The effectiveness of an agent was evaluated through experiments on the cooling effect of fire extinguishing agents. Among the various agents, water and foam were found to be the most effective. 1. Introduction
Automatic extinguishing systems either extinguish or prevent incipient fires in order to protect objects, rooms or entire buildings from fires and their consequences. The extinguishing agents used for this purpose are liquid (water), two-phase (foam), solid (powder), gaseous (gases) or aerosols.
Battery systems, modules and cells must be protected against external (electrical) fires. Possible measures: Fire alarm system with automatic extinguishing system for electrical risks. The extinguishing agent should ensure zero residue to the protection of the installation.
What is the best fire extinguishing agent for lithium batteries?
With reference to the fire extinguishing agents of lithium cells/batteries, currently they include mainly water, foam, dry powder, carbon dioxide and water mist. The results of tests have shown that the most effective are water and foam.
Can a wetting agent be used in a fire extinguisher?
Wetting agents/aqueous agents can be used in fixed installations, portable extinguishers, mobile fire extinguishers and in backpack extinguishers. Powder systems are highly effective at providing fire suppression capabilities.