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Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (1): 431831.doi: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.31831

• Material Engineering and Mechanical Manufacturing • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Fire retardant unit for thermal runaway explosion flame suppression of aviation lithium batteries

Juan YANG1,2(), Haoyu ZHAO3, Jianghao NIU3, Wenjing LI3, Heran WANG3, Qingsong ZHANG2,3, Jiang XIE2   

  1. 1.Engineering Technology Training Center,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
    2.Tianjin Aviation Equipment Safety and Airworthiness Technology Innovation Center,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
    3.School of Safety Science and Engineering,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
    4.Institute of Science and Technology Innovation,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
  • Received:2025-01-21 Revised:2025-02-12 Accepted:2025-04-03 Online:2025-04-27 Published:2025-04-25
  • Contact: Juan YANG E-mail:j_yang@126.cauc.edu.cn;j_yang@cauc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Key Research and Development Program of China(2025YFF1502100);Key Project of Natural Sciences Funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(3122024058);Open Fund of Tianjin Aviation Equipment Safety and Airworthiness Technology Innovation Center(JCZX-2024-KF-03);Shenzhen Science and Technology Plan Funded Project(KJZD20240903100707011)

Abstract:

The thermal runaway and explosion flames generated by the aviation Lithium Battery (LIB) system pose a significant risk of high-temperature thermal impact to the surrounding equipment, wiring, and structures on the aircraft. This study constructs a simulation model of the corrugated fire retardant unit and its fluid domain 5 cm on both sides of the unit. By analyzing the temperature and pressure flow characteristics during the thermal runaway process, it is known that a larger core height of the fire retardant unit is more conducive to reducing the accumulation of internal pressure in the LIB compartment, a smaller core height is more favorable for heat ab-sorption and limiting heat escape, and a greater thickness has a more pronounced effect on flame suppression and control of gas flow. A dedicated testing platform for LIB thermal runaway flame suppression was established to experimentally compare the suppression effects of fire retardant units with different structural parameters on the thermal runaway flames of LIB. The conclusion is drawn that the core height parameter focuses on intervening in heat transfer and the isolation effect of high energy fragments, with fire retardant units of core heights 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 mm achieving the highest suppression effects on the exhaust gas temperature of up to 86.55%, 76.80%, and 80.93%, respectively. The thickness significantly affects the escape path of the explosive gases and the balance of the pressure inside the chamber, and for core heights of 0.6, 0.9, 1.2 mm, each reduction of 1 mm in thickness lead to pressure parameter peak increases of 250, 190, 120 Pa, respectively. A comprehensive analysis of simulation and experiments indicates that the fire retardant unit with a core height of 0.9 mm and a thickness of 30 mm has the best suppression effect on the thermal runaway and explosion flames of LIB. This configuration effectively reduced the LIB explosion compartment environmental temperature from 365.6 ℃ to 156.1 ℃, and lowered the backside temperature of the fire retardant unit from 238.3 ℃ to 108.5 ℃, without causing blockage of the fire retardant unit or the dispersion of high-energy fragments.

Key words: aviation lithium battery, thermal runaway, gas explosion, explosion protection, flame suppression, corrugated plate fire retardant unit

CLC Number: