Vehicle Fires in Modern Drivetrains

AGENDA
6:00p Welcome reception
6:30p Presentation with Q&A
7:30p Networking
8:00p End

ABSTRACT
Vehicle fires are a significant hazard and account for more than 15% of the total reported fire incidents in the United States. The introduction of newer drivetrains including BEV, HEV, PHEVs, and subsequent high-profile fire events related to these vehicles, have increased scrutiny on vehicle fire risks. Societies are assessing whether the newer drivetrains are better with respect to fire safety than traditional ICEVs.
This presentation will provide background on mechanisms that result in fires in ICEV and BEVs, including a detailed discussion of thermal runaways in EV batteries. Included in the conversation will be a review of the mechanisms that result in thermal runaways and allow for propagation within the battery pack. The role of battery chemistry and state of charge (SOC) on the likelihood of thermal runaway will be examined. The role of SOC on the heat release rate, an important criterion related to survivability, will also be addressed.
Lastly, an assessment of the fire trends in vehicles with different drivetrains based on current publicly available data and the challenges and complexities of fire suppression in ICEV and BEV vehicles will be showcased.
A few case studies will be presented.

BIO Abid Kemal - Ph.D., CFEI, CVFI
Dr. Kemal specializes in analyzing thermal failures involving infrastructure, consumer and commercial products, industrial equipment and processes. His responsibilities include the analysis and investigation of fires, explosions, and detonations in industrial, commercial, residential, medical, transportation, and wildland sectors.

Dr. Kemal also provides design support for products and processes aimed at improving thermal performance for safety, efficiency and reliability. He has led numerous large-loss complex failure and product recall investigations to determine the root cause of failures and has helped develop applicable fixes and risk assessments. In performing his duties, Dr. Kemal carries out work related to combustion, thermodynamics, gas dynamics, macro- and micro-scale heat transfer, feedback control of complex dynamic plants and micromachining. He studies air-breathing propulsion systems and stationary gas turbines and has experience in applying advanced control techniques to optimize the performance of such plants. He has designed and built a CMOS-compatible micromachined sensor for the measurement of pollutant emissions in combustion exhausts. Dr. Kemal also maintains an interest in international environmental law and policy and authored the first ever draft of fire laws for the government of Pakistan.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Kemal was a Research Assistant in the High Temperature Gas Dynamics Laboratory at Stanford University. As part of his graduate work, he taught numerous classes on thermodynamics, gas dynamics, and combustion, at both graduate and undergraduate levels. He performed independent peer reviews of research proposals and of publications in the Combustion Institute's journal Combustion and Flame. He also worked as an independent consultant for Alzeta Corporation and for NASA Ames. Before joining Stanford, he worked in Pakistan as a Programmer and Operator of CNC machines (Spinning Machinery Company, Lahore); as a Management Trainee (ICI Soda Ash Plant, Khewra); and as a Production Engineer (Career Telephone Industries, Islamabad, a subsidiary of Siemens AG).

Dr. Kemal holds an appointment as an Adjunct Professor / Lecturer in the School of Engineering at Stanford University where he teaches the course Techniques of Failure Analysis during the spring quarter.
https://www.exponent.com/people/abid-kemal