Thermal Runaway Incident: 4 Reasons of Cause in Electric Cars
Thermal Runaways Incidents are a very common cause of the heat-up of Lithium-ions batteries. They are common in electric vehicles but can be seen in any vehicle that has a battery set-up.
So, in this post, you’re going to know about what is thermal runaway incident and what are the reasons for it.
What is Thermal Runaway Incident?
Thermal Runaway Incident is defined as the sudden hike in the internal temperature of a lithium-ion battery. This is the most common reason why electric cars or scoter catch fire.
The mechanism of a thermal Runaway is due to a chain reaction that happens when one of the cell packings gets disturbed or damaged.
Once a cell pack gets heated up due to damage, it causes other cells to initiate the heating to other cells. This results in the violent ejection of gases and heat that may result in fire.
4 Main Reasons Why Thermal Runaway Incidents in Electric Cars
The four main reasons why thermal runaway incident occurs in EVs are:
- Poor Maintenance and Care by Owner
- Manufacturing Defects
- Damage Battery Cells from Accident
- Fire from Short Circuit
1. Poor Maintenance and Care by Owner
Owners are the first to blame for most of the incidents. It’s due to their negligence that several EV fires are reported each year.
Prior warnings, instructions, and other safety measures are listed to the buyers before and after making the purchase. However, some frequently fail to follow them.
Proper maintenance, regular technical check-ups, and following measures to take care of EVs during warm seasons are some of the basic such instructions.
2. Manufacturing Defects
Manufacturing defects at the production units if once gone unnoticed then at extreme conditions might include serious disasters. This includes smaller problem in battery performance to thermal runaway incidents that may be the reason why EVs catches fire.
3. Accidents
Any major or minor accidents can always cause damage to the internal battery of the EVs. Minor accidents might not seem harmful to the batteries at first but prolonged use might end up being one of the main reasons for these thermal runaway incidents.
As the owner of an electric car, you should check the battery health with a reputable mechanic.
4. Fire From Short Circuit
Fire from shot circuits that erupts and heats up the battery can be the cause of a hike in the temperature that may result in thermal Runaway incidents.
It is harder to avoid fire from a short circuit but you can regularly monitor the health of the battery pack and proper service after an accident.
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