Prevention Against LIB-Powered Electric Bicycles Fires in Parking Area of High-Rise Buildings

Lithium-ion battery-powered (LIB-powered) electric bicycles (E-bicycles) are widely used in China, with many accidental fires occurring in parking facilities in high-rise buildings. E-bicycle parking areas in high-rise buildings have become fire-prone zones. There is an urgent need to establish fire codes for the parking facilities in high-rise buildings. However, only limited research has been conducted on protecting against such fires. Uncertainties also remain about appropriate methods for fire barriers and fire suppression in parking facilities. To better understand parking facility fires in high-rise buildings, four fire scenarios and a total of six experiments on LIB-powered E-bicycle fires were studied in this paper, aiming to seek principles on how to prevent serious fire accidents by isolating E-bicycles parked in parking facilities. Fire spread between the LIB-powered E-bicycles and the propagation patterns of smoke generated by E-bicycle fires within parking facilities were studied. The effectiveness of different fire extinguishing methods in suppressing LIB-powered E-bicycles fires was discussed. The reasonable fire separation distance for E-bicycles was determined. It was found that LIBs with ternary lithium-ion batteries (such as nickel-cobalt-manganese) are more prone to initiate thermal runaway. Setting appropriate separation distances could effectively minimize the spreading of E-bicycle fires in high-rise buildings. A sprinkler system with a lower hazard class is proposed to operate under lower water pressure and flow rates. Fire control methods were proposed, including fire-resistive eave and fire barrier. The results can be used in setting up fire code.