Posted on 06/13/2021 5:42:28 AM PDT by Renkluaf
Carrying your own pizza oven around with you...
About a month ago in Germany, we had some E-car that caught on fire. Firemen arrived and had issues getting to the battery area. They ended up dragging the car over (flipping it upside down)...to reach the battery area. Total destruction of the car.
Leaves me to wonder how the insurance folks will view the cost factor and how often fires will occur.
That didn't work out at all.
Yeah buddy! I really wants me one of them electric automobiles in my garage!
You sound informed.
Thank you for that bit of interesting information.
One cell out of place is all it takes. One out of 7,000. People don’t understand risk management if they think that is safe. It is not only a high consequence event it also appears to be high probability over not much time.
And you can throw a lit match in diesel and it won’t ignite...
During recent Tesla fire in Texas the fire department poured 30,000 gals on it then just quit and let it burn out.
You sound informed.
Thank you for that bit of interesting information.
One cell out of place is all it takes. One out of 7,000. People don’t understand risk management if they think that is safe. It is not only a high consequence event it also appears to be high probability over not much time.
We had a massive fire last week in Phoenix at a recycling facility. The likely culprit? All of those tiny batteries that are in toys, greeting cards, etc that were mixed in with the paper and cardboard
The problems are, just for starters:
1. Fires are not what I would call infrequent now
2. More EVs will not result in fewer fires
3. More EVs will not result in greater attention to detail and fewer failures
4. The failures that cause these fires are caused by a high parts count in the batteries, 7,000 cells in a Tesla battery and each one of the 7,000 cells can have a fault that results in total failure of the battery and fire. To prevent over heating and failure all the 7,000 cells must be nearly perfect, they aren’t and probably can’t be.
5. The root cause of battery failure owing to the failure of one cell is probably not controllable or preventable
6. The products of Lithium combustion are toxic including HF and Hydroflouric Acid when water is sprayed on the fire. Water does little good to extinguish the fire and creates a toxic soup that runs into the street and down the storm drains. Yummy.
At the end of the day, even with a small probability of failure, EVs are not the wonder solution to all our woes?
You mean the ones that sometimes have the notice on them to only dispose of in an approved facility and that nobody ever does?
Where are all of those approved Li-on battery disposal facilities anyway?
Perhaps. A proposed commercial product presents a light activated hydrogen storage material. At the moment, the capacity is about 3% by weight (lower specification quoted) of the storage medium. A storage system of about 1320 pounds would contain eighteen kilograms (about 40 pounds) of hydrogen. This is about the energy content of 18 gallons (52 kg) of gasoline. In addition, the fuel cell would double to triple the mileage compared to a hydrogen burning IC engine, transmission, axle drive train.
This system compared to Tesla for battery pack weight is comparable at this time. Other automotive fuel cell systems currently deliver about sixty miles per kilogram hydrogen. In the above example, 18 kg hydrogen should deliver about 1000 miles range—too much? Cut the storage system in half and refuel in five minutes for the win. Now need the supply side for H2.
The storage material, a magnesium-titanium alloy film with nanometer optical domains, exhibits affinity for hydrogen at elevated temperature conditions. Can be used to scavenge free hydrogen from the exhaust flue of a gasification unit. More info:
O, the humanity!
Tesla has started its own insurance company, supposedly for their huge “gigacastings” at the front and rear of the cars.
Imagine being the bus passengers.... zero chance to survive.
The trick is to keep the pack cool. Testla’s packs are liquid cooled...so you have heatsinks with nicely chilled tubes all around..plus thermocouples that signal the BMS (Battery Management System) when things are no bueno. The BMS also monitors cell load/discharge/life cycle, etc. Li-Ion cells must be kept within a pretty tight voltage margin or they deteriorate quickly. Its a really groovy process and one that makes these packs safe. But...stuff does happen. Remember Boeings 787 getting grounded due to battery fires way back? Exact same thing.
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