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Hm, it's not that difficult in the end, at least on land. First part is checking whether the battery pack is affected after all. Not all EV car fires lead to p

Hm, it's not that difficult in the end, at least on land. First part is checking whether the battery pack is affected after all. Not all EV car fires lead to problems with the battery pack and sometimes you can just extinguish the fire like any other. We check the battery by inspecting it with thermal cameras (remove any protection on the bottom of the car first - not easy). If the temperature of the pack rises after the initial fire has been put out, the battery pack seems to have a problem. In that case, permanent cooling is the way to go. You will start doing this by sprinkling the battery with a hose to keep temperatures stable. At some point, you'll want to release the personell and need a more permanent solution. That's where troughs come in to play. You will fill that up with water until you can completely submerge the battery pack in water. Either place the car in first or lift it in afterwards, that doesn't matter, it's just a handling thing. The car stays in there for several days until the chain reaction in the battery has stopped. I can see how this might be somewhat more complicated on a ship in the middle of nowhere, but you wouldn't want to have a burnt-out non-EV car standing on your ship for an extended period of time, too. So you'll have to reach shore quickly anyway and get more help.

madsbuch 3y ago
Seems like a crane and dropping the car into the ocean is the solution then! /s
- martin_a 3y ago
  If all else fails, I'd consider that option. But the problem seems to be more of how to get a burning car out of the pile of cars in your ferry. Doesn't matter if EV or not, you want to have it out of there at some point and that seems to be tricky.
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    How well can you manage the temperature of a "burning" lithium car battery with unlimited water supplies? Can you easily keep it cool enough to not damage the floor or deck of the boat it is on? If you can, it seems like the long term solution would be two seawater pumps, hoses, and a barrier so you can erect an impromptu kiddy pool around the burning vehicle, and just flow constant seawater around it until you get to port or it stops being a problem.
    - martin_a 3y ago
      That could indeed be a solution. Enough mass of water or enough flow of water will transfer the heat away fast enough. The battery is done at that point anyway, but submerging it will stop flames and toxic fumes from forming from an "open" fire. The cells will "melt" and react with each other on and on until they're done, you can't really stop that. The same thing is done with gas bottles. Once they have been subject to flames or enough heat, they are considered unsafe and will have reactions going on in the inside. You can measure those due to a rise in temperature on the outside, too. Gas bottles are also put into containers full of water, for at least 24 hours, until the reactions on the inside are done. Cooling them prevents them from heating up until they burst though. Same goes for EV battery packs.
  - flir 3y ago
    Trapdoors, under each car. Put the captain in a big twirly seat and give him a red button and a white cat, because everything's better when you're cosplaying as a Bond villain. (Ok, serious question about the portable-barrier-and-pump solution: could there be any chemical risk from using sea water, rather than fresh water?)

madsbuch 3y ago

Seems like a crane and dropping the car into the ocean is the solution then! /s

martin_a 3y ago
If all else fails, I'd consider that option. But the problem seems to be more of how to get a burning car out of the pile of cars in your ferry. Doesn't matter if EV or not, you want to have it out of there at some point and that seems to be tricky.
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  How well can you manage the temperature of a "burning" lithium car battery with unlimited water supplies? Can you easily keep it cool enough to not damage the floor or deck of the boat it is on? If you can, it seems like the long term solution would be two seawater pumps, hoses, and a barrier so you can erect an impromptu kiddy pool around the burning vehicle, and just flow constant seawater around it until you get to port or it stops being a problem.
  - martin_a 3y ago
    That could indeed be a solution. Enough mass of water or enough flow of water will transfer the heat away fast enough. The battery is done at that point anyway, but submerging it will stop flames and toxic fumes from forming from an "open" fire. The cells will "melt" and react with each other on and on until they're done, you can't really stop that. The same thing is done with gas bottles. Once they have been subject to flames or enough heat, they are considered unsafe and will have reactions going on in the inside. You can measure those due to a rise in temperature on the outside, too. Gas bottles are also put into containers full of water, for at least 24 hours, until the reactions on the inside are done. Cooling them prevents them from heating up until they burst though. Same goes for EV battery packs.
- flir 3y ago
  Trapdoors, under each car. Put the captain in a big twirly seat and give him a red button and a white cat, because everything's better when you're cosplaying as a Bond villain. (Ok, serious question about the portable-barrier-and-pump solution: could there be any chemical risk from using sea water, rather than fresh water?)