A review on the transport law and control method of fire smoke from energy storage system in tunnels

As the preferred medium for tunnel energy storage system (TESS), lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used in tunnel lighting, ventilation, fire protection, monitoring, and communications. Once the LIBs are thermally out of control, causing fire and explosion, its flammable and toxic fumes will spread in large quantities in the tunnel, seriously affecting the safety of the tunnel. Therefore, this review firstly introduces tunnel engineering, battery energy storage technology, LIBs thermal runaway (TR), and tunnel fire smoke and control. Secondly, the working principle and composition of LIBs in TESS are summarized. Thirdly, the reasons for TR of LIBs are summarized. Fourthly, the characteristics of the tunnel fire smoke that the research mainly focuses on, including the characteristics of flue gas diffusion and stratification, flue gas temperature distribution under the ceiling, flue gas countercurrent length, critical wind speed, and fire smoke composition of energy storage system. Finally, the suppression technologies and tunnel smoke control methods for LIBs fires are summarized. This review retrospects and summarizes the research on fires in TESS, and also points out some existing problems, which may open up new fields for future research on tunnel fires. Fig. GA. Transport law and control method of fire smoke from energy storage system in tunnels. The characteristics of fire caused by thermal runaway of energy storage system especially batteries in the tunnels were outlined in this review, then the transport law and control methods of the smoke generated by the fire were summarized. [Display omitted] •The composition of energy storage system especially batteries in tunnels was systematically introduced.•The causes of thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries were summarized.•The smoke characteristics of fire caused by energy storage system in tunnels were studied.•The suppression technology of lithium-ion battery fire was discussed.•The control methods of fire smoke by energy storage system in tunnels were summarized.