Temperature assessment of steel members subjected to fire generated by alternative fuel vehicles: Experimental tests

Summary This article aims at assessing the thermal action received by an unprotected steel structure during the combustion of alternative fuel vehicles. Five tests were realised in the underground of an airport hangar. To obtain a confinement effect and increase the probability of observing a thermal runaway of the traction battery, a second car was parked next to the alternative fuel vehicle. Five motorisations were tested: diesel fuel, H 2 fuel cell, natural gas, electric, and liquefied petroleum gas. The diesel fuel car test served as reference case. The cars were located under a steel structure, representative of a car park, next to a wall. The wall served here to increase the confinement effect. Thirty‐nine sections of the structure were instrumented for a total of 200 thermocouples. An extensive analysis including fire behaviour for each test and comparisons between the tests is presented here.