The Mechanical Response of Structural Elements in Enclosed Structures during Electric Vehicle Fires: A Computational Study

Due to their reduced emissions and environmental benefits, electric vehicles (EVs) have grown in popularity over the past few years. However, EV fires can be a serious threat to nearby buildings, especially in garages where they are parked and charged. In this work, the behavior of the steel structural components in garages during electric car fires is computationally analyzed. To simulate the heat transmission and the structural reaction of a typical garage exposed to an EV fire, a finite element model was created. A comparison was made between the risk associated with fires generated by internal combustion vehicles (ICEVs) and EVs, with the elaboration of a risk index based on the deflections reached by a steel column under fire conditions. The model predictions are based on experimental data retrieved from various literature investigations, as well as regulatory simplified methods. The study conclusions provide information on how EV and ICEV fires affected garage performance, which may be used to design more resilient and safer buildings. The method represents a good compromise between the typical performance-based approaches and the tabular ones, characterized by good accuracy and low computational burden. This allows the professional to design optimized structures without wasting material and unnecessary coatings with their additional permanent loads, which could be detrimental in the case of other exceptional actions such as earthquakes.