How to Put Out a Fire in a Liquid Salt Bath: Dealing with the Temperature Problems with Lithium Batteries

Abstract

It is not every day you have to opportunity to be both Metrologist and fire fighter. In our laboratory we were testing a specific temperature measuring device that utilized a lithium battery for power. During the testing in a liquid salt bath, the lithium battery did not take to the higher temperatures and effectively exploded. When it did, it caught the liquefied salt on fire. We had to jump into action very quickly to avoid a major disaster to our temperature lab and beyond. Consequently, this event prompted us to look our methodology for testing temperature measurement devices as a matter of safety and accuracy. Having the proper immersion depth is an important factor in obtaining an accurate measurement. However, certain parts of the device being exposed to excessive will lead to catastrophic failures. How do we safely test temperature measure devices with sacrificing quality?