From your own included links Bernard;
The FES battery packs are removable for charging remotely from the
sailplane. Each FES battery pack is built up from 14 Superior Lithium
Polymer Battery (SLPB) cells, connected in series and contained within
a carbon fibre battery box with a machined aluminium alloy cover
plate/heatsink. The maximum total voltage for each battery pack is
58.3V, giving a maximum voltage of 116.6V for the assembly of both
battery packs connected in series.
The capacity of each SLPB cell is 41 Ampere-hours (Ah), providing a
total capacity for each FES battery pack of 2.1 kWh, or 4.2 kWh for
both battery packs connected together. Each FES battery pack has a
mass of 15.7 kg.
Regards
SWK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia."
To:"Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia."
Cc:
Sent:Fri, 29 Sep 2017 06:32:59 +0930
Subject:[Aus-soaring] FES fire in the UK
Good morning all
This was sent to me over night by a German friend of mine.
As you can see, no mention was made of the type of battery used
here. From my visits to the AERO trade fair I know that some
manufacturers use LiPo Batteries. They have the best power to weight
ratio but they are known to be extremely dangerous. I will attempt
to find out if this type of battery was installed in this glider.
Kind regards to all
Bernard
From UK, newspaper report:
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has made a safety
recommendation after a sailplane burst into flames shortly after
landing in Parham Airfield. On August 10, 2017, the glider sailplane
set off from the airfield between Storrington and Pulborough at
10.21am for a flight lasting approximately two hours. The glider was
flown normally to a smooth touchdown, according to the AAIB, until the
pilot heard an ‘unexpected noise’. The AAIB report said: “As the
glider slowed during the ground run, the pilot smelled burning and the
cockpit filled with smoke that was moving forwards from behind the
pilot’s head. “He vacated the cockpit normally, without injury,
and observed that the Front Electric Sustainer (FES) battery
compartment cover was missing and that smoke, followed shortly by
flames, was coming from the battery compartment. “The airfield fire
truck arrived promptly and an initial attempt was made to extinguish
the fire using a CO2 gaseous extinguisher, but this proved
unsuccessful. “Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was then sprayed
into the FES battery compartment and the fire was extinguished.”
The pilot was the only person on board the glider, according to the
AAIB.
He did not report observing any warning messages or illuminated LEDs,
when asked by the AAIB, although his attention was drawn outside the
cockpit during landing.
The AAIB report found existing FES battery installations ‘do not
provide sufficient warning’ to a pilot of a fire.
AS A RESULT, THE AAIB MADE A SAFETY RECOMMENDATION THAT ‘ALL
POWERED SAILPLANES FITTED WITH AN FES SYSTEM, MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH A
WARNING SYSTEM TO ALERT THE PILOT TO THE PRESENCE OF A FIRE IN THE FES
BATTERY COMPARTMENT’.
The AAIB investigation confirmed the ‘origin of the fire’ was the
forward FES battery.
The report added: “Its battery box was ruptured along the rear left
corner and the battery assembly was heavily fire damaged.
“The rear FES battery box suffered from external fire damage
although the internal components were only slightly damaged and the
cells remained charged.
“The FES battery compartment was heavily fire damaged.
see also
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s3-2017-on-hph-glasflugel-304-es-g-gsgs
[1]
http://www.front-electric-sustainer.com/news.php [2]
http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/20170906EASAAD20170167E.pdf [3]
Links:
------
[1]
https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/aaib-special-bulletin-s3-2017-on-hph-glasflugel-304-es-g-gsgs
[2] http://www.front-electric-sustainer.com/news.php
[3] http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/docs/33/20170906EASAAD20170167E.pdf
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