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Emergency Response Approaches For Electric & Hybrid Vehicles in Türkiye

Hyundai’s Ionic 5 can be given as the examples for this approach (Nedelea,
2022; Porsch, 2022). Increasing the system voltage level values in electric &
hybrid vehicles requires much more safety margin in the protection measures
and in possible emergency scenarios.
Just as the internal combustion engine vehicles, electric & hybrid vehicles
are also designed taking into account the conditions under which general
safety requirements will be met to ensure safety while driving and in the event
of a possible traffic accident. Relevant processes are carried out in Türkiye, as
similarly in Europe, to ensure the standards set by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE) within the scope of Vehicle Type Approval
for all vehicle concepts that will be operated on the roads. In this scope,
electric vehicles in M1 category electric vehicles and high voltage batteries
for propulsion are designed in the high protection classes in accordance
with UN-ECE R 94/95 and Euro NCAP etc. tests which are also widely used
for internal combustion engine vehicles. The crash scenarios envisaged in
possible accidents have special requirements for each vehicle type; it is aimed
to minimize the risks for the passengers and the driver who are in the vehicle
during the crash. These aspects are the same in principle for both traditional
internal combustion engine vehicles and electric & hybrid vehicles. However,
unlike in electric & hybrid vehicles, there are additional safety requirements
specific to the propulsion battery systems. Within the scope of the UNECE
R100 standard, a number of tests are applied for the high voltage propulsion
batteries of electric & hybrid vehicles, especially for mechanical stress, fire
resistance, external short circuit, overcharging and overheating protection.
High voltage batteries used in electric vehicles must pass the tests to meet
the relevant standard for the required type approval processes.
In case of accidents, it is not possible to electrically discharge the high
voltage propulsion battery systems of electric & hybrid vehicles involving
the accident. Thus, the condition of high voltage propulsion battery systems
should be constantly monitored and should not be contacted without taking
the necessary measures. In addition, due to the external enclosures of high-
voltage drive batteries, it is difficult to directly cool the battery cells. For this
reason, in case of fires in electric & hybrid vehicle, more fire extinguishing
fluid is required to be used, compared to the conventional vehicle fires. In
general, high voltage propulsion batteries in electric & hybrid vehicles are
designed to be insulated from the components of the car body. In the event
of a possible accident, the batteries may explode when damaged, or in the
event of an electrical leakage, it may also lead to undesired results due to the
metal part of the exterior of the vehicle. In case of accidents involving electric
& hybrid vehicles, de-energizing of high voltage cables used is only possible
with electrical insulation of high voltage propulsion battery. In the event of

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 201