Determination of the safety exclusion zone for battery-powered ship with consideration of fire accident

Battery-powered ships have been developed quickly owing to the international dual carbon strategy and net-zero initiatives. However, the safety of battery-powered ships has attracted much attention because of the high frequency of fire accidents, and maintaining a safety distance between a battery-powered ship and nearby vessels is a proven method to mitigate risks. The large battery capacity poses significant challenges due to intense thermal radiation during fires. Thus, this paper proposes a novel method for determining the safety exclusion zone to mitigate the consequences of collision accidents while considering the thermal runaway of the battery. On basis of a thermal radiation model, the safety distance for avoiding radiation damage is determined by setting the acceptable thermal radiation flux as the threshold level. Afterward, a ship domain model and following theory are used to calculate the longitudinal and lateral safety distances of a battery-powered ship. Finally, a computational fluid dynamics simulation-based case study is carried out to demonstrate the application of the proposed method. This study provides critical insights for policymakers and researchers in advancing maritime safety protocols.