Tuesday, April 9, 2019 SAE SoCal Presents:
Vehicle Battery Fires: Why they Happen and How They Happen
by Gregory Barnett
Hands-on expert witness in automotive, heavy truck, and general equipment. Approximately 40 years of experience and some of the highest automotive/heavy truck certifications in the nation. Fluent in all technologies found bumper-to-bumper. Four-level ASE Master Certification and Instructor accreditation at the manufacturer level. Experience as Field Service Engineer and Instructor for major automobile manufacturer. Excellent skill level in investigating and troubleshooting vehicle, heavy truck, and equipment fires. Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator and Vehicle Fire Investigator. Author of the book Automotive Fire Analysis: An Engineering Approach. Holds copyrights to only presentation on Investigating Automotive Arson in nation. Currently commissioned by the SAE to write a book on the subject of Battery Fire.

Presentation abstract:
Battery Fires: Why They Happen and How They Happen was written to assist those interested in this type of incident understand how automotive fires develop, spread and the damage they cause, using both deductive and inductive reasoning. The main focus of the book resides in looking at differences in failure modes between DC and AC systems, general types of battery and electrical failure modes leading to fire, how to interpret electrical fire, determination of the primary failed part, and other skills the investigating engineer will require to perform technical failure mode analysis. However, some fires have consumed the evidence to the point where a determination cannot be made with any degree of certainty. In this instance, evidence will be quite limited, and the analysis will have its limitations and should be included in the discussion as such. In some cases, a “cause undetermined” report is all the evidence will support. Battery Fires: Why They Happen and How They Happen is a unique piece which brings together the theory and the practice of correctly evaluating the root causes of unexpected and dangerous automobile fires with information the OEMs don’t want shared.

The schedule:
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Enjoy the museum / socialize / purchase food (optional)
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Feature Presentation
8:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Enjoy the museum / socialize
The ADM is located just South of LAX at 610 Lairport, El Segundo, CA 90254 (Take the El Segundo Blvd Exit from the 405)