Design and Performance Testing of Railway Containers for Lithium-ion Batteries

ZHANG Hui; YAO Zhenkun; SHI Lei; MA Yukun

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.13.003

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (13) : 24-30. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.13.003

Special Topic on Protection Technologies and Packaging Containers for Lithium Battery Transportation

Design and Performance Testing of Railway Containers for Lithium-ion Batteries

ZHANG Hui^1,*, YAO Zhenkun², SHI Lei², MA Yukun¹

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Abstract

To address the thermal runaway characteristics of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and risks inherent in railway container transportation, the work aims to design and develop a 40-foot LIB railway container and verify the performance of the container to ensure compliance with LIB railway transportation safety requirements. Potential failure modes during LIB railway transportation were analyzed. Aiming at the thermal runaway behavior within containers, a 40-foot container integrating critical safety functions of flame retardancy/thermal insulation, pressure relief/exhaust ventilation, and real-time in-transit cargo condition monitoring was developed. Then, flame retardancy and fire resistance testing, pressure relief and exhaust performance testing, railway impact testing of containers loaded with LIBs, and structural integrity testing under LIB thermal runaway conditions were carried out. The newly developed 40-foot LIB railway container integrated critical safety functions, including flame retardancy and thermal insulation, pressure relief and exhaust ventilation, and real-time in-transit cargo condition monitoring, obtained the relevant container-type certification from the China Classification Society (CCS) and passed the following critical tests of flame retardancy and fire resistance, pressure relief and exhaust performance, rail impact of containers loaded with LIBs, and structural integrity under LIB thermal runaway conditions. These tests validated that the primary functions and performance of the container met railway transportation safety requirements, with successful field applications demonstrating practical efficacy. The 40-foot LIB railway container developed in this study meets all railway transportation safety requirements and facilitates multimodal transportation of LIBs. Its performance validation scheme provides critical technical substantiation for establishing performance criteria and standardized testing procedures for LIB railway containers.

Key words

lithium-ion batteries / railway transportation / railway container / design scheme / performance testing

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ZHANG Hui, YAO Zhenkun, SHI Lei, MA Yukun. Design and Performance Testing of Railway Containers for Lithium-ion Batteries[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2025, 46(13): 24-30 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.13.003

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