Wen Qi is a Research Engineer and PhD candidate at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), where she focuses on ensuring Singapore's harbourcrafts' battery rooms are safe for operation as the industry transitions to electric propulsion.
Her work is part of the Future Ship & Systems Design R&D Program, which is funded by the Singapore Maritime Institute.
Her maritime journey began at Keppel Singmarine and Keppel FELS (now Seatrium), where she progressed from marketing and client management to overseeing manpower deployment during the COVID-19 pandemic. That experience shapes her conviction today: that engineering is not just about technical solutions, but about people.
Her research translates complex fire safety standards into practical tools that operators can use, keeping Singapore's waterways safer for everyone.
Research Engineer,
Singapore Institute of Technology
Wen Qi Ong
Beyond Compliance: Using Experimental Data and CFD to Shape the Next Generation of Battery Room Safety Standards
Thursday 24th September
12:00 – 12:30
With Singapore’s maritime sector rapidly advancing toward electrification, the adoption of lithium-ion batteries for propulsion and auxiliary power has increased significantly. However, the confined spaces onboard harbourcraft introduce serious fire and explosion risks. During a thermal runaway event, lithium-ion batteries can release hydrogen (H₂) as the primary flammable gas, which may accumulate quickly without adequate ventilation.
In this presentation, we will outline the purpose and motivation of our project, followed by key findings from our experimental testing and how these results validate our computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. We will then discuss how varying ventilation configurations—particularly fan capacity, expressed in air changes per hour (ACH)—affect hydrogen dispersion and potential explosion pressures within a confined battery room.
Our CFD results will illustrate how ventilation layout, fan performance, and battery-rack arrangement influence vapor-cloud formation and dispersion, underscoring ventilation as a critical preventive measure to limit flammable gas accumulation and reduce the likelihood of an explosive atmosphere.
Finally, we will present the simulation outcomes, overall conclusions, and the next steps in our efforts to enhance battery room safety for the maritime industry.