Erik Archibald

Erik Archibald is a partner and senior engineer at Hazard Dynamics.  Erik is an expert in hazard mitigation and consequence modeling for lithium-ion thermal runaway and fire, explosion and toxicity hazards.  At Hazard Dynamics he leads a team in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling, analysis, research, experiments and consulting for battery fire, explosion and toxicity hazards.  He has conducted explosion studies, plume studies and fire consequence modeling for dozens of ESS systems around the country including cabinet systems, container systems and dedicated use buildings.  Erik served as a volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania and Mississippi and currently serves as a structural specialist on the Texas Task Force 1 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue team. He holds a PhD from the University of Texas where his dissertation research work focused on hazards to firefighters from lithium-ion fires and explosions. Erik began his career with three internships modeling plume and explosion hazards from chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents.  He worked at ARA for four years doing structural engineering, modeling and analysis to design buildings to resist explosions and impact.  After several years working on terrorism explosion and plume hazards, he transitioned to clean energy fire, explosion and plume hazards while working on his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin.  At the University of Texas he has conducted thermal runaway gas release, fire and explosion experiments ranging from single cells in pressure vessels to EVs in a garage. He has presented his research on battery fire and explosion hazards in academic journals, at various conferences and to firefighters across the country.