On the trajectories of embers initially elevated or lofted by small scale ground fire plumes in high winds

Anthenien, Ralph A.; Tse, Stephen D.; Fernandez‐Pello, A. C.

doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.2006.01.005

Cited by 85 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The trajectories and burning rates of firebrands or heated particles lofted by fires have been studied more extensively [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Collectively, the studies suggest that small embers or particles are easily lofted and can travel long distances.…”

Section: Firebrand/particle Generation and Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignition of Combustible Fuel Beds by Hot Particles: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

et al. 2010

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Abstract. The process of spotting occurs in wildland fires when fire-lofted embers or hot particles land downwind, leading to ignition of new, discrete fires. This common mechanism of wildland fire propagation can result in rapid spread of the fire, potentially causing property damage and increased risk to life safety of both fire fighters and civilians. Despite the increasing frequency and losses in wildland fires, there has been relatively little research on ignition of fuel beds by embers and hot particles. In this work, an experimental and theoretical study of ignition of homogeneous cellulose fuel beds by hot metal particles is undertaken. This type of well-characterized laboratory fuel provides a more controllable fuel bed than natural fuels, and the use of hot metal particles simplifies interpretation of the experiments by reducing uncertainty due to unknown effects of the ember combustion reaction. Spherical steel particles with diameters in the range from 0.8 mm to 19.1 mm heated to temperatures between 500°C and 1300°C are used in the experiments. A relationship between the size of the particle and temperature required for flaming or smoldering ignition is found. These results are used to assess a simplified analysis based on hot-spot ignition theory to determine the particle size-temperature relationship required for ignition of a cellulose fuel bed.

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Section: Firebrand/particle Generation and Transportmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ignition of Combustible Fuel Beds by Hot Particles: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

et al. 2010

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“…Of these, firebrand transport has been studied most extensively [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. These models have generally assumed firebrand sizes to perform transport calculations, since little quantitative data exist with regard to firebrand size or firebrand mass produced from vegetation and structures.…”

Section: S L Manzello Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass and size distribution of firebrands generated from burning Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) trees

et al. 2008

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SUMMARYThe present study reports on a series of real-scale fire experiments that were performed to determine the mass and size distribution of firebrands generated from Korean Pine (Pinus koraiensis), a common conifer species indigenous to China, Japan, and Korea. The experiments were performed at the Building Research Institute in Tsukuba, Japan. The total tree height was fixed at 4.0 m and tree moisture content was varied to examine the influence that this parameter has on the mass and size distribution of the firebrands that are produced, under ambient wind conditions. The firebrands were collected using an array of pans. The pans used for firebrand collection were filled with water. This ensured that firebrands would be quenched as soon as they made contact with the pans. The firebrands were subsequently dried and the mass and size of more than 500 firebrands were measured. The Korean pine trees were also mounted on load cells during burning to determine the temporally resolved mass loss profiles. The mass loss data were used to compare the total amount of mass collected as firebrands with the total amount of mass burned. Results of this study are presented and compared with the mass and size distribution of firebrands collected from burning Douglas-fir trees, a conifer tree species indigenous to the U.S.A.

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“…Post-fire studies indicate that firebrand showers have a significant role in the spread of disastrous WUI fires [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Interestingly, post-fire damage studies have suggested for some time that firebrands are a significant cause of structure ignition in WUI fires, yet for over 40 years, firebrand studies have focused on understanding how far firebrands fly, known as spotting distance [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Few studies have examined firebrand generation [21][22][23] and the ultimate ignition of materials by firebrands [24][25][26][27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposing Decking Assemblies to Continuous Wind-Driven Firebrand Showers

Manzello¹,

Suzuki²

2014

Fire Saf. Sci.

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A series of experiments were conducted to examine potential vulnerabilities of wood decks to continuous, wind-driven firebrand showers. Sections of wood decks (1.2 m by 1.2 m) were constructed and attached to a reentrant corner assembly. The deck/reentrant corner assembly was then exposed to continuous, winddriven firebrand bombardment generated by the newly developed NIST full-scale Continuous Feed Firebrand Generator (NIST full-scale Continuous Feed Dragon) installed in the Building Research Institute's (BRI) Fire Research Wind Tunnel Facility (FRWTF). Three different wood deck types were exposed to wind-driven firebrand showers at wind speed of 6 m/s; Western Red Cedar, Douglas-Fir, and Redwood. For each wood deck tested (exposed to a total firebrand mass flux of 17.1 g/m 2 s), firebrands accumulated on the deck surface, and each wood deck type was observed to ignite by flaming ignition. The average time to flaming ignition was 437 s for Cedar, 934 s for Douglas-Fir, and 756 s for Redwood. Therefore, wood decks were observed to be vulnerable to ignition from continuous, wind-driven firebrand showers. Results of these experiments are discussed in detail.

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On the trajectories of embers initially elevated or lofted by small scale ground fire plumes in high winds

Cited by 85 publications

References 16 publications

Ignition of Combustible Fuel Beds by Hot Particles: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Ignition of Combustible Fuel Beds by Hot Particles: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

Mass and size distribution of firebrands generated from burning Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) trees

Exposing Decking Assemblies to Continuous Wind-Driven Firebrand Showers

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