Simulation of Heat Transfer Through Soil for the Investigation of Wildfire Impacts on Buried Pipelines

Richter, Edward G.; Fischer, Erica C.; Metz, Amy; Wham, Brad P.

doi:10.1007/s10694-022-01232-3

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The authors used the modeling methodology developed by Richter et al to explore how varying surface conditions and burial depth of pipe may result in service laterals exceeding their critical temperatures. The authors are defining critical threshold temperature as the minimum temperature in which thermal degradation of the pipe material has the potential to result in VOC concentrations above federal MCLs; this will be referred to as threshold temperature throughout the rest of the paper.…”

Section: Testing Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent fire activity and “mega-fires” have produced record-breaking events that have substantially impacted communities . In California, the 2017 Tubbs fire and the 2018 Camp fire resulted in debilitating infrastructure losses in Santa Rosa and Paradise, respectively, including extensive damage to water distribution systems. − In 2020, the CZU Lightning Complex fire impacted San Lorenzo Water District, which serves San Mateo and San Lorenzo counties in California, damaging seven miles of above-ground high density polyethylene (HDPE) water main lines and on-site water tanks . The district lost 4.5 million gallons of water (approximately 50% of the water stored at the treatment plant) and was forced to shut off water, leaving customers without water for months. , In Oregon, the 2020 Labor Day fires resulted in the Beachie Creek, Lionshead, and P-515 fires, merging to become the most destructive wildfire in Oregon’s recorded history, destroying about 70% of the structures in Detroit, Oregon. − After these wildfires, VOC contamination was detected in the aforementioned communities’ water distribution systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous researchers have also investigated pipelines under in situ conditions. Richter et al performed one-dimensional (1D) heat transfer analyses through typical WUI soil types with varying surface temperatures and heat flux values representative of WUI wildfires and varying burial depths of the pipe itself. The developed analysis methodology in this research demonstrated the ability to predict pipe temperatures throughout a wildfire event and that the temperatures of pipes, even under nonsevere fire conditions, can exceed the operational temperatures listed by manufacturers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior of Service Lateral Pipes during Wildfires: Testing Methodologies and Impact on Drinking Water Contamination

2023

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Wildfires have damaged civil infrastructure throughout wildland urban interface communities, including water distribution systems. Post-wildfire, communities have detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within drinking water systems. This paper focuses on the behavior of service lateral pipes used for potable water under fire conditions, with an emphasis on testing methodologies and impacts on drinking water contamination. The authors tested commonly-used service lateral pipes (type L copper, galvanized steel, schedule-40 PVC, and STIR-7 HDPE) at elevated temperatures to determine critical threshold temperatures at which these pipes thermally degrade. This paper summarizes tests evaluating type L copper, galvanized steel, schedule-40 PVC, and STIR-7 HDPE pipe materials at elevated temperatures and numerical simulations to examine fire scenario characteristics that may thermally degrade pipes. Post-heating treatments of the pipes were considered (spirals, small pieces, and whole sections) to examine the influence of different testing methodologies on the contamination levels found in water, primarily how the surface area exposed influences the concentration of contaminants during a fire. Water was analyzed following EPA 524.2, and regression curves were fitted to the results to quantify the threshold temperatures at which pipe materials may release VOCs exceeding federal limits. Practical metrics, including wildfire conditions (heat flux and burn duration) and pipe burial depths, were varied to investigate under what circumstances buried service laterals may exceed threshold temperatures. From the series of tests performed, the authors conclude that neither galvanized steel nor copper released VOCs exceeding the federal limit at the highest tested temperature (300 °C) and that the threshold temperatures for PVC and HDPE were 194 and 254 °C, respectively. Additionally, results show that the surface area of pipe materials tested does affect contamination levels; however, regardless of the surface area tested, the heating of relatively short lengths of pipe (less than 3.25 m) can release contaminants exceeding federal limits.

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Section: Testing Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior of Service Lateral Pipes during Wildfires: Testing Methodologies and Impact on Drinking Water Contamination

2023

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“…The depth of 21 Ne and 3 He depletion far exceeds the depth of expected wildfire heating to temperatures needed to degas Ne from quartz. Wildfire heating calculations (e.g., Richter et al, 2022) typically predict temperatures up to 600°C at the soil surface, decreasing approximately exponentially with depth with an attenuation length of 5-10 cm. Significant 21 Ne loss is only expected to occur within the uppermost ∼10 cm of the soil.…”

Section: Near-surface Depletion Of Cosmogenic Noble Gasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The model underestimates 10 Be concentrations below the mixed layer, which indicates that the assumption that vertical mixing stops abruptly at 170 cm is oversimplified, but this does not affect the behavior within the mixed layer that the model is intended to simulate. We similarly compute 21 Ne production in the same particles, but also assume that during each time step there is one wildfire with a 1-hour duration, a surface temperature of 450°C, and an exponential attenuation depth of 6 cm (this is a characteristic scenario from Richter et al, 2022). Each quartz grain loses 21 Ne as a single Arrhenius diffusion domain (Fechtig and Kalbitzer, 1966;Shuster and Farley, 2005).…”

Section: Near-surface Depletion Of Cosmogenic Noble Gasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short Communication: Cosmogenic noble gas depletion in soils by wildfire heating

Balco,

Hidy,

Struble

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract. Measurements of cosmic-ray-produced beryllium-10, neon-21, and helium-3 in quartz in a soil proﬁle from a forested landscape in the Oregon Coast Ranges show that the cosmogenic noble gases 21Ne and 3He are depleted relative to 10Be in the shallow subsurface. As the noble gases are mobile in mineral grains by thermally activated diffusion and 10Be is not, this is most likely the result of surface heating by wildﬁres and subsequent mixing of partially degassed quartz downward into the soil. Cosmogenic noble gas depletion by wildﬁre heating of soils is a potential means of estimating wildﬁre intensity and/or frequency over pre-observational time scales.

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Pilot Study on Fire Effluent Condensate from Full Scale Residential Fires

Horn,

Dow,

Neumann

2023

Fire Technol

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Studies related to effluent produced by structure and vegetation fires often focus on gas phase or solid condensed phase, with limited treatment of liquid condensate generated as smoke cools to ambient. Recent post-fire human health concerns related to systemic human exposures to fire smoke and contamination of water distribution systems after wildland urban interface fires can be informed by understanding the chemical composition of liquid condensate resulting from large-scale fire experiments. In this pilot study, fire effluent (smoke) samples were continuously drawn from five different full-scale room-and-contents fire experiments, from which condensate was collected as the effluent cooled. Elevated concentrations of several volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, toluene, xylenes, styrene, naphthalene, and acetone along with several anions were detected in the acidic effluent. Many of these same VOCs have been identified in the air during firefighter safety experiments and in post-fire water distribution systems at levels that raise concern for human health. Benzene and naphthalene concentrations in the condensate were orders of magnitude above typical water quality standards and thus may directly contaminate large volumes of water. Peak benzene concentrations were similar to highest values reported from contaminated water distribution systems after wildfire events, though additional study is needed to understand the mechanisms by which this condensate may contribute to systemic contamination. Improved understanding of liquid condensate from fire effluent may be important to other areas of human and environmental health study, and some considerations are provided for future research.

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Simulation of Heat Transfer Through Soil for the Investigation of Wildfire Impacts on Buried Pipelines

Cited by 6 publications

References 22 publications

Behavior of Service Lateral Pipes during Wildfires: Testing Methodologies and Impact on Drinking Water Contamination

Behavior of Service Lateral Pipes during Wildfires: Testing Methodologies and Impact on Drinking Water Contamination

Short Communication: Cosmogenic noble gas depletion in soils by wildfire heating

Pilot Study on Fire Effluent Condensate from Full Scale Residential Fires

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