TY - JOUR

T1 - Effects of Fuel Bed Slope and Wind Direction on Flame Spread Characteristics Over a Bed of Pinus Silvestris Needles

AU - Selvaraj, Muthu Kumaran

AU - Vasudevan, Raghavan

AU - Korobeinichev, Oleg

AU - Trubachev, Stanislav

AU - Paletsky, Alexander

AU - Sagitov, Albert

AU - Chernov, Anatoliy

AU - Shmakov, Andrey

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - Important factors influencing the flame characteristics over a bed of dry pine needles from Siberian Boreal forests (Pinus silvestris) in lab-scale is provided. Factors such as slope of the fuel bed, wind velocity, and direction of spread (concurrent flow or opposed flow), which play significant roles in determining the flame spread rate, have been investigated. Systematic lab-scale experiments have been carried out in a wind tunnel with varying air velocities and on an inclined fuel bed in still air. Numerical simulations have been carried out using a three-dimensional physics-based flame spread model available in Fire Dynamics Simulator, and the results are validated against a wide range of measured flame characteristics. The validated numerical model is then used to simulate concurrent flow and opposed flow flame spread over a sloping fuel bed in the presence of wind. Gas phase temperature on and above the bed surface and total and radiative heat flux measurements for concurrent flow and opposed flow flame spread under the influence of wind as well as for upslope flame spread in still air are presented. A stationary flame propagation mode is observed for a flat fuel surface. Predicted temperature, flow, and species concentration fields have been reported for selected cases to understand the flow and flame dynamics in gas phase and within the fuel beds. These data serve as a validation of the numerical model used for simulating the experimental cases. Further, it can be used to validate popular fire models such as Fire Foam and Fire-Star 3D.

AB - Important factors influencing the flame characteristics over a bed of dry pine needles from Siberian Boreal forests (Pinus silvestris) in lab-scale is provided. Factors such as slope of the fuel bed, wind velocity, and direction of spread (concurrent flow or opposed flow), which play significant roles in determining the flame spread rate, have been investigated. Systematic lab-scale experiments have been carried out in a wind tunnel with varying air velocities and on an inclined fuel bed in still air. Numerical simulations have been carried out using a three-dimensional physics-based flame spread model available in Fire Dynamics Simulator, and the results are validated against a wide range of measured flame characteristics. The validated numerical model is then used to simulate concurrent flow and opposed flow flame spread over a sloping fuel bed in the presence of wind. Gas phase temperature on and above the bed surface and total and radiative heat flux measurements for concurrent flow and opposed flow flame spread under the influence of wind as well as for upslope flame spread in still air are presented. A stationary flame propagation mode is observed for a flat fuel surface. Predicted temperature, flow, and species concentration fields have been reported for selected cases to understand the flow and flame dynamics in gas phase and within the fuel beds. These data serve as a validation of the numerical model used for simulating the experimental cases. Further, it can be used to validate popular fire models such as Fire Foam and Fire-Star 3D.

KW - Fire spread

KW - fire dynamics simulator

KW - opposed flow

KW - pinus silvestris

KW - slope

UR - https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85201947748&origin=inward&txGid=d32209c5207057a29147d04912c24300

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/dc58341e-027a-3ee7-bef8-619d2110c2f6/

U2 - 10.1080/00102202.2024.2393658

DO - 10.1080/00102202.2024.2393658

M3 - Article

JO - Combustion Science and Technology

JF - Combustion Science and Technology

SN - 0010-2202

ER -