Entrainment regimes and flame characteristics of wildland fires
Ralph M. Nelson
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A US Forest Service, 206 Morning View Way, Leland, NC 28451, USA. [Retired]
B US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT 59807, USA.
C US Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Fire Laboratory, Riverside, CA 92507, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: nelsonsally@bellsouth.net
International Journal of Wildland Fire 21(2) 127-140 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF10034
Submitted: 18 March 2010 Accepted: 23 February 2011 Published: 24 November 2011
Abstract
This paper reports results from a study of the flame characteristics of 22 wind-aided pine litter fires in a laboratory wind tunnel and 32 field fires in southern rough and litter–grass fuels. Flame characteristic and fire behaviour data from these fires, simple theoretical flame models and regression techniques are used to determine whether the data support the derived models. When the data do not support the models, alternative models are developed. The experimental fires are used to evaluate entrainment constants and air/fuel mass ratios in the model equations. Both the models and the experimental data are consistent with recently reported computational fluid dynamics simulations that suggest the existence of buoyancy- and convection-controlled regimes of fire behaviour. The results also suggest these regimes are delimited by a critical value of Byram’s convection number. Flame heights and air/fuel ratios behave similarly in the laboratory and field, but flame tilt angle relationships differ.
Additional keywords: air/fuel mass ratio, combustion regimes, entrainment constant, flame height, flame tilt angle.
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