Effect of initial generating eddy height on formation and flame geometry of fire whirl
Congcong Ji A B , Naian Liu A B * , Jiao Lei A B * , Linhe Zhang A B , Xiaodong Xie A B and Yang Zhang A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
B MEM Key Laboratory of Forest Fire Monitoring and Warning, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
* Correspondence to: liunai@ustc.edu.cn, leijiao@ustc.edu.cn
International Journal of Wildland Fire 32(9) 1381-1390 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF23034
Submitted: 11 March 2023 Accepted: 19 July 2023 Published: 15 August 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of IAWF.
Abstract
Background: Fire whirl is an extreme fire behaviour in wildland fires, and an essential factor for its formation is the surrounding generating eddy. No systematic experimental study has been conducted on natural fire whirls with varying heights of the initial generating eddy.
Aims: The aim of this research was to provide a comprehensive experimental study on the effect of initial generating eddy height on fire whirl formation and flame characteristics.
Methods: The experiments were conducted in a fixed-frame facility with varying channel wall height (representing the initial generating eddy height). A 20-cm-diameter propane burner (10.0–100.0 kW in heat release rate) was used.
Key results: The critical channel wall height for fire whirl formation decreases with the heat release rate. The mean flame height grows remarkably with initial generating eddy height for large heat release rates, but it varies only slightly at relatively small heat release rates.
Conclusions: The formation of fire whirl depends on the initial generating eddy height, rotational strength, and heat release rate. A flame height correlation of the fire whirl is obtained by considering the initial generating eddy height.
Implications: This work provides a basis for improving the prediction accuracy of natural fire whirls in wildland fires.
Keywords: fire whirl, initial generating eddy height, fire whirl formation, flame geometry, flame height, flame diameter, fire behaviour, wildland fire.
References
Beér JM, Chigier NA, Davies TW, Bassindale K (1971) Laminarization of turbulent flames in rotating environments. Combustion and Flame 16, 39–45.| Laminarization of turbulent flames in rotating environments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Byram GM, Martin RE (1970) The modeling of fire whirlwinds. Forest Science 16, 386–399.
| The modeling of fire whirlwinds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chuah KH, Kushida G (2007) The prediction of flame heights and flame shapes of small fire whirls. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31, 2599–2606.
| The prediction of flame heights and flame shapes of small fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Chuah KH, Kuwana K, Saito K (2009) Modeling a fire whirl generated over a 5-cm-diameter methanol pool fire. Combustion and Flame 156, 1828–1833.
| Modeling a fire whirl generated over a 5-cm-diameter methanol pool fire.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Darwish Ahmad A, Akafuah NK, Forthofer J, Fuchihata M, Hirasawa T, Kuwana K, Nakamura Y, Sekimoto K, Saito K, Williams FA (2023) Large-scale fire whirl and forest fire disasters: awareness, implications, and the need for developing preventative methods. Frontiers in Mechanical Engineering 9, 1045542
| Large-scale fire whirl and forest fire disasters: awareness, implications, and the need for developing preventative methods.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dobashi R, Okura T, Nagaoka R, Hayashi Y, Mogi T (2016) Experimental study on flame height and radiant heat of fire whirls. Fire Technology 52, 1069–1080.
| Experimental study on flame height and radiant heat of fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Emmons HW, Ying SJ (1967) The fire whirl. Symposium (International) on Combustion 11, 475–488.
| The fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Emori RI, Saito K (1982) Model experiment of hazardous forest fire whirl. Fire Technology 18, 319–327.
| Model experiment of hazardous forest fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Forthofer JM (2019) Scientific American: Can scientists predict fire tornadoes? Available at https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-scientists-predict-fire-tornadoes/ [verified 1 December 2019]
Gabbert B (2019) Wildfire Today: Fire whirl filmed with infrared camera. Available at https://wildfiretoday.com/2019/04/03/fire-whirl-filmed-with-infrared-camera/ [verified 3 April 2019]
Gabbert B (2020) Wildfire Today: NWS issued fire tornado warning for Loyalton Fire northwest of Reno Saturday. Available at https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/08/16/nwsissued-fire-tornado-warning-for-loyalton-fire-northwest-of-reno-saturday/ [verified 16 August 2020]
Hartl KA, Smits AJ (2016) Scaling of a small scale burner fire whirl. Combustion and Flame 163, 202–208.
| Scaling of a small scale burner fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hassan MI, Kuwana K, Saito K, Wang F (2005) Flow structure of a fixed-frame type fire whirl. Fire Safety Science 8, 951–962.
| Flow structure of a fixed-frame type fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hayashi Y, Kuwana K, Dobashi R (2011) Influence of vortex structure on fire whirl behavior. Fire Safety Science 10, 671–679.
| Influence of vortex structure on fire whirl behavior.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Heilman WE (2021) Atmospheric turbulence in wildland fire environments: implications for fire behavior and smoke dispersion. Fire Management Today 79, 24–29.
Kuwana K, Sekimoto K, Saito K, Williams FA (2008) Scaling fire whirls. Fire Safety Journal 43, 252–257.
| Scaling fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kuwana K, Morishita S, Dobashi R, Chuah KH, Saito K (2011) The burning rate’s effect on the flame length of weak fire whirls. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 33, 2425–2432.
| The burning rate’s effect on the flame length of weak fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kuwana K, Sekimoto K, Minami T, Tashiro T, Saito K (2013) Scale-model experiments of moving fire whirl over a line fire. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34, 2625–2631.
| Scale-model experiments of moving fire whirl over a line fire.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lareau NP, Nauslar NJ, Abatzoglou JT (2018) The Carr fire vortex: a case of pyrotornadogenesis? Geophysical Research Letters 45, 13,107–13,115.
| The Carr fire vortex: a case of pyrotornadogenesis?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Zhang L, Chen H, Shu L, Chen P, Deng Z, Zhu J, Satoh K, De Ris JL (2011) Experimental research on combustion dynamics of medium-scale fire whirl. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 33, 2407–2415.
| Experimental research on combustion dynamics of medium-scale fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Zhang L, Deng Z, Akafuah NK, Li T, Saito K, Satoh K (2012) Burning rates of liquid fuels in fire whirls. Combustion and Flame 159, 2104–2114.
| Burning rates of liquid fuels in fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Satoh K (2015a) Buoyant pool fires under imposed circulations before the formation of fire whirls. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 35, 2503–2510.
| Buoyant pool fires under imposed circulations before the formation of fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Zhang L, Satoh K (2015b) Temperature, velocity and air entrainment of fire whirl plume: a comprehensive experimental investigation. Combustion and Flame 162, 745–758.
| Temperature, velocity and air entrainment of fire whirl plume: a comprehensive experimental investigation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N (2016) Reciprocal transitions between buoyant diffusion flame and fire whirl. Combustion and Flame 167, 463–471.
| Reciprocal transitions between buoyant diffusion flame and fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Jiao Y, Zhang S (2017a) Experimental investigation on flame patterns of buoyant diffusion flame in a large range of imposed circulations. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 36, 3149–3156.
| Experimental investigation on flame patterns of buoyant diffusion flame in a large range of imposed circulations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lei J, Liu N, Tu R (2017b) Flame height of turbulent fire whirls: a model study by concept of turbulence suppression. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 36, 3131–3138.
| Flame height of turbulent fire whirls: a model study by concept of turbulence suppression.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Liu N, Liu Q, Deng Z, Satoh K, Zhu J (2007) Burn-out time data analysis on interaction effects among multiple fires in fire arrays. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 31, 2589–2597.
| Burn-out time data analysis on interaction effects among multiple fires in fire arrays.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Liu N, Lei J, Gao W, Chen H, Xie X (2021) Combustion dynamics of large-scale wildfires. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 38, 157–198.
| Combustion dynamics of large-scale wildfires.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Los Angeles County Fire Department and US Forest Service (2021) Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center: Route fire rapid lesson sharing. Available at http://www.wildfirelessons.net/orphans/viewincident?DocumentKey=990d787c-f248-45d2-b503-36a819105d1f [verified 5 January 2021]
Muraszew A, Fedele JB, Kuby WC (1979) The fire whirl phenomenon. Combustion and Flame 34, 29–45.
| The fire whirl phenomenon.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Satoh K, Liu N, Xie X, Zhou K, Chen H-C, Wu J, Lei J, Lozano J (2011) CFD study of huge oil depot fires - generation of fire merging and fire whirl in (7 x 7) arrayed oil tanks. Fire Safety Science 10, 693–705.
| CFD study of huge oil depot fires - generation of fire merging and fire whirl in (7 x 7) arrayed oil tanks.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Satoh K, Viegas D, Pinto C, Tu R (2019) CFD Study of generation process and stability of a fire whirl in large-scale fires. In ‘ASME 2019 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition’, 11–14 November 2019, Salt Lake City, Utah. (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
| Crossref |
Soma S, Saito K (1991) Reconstruction of fire whirls using scale models. Combustion and Flame 86, 269–284.
| Reconstruction of fire whirls using scale models.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Thamri MA, Zinoubi J, Gannouni S, Naffouti T (2020) Investigation of the thermal behavior effect of the surrounding material environment on the swirling flame structure. Fire and Materials 44, 1044–1052.
| Investigation of the thermal behavior effect of the surrounding material environment on the swirling flame structure.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tohidi A, Gollner MJ, Xiao H (2018) Fire whirls. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics 50, 187–213.
| Fire whirls.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
US Forest Service (2022) ‘El Dorado incident-learning review narrative.’ (Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center). Available at https://www.wildfirelessons.net/orphans/viewincident?DocumentKey=18cfb96c-caf4-43e1-81c3-0f8ab6349c1 [verified 7 January 2022]
Wang P, Liu N, Bai Y, Zhang L, Satoh K, Liu X (2017) An experimental study on thermal radiation of fire whirl. International Journal of Wildland Fire 26, 693–705.
| An experimental study on thermal radiation of fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wang P, Liu N, Liu X, Yuan X (2018) Experimental study on flame wander of fire whirl. Fire Technology 54, 1369–1381.
| Experimental study on flame wander of fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Werth PA, Potter BE, Alexander ME, Clements CB, Cruz MG, Finney MA, Forthofer JM, Goodrick SL, Hoffman C, Jolly WM (2016) Synthesis of knowledge of extreme fire behavior: volume 2 for fire behavior specialists, researchers, and meteorologists. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-891. (US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station: Portland, OR)
Yang Y, Zhang H, Xia X, Zhang P, Qi F (2023) An experimental study of the blue whirl onset. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 39, 3705–3714.
| An experimental study of the blue whirl onset.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zhou R, Wu Z-N (2007) Fire whirls due to surrounding flame sources and the influence of the rotation speed on the flame height. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 583, 313–345.
| Fire whirls due to surrounding flame sources and the influence of the rotation speed on the flame height.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zhou K, Liu N, Lozano JS, Shan Y, Yao B, Satoh K (2013) Effect of flow circulation on combustion dynamics of fire whirl. Proceedings of the Combustion Institute 34, 2617–2624.
| Effect of flow circulation on combustion dynamics of fire whirl.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
