An adapted bench-scale Mass Loss Calorimeter (MLC) device for evaluating forest fuel flammability and combustion properties is proposed. This fire test apparatus consists of an MLC fitted with a chimney containing a thermopile. After the thermopile output has been calibrated by use of a methane burner, these data are used to quantify heat release, as an alternative to the classical measurement of oxygen consumption due to combustion. The results showed good repeatability and reasonable approximation to HRR values obtained with a cone calorimeter, and also demonstrated that each variable analyzed was significantly affected by the species considered.

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An adapted bench-scale Mass Loss Calorimeter (MLC) device is proposed for evaluating effective heat of rapid flaming combustion of fine Mediterranean forest fuels. The MLC apparatus uses a calibrated thermopile to quantify heat release rate (HRR) as an alternative to the classical oxygen consumption measurement. A porous holder was used to simulate rapid flaming combustion. Average effective heat of combustion (AEHC) during the flaming phase was related to the classical measurement of gross heat of combustion (GHC) obtained in oxygen bomb calorimeter. Results showed that the effective heat of combustion (oven-dry basis) was between 18% and 44% lower than the gross heat of combustion. A linear regression was obtained (r 2 = 0.48; SEE = 1.25; p < 0.01; n = 26) to relate AEHC and GHC values. The simple model developed (AEHC = GHC -6.75) suggests the possibility of reducing the heat of combustion values used in forest fire behaviour models for Mediterranean forest fuels.

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