A review of thermal exposure and fire spread mechanisms in large outdoor fires and the built environment

Filkov, Alexander I.; Tihay‐Felicelli, Virginie; Masoudvaziri, Nima; Rush, David; Valencia, Andrés; Wang, Y.; Blunck, David L.; Valero, Miguel Ángel; Kempna, Kamila; Smolka, Jan; Beer, Jacques O. De; Campbell-Lochrie, Zakary J.; Centeno, Felipe Roman; Ibrahim, Muhammad Asim; Lemmertz, Calisa Katiuscia; Tam, Wai Cheong

doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.2023.103871

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 210 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Following Jarrin et al [44], the characteristic length scale and the count of turbulent eddies at the inlet were calculated. In this particular instance, the length scale of the eddies was determined as three times the cell length of the inlet domain (3 × 1.5 m), and the number of eddies (≈300) was calculated by dividing the area of the inlet domain by the square of the length scale ((102 m × 60 m)/(4.5 m) 2 ). The wind velocity U 10 is measured at X = −80 m at the open land to avoid the effect of turbulence forming at the front edge (X = 0 m) of the vegetation region.…”

Section: Wind Flow Development Using the Atmospheric Profilementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firebrands are identified as burning fragments of vegetation (twigs, leaves, bark, and cones) or construction materials [1,2] that can be lofted high into the atmosphere by fire-induced buoyancy and then transported by wind over distances ranging from a few metres to a few kilometres [3]. Once the firebrands land on a combustible fuel bed or a structure, they can start new fires (secondary ignitions) away from the primary fire [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Quantifying Firebrand and Radiative Heat Flux Risk on Structures in Mallee/Mulga-Dominated Wildland–Urban Interface: A Physics-Based Approach

Wickramasinghe,

Khan,

Filkov

et al. 2023

Fire

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fire spread in the Wildland–Urban Interface (WUI) can occur due to direct flame contact, convection, radiation, firebrand attack, or their combinations. Out of them, firebrand attack significantly contributes to damaging structures. To improve the resistance of buildings in wildfire-prone areas, the Australian Standards AS3959 provides construction requirements introducing Bushfire Attack Levels (BAL) based on quantified radiation heat flux. However, quantifying firebrand attack presents challenges, and the standard does not provide specific recommendations in this regard. This study aims to address this research gap by quantifying firebrand flux on houses according to the BALs in Mallee/Mulga-dominated vegetation using physics-based modelling. The study follows the AS3959 vegetation classifications and fire-weather conditions. The study considers Fire Danger Indices (FDI) of 100, 80, and 50 and identifies the housing components most susceptible to firebrand attack and radiant heat flux. The findings reveal an increasing firebrand flux with higher BAL values across all FDIs, with a greater percentage difference observed between FDIs 50 and 80 compared to FDIs 80 and 100. Furthermore, an exponential relationship is found between radiative heat flux and firebrand flux. This research contributes the development of effective strategies to mitigate the firebrand danger and enhance the resilience of structures to enhance AS3959.

show abstract

Section: Wind Flow Development Using the Atmospheric Profilementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Firebrand and Radiative Heat Flux Risk on Structures in Mallee/Mulga-Dominated Wildland–Urban Interface: A Physics-Based Approach

Wickramasinghe,

Khan,

Filkov

et al. 2023

Fire

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Thermal and calorimetric investigations of some vegetative fuels

Moinuddin,

Arun,

Filkov

et al. 2024

Fire and Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bushfires pose a significant threat to numerous countries, often causing vast property damages and loss of lives. Efforts to combat and manage these fires heavily rely on predicting the fires' rate of spread and intensity. A significant component of these predictions involves understanding the thermophysical characteristics of vegetative fuels. The accuracy of predictive models (especially physical models) also depends on obtaining precise thermophysical and combustion parameters. This research aims to provide a comprehensive set of thermal degradation and combustion parameters for surface and near‐surface fuel samples collected during prescribed fire experiment conducted in April 2022 in Little Desert National Park, Victoria, Australia. Firstly, fuel properties like fuel height, moisture content, bulk density, fuel load and heat of combustion were meticulously characterized for both surface and near‐surface samples. Then activation energies for degradation reactions were determined using the Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method and for the determination of pre‐exponential factors, in most cases these reactions closely aligned with a Second order model. This was followed by determination of other parameters such as heat of reaction, specific heat and conductivity. It was found that the density, activation energy and heat of combustion did not vary significantly across the six samples under question. The comprehensive set of obtained parameters will likely help to facilitate better predictions in fire propagation modelling.

show abstract

Influence of fuel moisture content on the burning of cistus shrubs exposed to a low-intensity fire

Luciani,

Tihay-Felicelli,

Martinent

et al. 2024

Fire Safety Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A review of thermal exposure and fire spread mechanisms in large outdoor fires and the built environment

Cited by 9 publications

References 210 publications

Quantifying Firebrand and Radiative Heat Flux Risk on Structures in Mallee/Mulga-Dominated Wildland–Urban Interface: A Physics-Based Approach

Quantifying Firebrand and Radiative Heat Flux Risk on Structures in Mallee/Mulga-Dominated Wildland–Urban Interface: A Physics-Based Approach

Thermal and calorimetric investigations of some vegetative fuels

Influence of fuel moisture content on the burning of cistus shrubs exposed to a low-intensity fire

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About