A NEW METHOD TO ESTIMATE FUEL SURFACE AREA-TO-VOLUME RATIO USING WATER IMMERSION

A fast, simple, low cost and general technique for estimating fuel sur face area-to-volume ratio was developed. It requires the knowledge of particle density, the determination of fuel weight before and after im mersion in water, and theoretical thickness of the adsorbed water pell icle that is assumed constant. Estimates by the technique were consist ent and in good agreement with published surface area-to-volume ratios for the same fuels obtained through commonly used methods, and its pe rformance is judged appropriate for the current fire behaviour modelin g needs. The water immersion technique was applied to five common shru b species in Portugal. Limitations and possibilities for improvement o f the newly developed technique are discussed.