MODELING OF 2-DIMENSIONAL FLAME SPREAD ACROSS A SLOPING FUEL BED

A significant contributing factor to wildland fire development is the slope effect which causes the fire spread rate to increase considerabl y as compared to horizontal spread. This leads to difficulties in dete rmining the development of the fires hence in coordinating forest figh ting efforts. In the present study, a two-dimensional non-stationary m odel for a fire spreading across a sloping fuel bed made up of Pinus p inaster litter is described. Based on a series of hypotheses, we first defined a medium equivalent to the pine needle litter for which we pr ovided a thermal balance. By coupling this balance to a diffusion dame model we obtained the fire spread model numerically solved by means o f the SIMPLEC procedure. The fire spread rates given by the simulation s were then compared to experimental results generated by small-scale laboratory fires for a range of slope values. Predicted flow field str ucture, and temperature held are also discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.