Ai. Zvyagilskaya et An. Subbotin, INFLUENCE OF MOISTURE-CONTENT AND HEAT AND MASS-EXCHANGE WITH THE SURROUNDING MEDIUM ON THE CRITICAL CONDITIONS OF INITIATION OF SURFACE FIRE, Combustion, explosion, and shock waves, 32(5), 1996, pp. 558-564
Ignition of a layer of combustible forest materials (CFM) by a cylindr
ical heat source is considered. Critical values of the radius of a bra
nd at which the brand can cause a surface fire are determined on the b
asis of numerical calculations. Dependences of the critical radius on
moisture content and on conditions of heat and mass exchange between t
he CFM layer and the surrounding medium are determined. An assessment
is made of how neglect of both the internal structure of the brand and
the processes occurring in it influence the critical size. It is foun
d that initially heterogeneous ignition of the brand occurs, and then
it is followed by ignition of litter.