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Autoignition of Dead Shrub Twigs: Influence of Diameter on Ignition

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Abstract

The effect of the diameter of dead twigs of Cistus monspeliensis on their ignition was studied experimentally and theoretically. Autoignition experiments were carried out in a cone calorimeter. The ignition time, surface temperature before ignition, flame residence time, smoldering time and mass loss were measured. The particles were classified into two groups based on their ignitability. The first group contained the most flammable twigs, which had diameters smaller than or equal to 4 mm, along with leaves. The second one included twigs with diameters equal to or larger than 5 mm. For a radiant heat flux of 50 kW/m2, the 4-mm value appeared to be the upper limit for the size of the particles potentially involved in the spread dynamics of wildfires. However, bark detachment was observed on the thickest twigs, which greatly decreased their ignition time. Two ignition criteria were investigated: the ignition temperature and critical mass flux. The ignition temperature increased with the twig diameter, showing that this quantity should be carefully considered in ignition models. A thermal ignition model was proposed to determine the ignition time of twigs according to their diameter. The critical mass flux appeared to be fairly constant for any fuel diameter and could also be convenient for modeling the ignition of shrub fuels.

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Abbreviations

a:

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

cp :

Specific heat [J/(kg K)]

d:

Diameter of the flame base (m)

D:

Diameter (mm)

f:

Ratio of the cross sectional area occupied by twigs to the total cross sectional area of the sample (–)

F fl-med :

View factor between the flame and the top of the medium

g:

Acceleration of gravity (m/s2)

h:

Heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2 K)]

H:

Flame height (m)

HRR:

Heat release rate (W)

L:

Length (m)

\( {\dot{\text{m}}} \) :

Mass loss rate (kg/s)

n:

Number of twigs

N(βm):

Norm of the eigenfunctions

Nu:

Nusselt number (−)

\( \dot{q}^{\prime\prime} \) :

Density of radiant heat flux (W/m2)

Ra:

Rayleigh number (–)

t:

Time (s)

T:

Temperature (°C)

X(βm,z):

Eigenfunctions

z:

Vertical coordinate (m)

α:

Absorptivity (–)

β:

Volumetric thermal expansion coefficient (K−1)

βm :

Eigenvalues

\( {\Delta }H_{{{\text{c}},{\text{net}}}} \) :

Net heat of combustion (J/kg)

ε:

Emissivity (–)

λ:

Thermal conductivity [W/(m K)]

ν:

Kinematic viscosity (m2/s)

ρ:

Density (kg/m2)

θ:

Variable change \( \theta = T - T_{\infty } \) (°C)

\( \chi \) :

Combustion efficiency (–)

τ:

Reflectivity (−)

∞:

Ambient

0:

Steady state problem

1:

Homogenous problem

air:

Air

b:

Bottom size

bot:

Burn out time

c:

Characteristic

cone:

Cone calorimeter

conv:

Convective

crit:

Critical

ign:

Ignition

f:

Film

fl:

Flame

frt:

Flame residence time

med:

Medium equivalent to the twigs

rad:

Radiant

smt:

Smoldering time

tw:

Twig

u:

Upper side

T:

Total

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SPE-UMR 6134 CNRS, University of Corsica, Campus Grimaldi, BP 52, 20250, Corte, France

    Virginie Tihay-Felicelli, Paul-Antoine Santoni, Toussaint Barboni & Lara Leonelli

Authors
  1. Virginie Tihay-Felicelli
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  2. Paul-Antoine Santoni
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  3. Toussaint Barboni
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  4. Lara Leonelli
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Correspondence to Virginie Tihay-Felicelli.

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Tihay-Felicelli, V., Santoni, PA., Barboni, T. et al. Autoignition of Dead Shrub Twigs: Influence of Diameter on Ignition. Fire Technol 52, 897–929 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-015-0514-x

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