DOI: 10.1615/ICHMT.2012.ProcSevIntSympTurbHeatTransfPal
ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-302-4
ISSN: 2377-2816
Large eddy simulation (LES) of surface fire propagating through homogeneous grasslands
ABSTRACT
The propagation of surface fire through homogeneous vegetation (grass) was simulated in 3D using a multiphase formulation and a LES approach. Formally the problem was approached, in considering that the coupled system formed by the vegetation and the surrounding atmosphere, can be assimilated as a sparse porous medium. The set of balance equations for mass, momentum, and energy, governing the behaviour of this system, was derived using a procedure similar to a homogenization method. Numerical simulations of surface fires were carried out on a flat terrain, in homogeneous combustible (grassland), in conditions similar than observed during experimental fires conducted in Australia. A large set of wind conditions U10 (evaluated 10m above the ground level and ranged between 1 and 10 m/s) has been tested. Various fire characteristics, such as the rate of spread and the fireline intensity, were compared with experimental data and other previous results from the literature.