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@article{Huang:2016:10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.01.017,
author = {Huang, X and Restuccia, F and Gramola, M and Rein, G},
doi = {10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.01.017},
journal = {Combustion and Flame},
pages = {393--402},
title = {Experimental study of the formation and collapse of an overhang in the lateral spread of smouldering peat fires},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.01.017},
volume = {168},
year = {2016}
}
TY - JOUR
AB - Smouldering combustion is the driving phenomenon of wildfires in peatlands, and is responsible for large amounts of carbon emissions and haze episodes world wide. Compared to flaming fires, smouldering is slow, low-temperature, flameless, and most persistent, yet it is poorly understood. Peat, as a typical organic soil, is a porous and charring natural fuel, thus prone to smouldering. The spread of smouldering peat fire is a multidimensional phenomenon, including two main components: in-depth vertical and surface lateral spread. In this study, we investigate the lateral spread of peat fire under various moisture and wind conditions. Visual and infrared cameras as well as a thermocouple array are used to measure the temperature profile and the spread rate. For the first time the overhang, where smouldering spreads fastest beneath the free surface, is observed in the laboratory, which helps understand the interaction between oxygen supply and heat losses. The periodic formation and collapse of overhangs is observed. The overhang thickness is found to increase with moisture and wind speed, while the spread rate decreases with moisture and increases with wind speed. A simple theoretical analysis is proposed and shows that the formation of overhang is caused by the spread rate difference between the top and lower peat layers as well as the competition between oxygen supply and heat losses.
AU - Huang,X
AU - Restuccia,F
AU - Gramola,M
AU - Rein,G
DO - 10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.01.017
EP - 402
PY - 2016///
SN - 0010-2180
SP - 393
TI - Experimental study of the formation and collapse of an overhang in the lateral spread of smouldering peat fires
T2 - Combustion and Flame
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.combustflame.2016.01.017
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010218016000304
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/28520
VL - 168
ER -
Phone:
+44 (0)20 7594 7036
Email:
g.rein@imperial.ac.uk
Address:
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
City & Guilds Building,
South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK