Universidad Técnica Federico Santa Marı́a

Valparaı́so, Chile
Dic. 4-9, 2022.

Experimental Workshop # 4
Ignition of a Porous Fuel Bed by an Idealized Firebrand
Professor: Pedro RESZKA
Assistant 1: Fernando EBENSPERGER
Assistant 2: Carlos ÁLVAREZ

1 Introduction
The ignition of a wildland fuel is driven by the fuel pyrolysis induced by an external heat flux and
conditions leading to a sustained combustion reaction between the pyrolysis gases and available oxygen.
After ignition, radiative and convective heat transfer may ignite surrounding fuels at ground level
and/or in tree crowns [1]. Another mechanism is spotting: the generation of new ignition points due
to firebrands landing on unburned fuel beyond the main fire front [2].
In the classical ignition theory of a solid material, thermal radiation from the environment is treated
as a boundary condition, and analytical relations for the ignition delay time in terms of incident heat
flux can thus be determined [3]. However, thermal radiation actually penetrates into porous materials,
such as wildland fuels, which makes it more difficult to obtain an analytical solution. An interesting
strategy to tackle this issue is to employ an integral transform heat transfer equation based on the
thermal equilibrium of two-phase wildland fuel layers [4].
The goals of this session are:

1. To understand how the energy balance for a solid fuel leads to a relation between the ignition
delay time and incident heat flux.

2. To compare the predicted ignition delay time of a porous fuel bed with experimental results.

3. To understand the effect of flame retardant treatment on the ignition behavior of wildland fuels.

4. To provide a qualitative understanding of the ignition and flame propagation processes using a
high-speed camera.

2 Prework
It is highly recommended to answer these questions BEFORE going to the lab.:

1. For the I-FIT bench-scale experimental setup presented below, an experiment was defined by
′′ ) and the volume fraction of forest fuel
the external heat flux on the wildland fuel boundary (q̇inc
in the sample (αk ). Demonstrate the following model [4]:

∂ T̄
′′
αk ρk cp,k = −b3 hT T̄ − T∞ + b1 q̇inc (1)
∂t

To do so, the following relations are recommended:

1
 • Total Heat Flux
′′ ′′ ′′ ′′


q̇cond,m = q̇cond,m,r , q̇cond,m,φ , q̇cond,m,z (2)
• General Energy Balance
1 ∂2T ∂2T
   
∂T 1 ∂ ∂T
αk ρk cp,k = − km r + 2 + (3)
∂t r ∂r ∂r r ∂φ2 ∂z 2
 
1 ∂ 1 ∂ ∂
− αg ρg (eg rug ) + (eg vg ) + (eg wg ) (4)
r ∂r r ∂φ ∂z
!
1 ∂ (rq̇r′′ ) 1 ∂ q̇φ′′


∂ (q̇z′′ )
− + + (5)
r ∂r r ∂φ ∂z
• Average Spatial Temperature
R l2 R l2 R r2
l1 φ1 r1 T (r, φ, z, t)rdrdφdz
T̄ (t) = R l2 R φ2 R r2 (6)
l1 φ1 r1 rdrdφdz

Hint: from these equations you should be able to get the next one:
∂ T̄ hc 2

ro q̇r′′ (ro ) − ri q̇r′′ (ri )



αk ρk cp,k =− T̄ − T∞ − 2 2
(7)
∂t lz ro − ri
• You should be able to reach the next equation:
∂ T̄ ′′
− b2 T̄ 4 − T∞
4



αk ρk cp,k = −b3 hc T̄ − T∞ + b1 q̇inc (8)
∂t
Finally we can rearrange the expression to get the initial desired expression.

2. Now, repeat the process for a forest fuel sample with volume fraction (αs ) and retardant con-
centration (Φ). Demonstrate the following model [5]:

∂T
αf dr ρa cp,d (1 + µΦ) = q̇T′′ − hR (T − T∞ ). (9)
∂t
• We can use the following Energy Balance:
 
∂ 1 ∂ ∂T 1 ∂
(αd ρd hd + αr ρr hr ) = rkf − (αg ρg hg rug ) (10)
∂t r ∂r ∂r r ∂r
• The Boundary Conditions will be:
 
∂T  ′′ ′′ ′′
−kf + αg ρg hg ug  = q̇inc − q̇conv − q̇rad (11)
∂r ri
 
∂T 
−kf + αg ρg hg ug  = 0 (12)
∂r ro

• It is recommended to use a distance parameter dr = (ro2 −ri2 )/2ri . By doing so, it is possible
to rearrange the energy balance as:
∂T ′′ ′′

4 4

dr (αd ρd cp,d + αr ρr cp,r ) = q̇inc − χq̇cri − σ T − T∞ . (13)
∂t
• Consider the following normalized expression:
Z T ig  Z T ig
µ= cp,r dT cp,d dT, (14)
T∞ T∞

After doing so, you should be able to get the initial expression.

3. What happens with Eq. 9 if the retardant concentration is zero? Is it possible to rewrite it as
the dry non-retardant scenario?.
2
 (3)G + 2q̇r′′ = 4 q̇inc
′′ 4


. (t) + σT∞
q"inc (t)
(4) G − 2q̇r′′ = 4σT∞4
.
q"r (3)
(4)

∂T

(5) −ks + αg ρg hg ug =
∂r
(6) hcomb (T (t) − T∞ )
(5) t
r
 
∂T
(6) −ks + αg ρg hg ug = 0
∂r

Figure 1: Experimental Scheme and Boundary Conditions

3 Experimental procedure
Needle litter of Pinus radiata was collected from surface of a forest, Step 1 in Fig. 2a. Sample
preparation consisted of cleaning and oven drying the material at 65◦ C during 24 h [6, 4] (Step 2
in Fig. 2a). Once the samples were dried, a solution of water and retardant was applied (Step 3
in Fig. 2a). The amount of solution applied to each sample was the dosage recommended by the
manufacturer (0.5 mL of solution per gram of dried fuel). After application, needles were dried at
48◦ C until no mass loss was detected (Fig. 2a, Step 4).

Step 1 Step 2
Pinus
Radiata

Latitude 32°56’44”S
Longitude 71°32’ 20.5” W 2 1 Linear Motor
1
2 Bassler Camera
Step 3 Step 4
3 Heater

3 4 Thermocouples
5 Pilot (Kanthal)
4 5
6 6 Radiometer
9 7
7 Basket
8 8 Data Acquisition System

9 Variac
10 10 Power Supply

(a) Methodology - Steps (b) Experimental setup

Figure 2: Methods and materials for this experiment.

′′ )
After the application procedure, the needles will be exposed to different incident heat fluxes (q̇inc
in the I-FIT apparatus (Fig. 2b). See Ref. [5] for more details on the experimental setup. The setup
uses a cylindrical heating element (cf. Fig. 2, ➂), which is inserted into a cylindrical basket (➆). The
heater position is controlled with a linear motor stage (➀). Piloted ignition is achieved using a Kanthal
wire (➄) placed 2 cm above the sample tray and connected to a power supply. A high-speed camera
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(➀) is used to observe the ignition process. Repeatability of the experimental results is ensured by the
careful control of the experimental parameters, including heater power and position, pilot wire power
and location, and by the use of baffles. See Appendix A for a detailed experimental procedure.

4 Data treatment
1. Plot ignition delay time tig (ordinates) vs. incident heat flux q̇r′′ (abscissa), for the treated and
non-treated vegetation. Comment about the effect of using a retardant treatment on the ignition
behavior of pine needles. Do your results match those shown in Ref. [5]?

2. Write a Python-based script to calculate the average temperature of the medium as a function
of time. Do this for two theoretical models: the first model considers only a porous material
with penetration of radiation into the medium (Eq. 15 in Ref. [4]), and the second one considers
a porous material with a fire retardant treatment (Eq. 9 in Ref. [5]). How would you compare
the predictions made these two models? Use the following values: b1 = 11.727, b2 = 2, 696E-06
and b3 = 21, 739.

3. Using the results obtained in the previous item, estimate the ignition delay times. Note: you
must choose an appropriate ignition temperature.

4. Compare the experimental data with those obtained from the approximate solution and the
analytical solution (these data will be provided by the staff).

5. Determine effective material properties by plotting 1/t vs. q̇e′′ .

6. Use the high-speed camera images to give a qualitative explanation of the ignition process. Do
you notice any differences between the treated and non-treated fuels?

7. Write a short report indicating only your main results and conclusions.

References
[1] E. Pastor, L. Zárate, E. Planas, J. Arnaldos, Mathematical models and calculation systems for
the study of wildland fire behaviour, Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 29 (2) (2003)
139–153. doi:10.1016/S0360-1285(03)00017-0.

[2] A. C. Fernandez-Pello, Wildland fire spot ignition by sparks and firebrands, Fire Safety Journal
91 (2017) 2–10. doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.2017.04.040.

[3] J. Torero, Flaming ignition of solid fuels, in: M. J. Hurley (Ed.), SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection
Engineering, Springer, 2016, Ch. 21, pp. 633–661.

[4] J. Rivera, N. Hernández, J. Consalvi, P. Reszka, J. Contreras, A. Fuentes, Ignition of wildland

fuels by idealized firebrands, Fire Safety Journal 120 (2021) 103036. doi:10.1016/j.firesaf.
2020.103036.

[5] J. Rivera, F. Ebensperger, F. Valenzuela, L. Escandar, P. Reszka, A. Fuentes, Understanding the

role of fire retardants on the discontinuous ignition of wildland fuels, Proceedings of the Combustion
Institute (2022). doi:10.1016/j.proci.2022.09.067.

[6] P. Reszka, J. Cruz, J. Valdivia, F. González, J. Rivera, C. Carvajal, A. Fuentes, Ignition delay
times of live and dead pinus radiata needles, Fire Safety J. 112 (2020) 102948.

4
A Step-by-step procedure
• Carefully follow the safety instructions delivered by the staff (professor and assistants).

• Understand the experimental setup and devices: power supply, linear motor, heater and data
acquisition devices.

• An example will be carried out by the staff in order to produce the ignition of a fuel bed. This
includes preparing the fuel bed sample, setting the heater power and explaining the procedure
to acquire data.

• Experimental steps:

1. Fill two baskets with a given mass of dried pine needles to produce a fuel bed sample.
2. Move the heater to the higher position.
3. Put one fuel bed below the heater.
4. Turn on the heater, set a heating power, initiate the LabView and wait until the heater
reaches a steady temperature.
5. Move the heater to the lowest position in the center of the fuel bed. Time and voltage must
be recorded.
6. Observe the fuel bed while it is being heated and write the observations that you consider
relevant.
7. Stop the time recording when ignition occurs. The experiment is successful if ignition
occurred in the majority of the fuel bed. If ignition occurred because a pine needle touched
the heater, the experiment must be repeated.
8. Move the heater to the higher position.
9. Carefully remove the fuel bed burned from the basket and fill with dried pine needles.
10. Repeat the procedure from step (4) with a different heating power between 8 and 24 kW/m2 ,
at least 2 more times.
11. Repeat the procedure from step (1) now with dried pine needles with retardant.