Investigating Coupled Effect of Radiative Heat Flux and Firebrand Showers on Ignition of Fuel Beds

Fire spread occurs via radiation, flame contact, and firebrands. While firebrand showers are known to be a cause of spot fires which ignite fuels far from the main fire front, in the case of short distance spot fires, radiation from the main fire may play a role for firebrand induced ignition processes. Many past investigations have focused on singular effects on fire spread, and little is known about coupled effects. The coupled effect of radiative heat flux and firebrand showers on ignition processes of fuel beds is studied by using a newly developed experimental protocol. The newly developed protocol includes the addition of a radiant panel to the existing experimental setup of a firebrand generator coupled to a wind facility. Experiments were performed under an applied wind field, as the wind is a key parameter in large outdoor fire spread processes. Results show that radiant heat flux plays an important role for ignition by firebrands under 6 m/s while little effect was observed under 8 m/s.