Experimental and Numerical Studies of Suppression of Forest Combustible Material Pyrolysis under Influence of Steam-Water Curtain

Abstract

Forest fires inflict enormous damage to the environment and the economy of many countries around the world. This paper presents the results of experimental and numerical studies of the suppression of the pyrolysis reaction of forest combustible materials (birch leaves, spruce needles) under the influence of water vapor. The dependences of the characteristic times of suppression of the thermal decomposition and the complete decomposition of forest combustible material on the thickness of its layer were established. We used typical model of fire source with fixed height 0.04 m and varied diameter 0.02–0.06 m. The processes of suppressing the pyrolysis reaction of forest combustible materials were recorded using a high-speed video camera (recording frequency 6∙105 fps). Numerical studies were conducted using Ansys Fluent and Matlab. The obtained results are important for the development of technologies of extinguishing forest bottom fires.