- Author
- Albini, F. A. | Latham, D. J. | Baughman, R. G.
- Title
- Estimating Upslope Convective Windspeeds for Predicting Wildland Fire Behavior.
- Coporate
- Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Ogden, UT
- Report
- Research Paper INT-257, July 1982, 22 p.
- Distribution
- AVAILABLE FROM National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. Telephone: 1-800-553-6847 or 703-605-6000; Fax: 703-605-6900; Rush Service (Telephone Orders Only) 800-553-6847; Website: http://www.ntis.gov
- Keywords
- wildland fires | wind velocity | fire behavior | mathematical models | temperature | humidity | equations | fuel beds | flame height
- Identifiers
- slope wind; wind model results; midflame wind speeds; convective slope wind model; midflame wind speed values
- Abstract
- A mathematical model is developed that describes the convective flow of air up a sun-heated open slope under conditions of general calm. The model predicts quantitatively most of the features of the "slope wind" long recognized by practitioners of fire behavior and fire weather prediction. A limited first test of the model gave encouraging results. The model is applied to the calculation of mid-flame windspeeds for stylized fuel models used in current wildland fire behavior prediction techniques. Equations, graphs, and tabulated midflame windspeeds are presented. Further testing is needed to validate the predictions of the model; in the interim, the tables given here can be used as the best presently available data.