Heat and mass transfer in wooden dowels during a simulated fire: An experimental and analytical study

An experimental and analytical study of heat and mass transfer in wooden dowels during a simulated fire is presented in this paper. The goal of this study is to understand the processes of heat and mass transfer in wood during wildland fires. A mathematical model is developed to describe the processes of heating, drying and pyrolysis of wood until ignition occurs. The governing equations of the model consist of a set of mass conservation equations for each species present (wood, water, air and released hydrocarbons), a momentum equation (Darcy's Law), and an overall energy conservation equation. The equations of the model were solved numerically for the temperature, mass loss, moisture content, gas densities and pressure histories. The results of the mathematical model were verified experimentally using wooden dowels made of birch. The experiments were conducted in a specially designed wind tunnel equipped with radiant heating panels to simulate a fire flame. Air with a velocity of 2.2 m s(-1), simulating a typical wind during a real fire situation, was allowed to flow across the dowel. Time to ignition, temperature history and mass loss of the wooden dowels were measured in the experiments. A comparison between the experimental and analytical results showed good agreement. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.