Abstract
A mathematical model called BUOYANT has previously been developed for the evaluation of the dispersion of positively buoyant plumes originating from major warehouse fires. The model addresses the variations of the cross-plume integrated properties of a rising plume in a vertically varying atmosphere and the atmospheric dispersion after the plume rise regime. We have described in this article an extension of the BUOYANT model to include a detailed treatment of the early evolution of the fire plumes, before the plume rise and atmospheric dispersion regimes. The model input and output consist of selected characteristics of forest or pool fires, and the properties of a source term for the plume rise module, respectively. The main model structure of this source term model is based on the differential equations for low-momentum releases of buoyant material, which govern the evolution of the plume radius, velocity and density differences. The model is also partially based on various experimental results on fire plumes. We have evaluated the refined BUOYANT model by comparing the model predictions against the experimental field-scale data of the Prescribed Fire Combustion and Atmospheric Dynamics Research Experiment, RxCADRE. The predicted concentrations of CO2 agreed fairly well with the aircraft measurements conducted in the RxCADRE campaign. We have also compiled an operational version of the model. The operational model can be used for emergency contingency planning and for the training of emergency personnel, in case of major forest and pool fires.
Highlights
25 The dispersing fire plumes can represent a substantial hazard on the health of people and the state of the environment, in addition to the direct effects of major fires at the accident sites
The main model structure of this source term model is based on the differential 15 equations for low-momentum releases of buoyant material, which govern the evolution of the plume radius, velocity and density differences
We have presented a refined version of a mathematical model, BUOYANT, which has been designed for analyzing the formation and dispersion of plumes originating from major fires
Summary
25 The dispersing fire plumes can represent a substantial hazard on the health of people and the state of the environment, in addition to the direct effects of major fires at the accident sites. 115 2.1 Overview of the modelling system The BUOYANT model is applicable for evaluating the initial plume rise and atmospheric dispersion of pollutants originated from buoyant sources. The plume rise predictions of the BUOYANT model have previously been evaluated against two 140 experimental field data sets regarding prescribed wild-land fires (Kukkonen et al, 2014). These were the “Smoke, Clouds and Radiation – California” experiment (SCAR-C) in Quinault in the US in 1994 (e.g. Kaufman et al, 1996; Gassó and Hegg, 1998) and an experiment in Hyytiälä in Finland in 2009 (e.g., Virkkula et al, 2014a and 2014b). The model equations do not contain free parameters that could 155 be adjusted according to the measured values
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