Abstract
New skeletal chemical kinetic models have been obtained by reducing a detailed model for the gas-phase combustion of Douglas Fir pyrolysis products. The skeletal models are intended to reduce the cost of high-resolution wildland fire simulations, without substantially affecting accuracy. The reduction begins from a 137 species, 4533 reaction detailed model for combustion of gas-phase biomass pyrolysis products, and is performed using the directed relation graph with error propagation and sensitivity analysis method, followed by further reaction elimination. The reduction process tracks errors in the ignition delay time and peak temperature for combustion of gas-phase products resulting from the pyrolysis of Douglas Fir. Three skeletal models are produced as a result of this process, corresponding to a larger 71 species, 1179 reaction model with less than 1\% error in ignition delay time compared to the detailed model, an intermediate 54 species, 637 reaction model with 24\% error, and a smaller 54 species, 204 reaction model with 80\% error. Using the skeletal models, peak temperature, volumetric heat release rate, premixed laminar flame speed, and diffusion flame extinction temperatures are compared with the detailed model, revealing an average maximum error in these metrics across all conditions considered of less than 1\% for the larger skeletal model, 10\% for the intermediate model, and 24\% for the smaller model. All three skeletal models are thus sufficiently accurate and computationally efficient for implementation in high-resolution wildland fire simulations, where other model errors and parametric uncertainties are likely to be greater than the errors introduced by the reduced kinetic models presented here.
Highlights
In order to reduce the computational cost of high-fidelity numerical simulations of wildland fire, computationally efficient—yet still physically accurate—reduced chemical kinetic models are required for the prediction of gas-phase combustion
There is a growing trend in wildland fire research toward physics-based models (Linn et al, 2002, 2010; Sullivan, 2009; Mell et al, 2010; Morvan, 2011), these models remain limited by the daunting challenge of incorporating the physics of wildland fuel combustion in landscape-scale numerical simulations that are coupled to atmospheric dynamics and weather (Coen et al, 2013)
Three new skeletal chemical kinetic models have been developed and validated for the combustion of gas-phase products resulting from the pyrolysis of Douglas Fir
Summary
In order to reduce the computational cost of high-fidelity numerical simulations of wildland fire, computationally efficient—yet still physically accurate—reduced chemical kinetic models are required for the prediction of gas-phase combustion. We present three such skeletal models for the combustion of gas-phase products resulting from the pyrolysis of Douglas Fir. The computational savings enabled by these models are substantial when compared to detailed models, making the skeletal models suitable for wildland fire simulations spanning large spatial and temporal scale ranges. The computational savings enabled by these models are substantial when compared to detailed models, making the skeletal models suitable for wildland fire simulations spanning large spatial and temporal scale ranges The need for such scale-resolving simulations arises from the considerable environmental and economic cost of wildland fires, as well as the difficulty in establishing future mitigation and Reduced Douglas Fir Kinetic Models avoidance strategies. There is a growing trend in wildland fire research toward physics-based models (Linn et al, 2002, 2010; Sullivan, 2009; Mell et al, 2010; Morvan, 2011), these models remain limited by the daunting challenge of incorporating the physics of wildland fuel combustion in landscape-scale numerical simulations that are coupled to atmospheric dynamics and weather (Coen et al, 2013)
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