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An emergency response model for the formation and dispersion of plumes originating from major fires (BUOYANT v4.20)
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 (i.e., the average properties along a trajectory) of...
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Published in: | Geoscientific Model Development 2022-05, Vol.15 (10), p.4027-4054 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | 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 (i.e., the average properties along
a trajectory) 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 input and output of the new module
consist of selected characteristics of forest or pool fires and the
properties of a source term for the plume rise module, respectively. The
main structure of this source term module is based on the differential
equations for low-momentum releases of buoyant material, which govern the
evolution of the plume radius, as well as velocity and density differences. The source
term module 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 from 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 the training of emergency personnel in
case of major forest and pool fires. |
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ISSN: | 1991-9603 1991-959X 1991-962X 1991-9603 1991-962X |
DOI: | 10.5194/gmd-15-4027-2022 |