Luqing Zhu - PhD Proposal Presentation (FPE)

Fire Protection Engineering Department

PhD Proposal Presentation

Monday, May 12, 2025

1:00 p.m. – 2:30 pm

50 Prescott Street, Gateway II, Room 1226

Zoom link: https://wpi.zoom.us/j/6618555176   

Luqing Zhu

Ph.D. Candidate in Fire Protection Engineering

Spot Ignition of Structural Fuels by Firebrand

Accumulations

Firebrand spotting is known as an important wildfire spread mechanism in both wildland and wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires over the past few decades. During this process, firebrands are transported downwind where they may ignite receptive fuels (wildland fuels or structures) both near and far away from the flame front. When firebrands land nearby and accumulate into groups or piles, they can act as a more competent ignition source compared to single firebrands. The focus of the research presented in this proposal is on the goals of studying the physical mechanisms controlling the abilities of firebrand groups to heat and ignite structural fuels. The first goal aims to bridge the diagnostic gap in measuring physical and thermal properties of flying firebrands generated from burning natural vegetation through an optical methodology. It is a crucial step toward predicting and modeling where firebrands will accumulate and in what concentrations, with important characteristics quantified to indicate the initial ignition potential of firebrand groups. The second goal focuses on studying how close firebrands need to be for acting as a group with enhanced heating ability. The importance of cooperative spot ignition effect due to proximity of two idealized firebrands was elucidated through experiments and numerical pyrolysis modeling. The last goal further focused on analyzing the ignition ability of glowing firebrand groups (more than two) by considering a broader parameter space. Theoretical models were presented to account for the complex burning and spotting behaviors of firebrands within well-characterized accumulations.