A volatile organic compounds flammability approach for accelerating forest fires

Abstract

In this paper the accelerating forest fire phenomenon for three real accidents is investigated. This phenomenon is studied using the hypothesis of the ignition of a Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) cloud accumulated in canyons. By heating a Rosmarinus officinalis plant in a specific hermetic enclosure, fourteen VOCs are identified and quantified as temperature functions. The theoretical flammability limits of those components are calculated by means of empirical correlations. Froude scaling law is applied to present laboratory results to find the concentrations of VOCs at canyon scale. The comparison of the flammability limits with the obtained concentrations shows that the emitted VOCs can lead to an accelerating forest fire. © 2010 WIT Press.