Ember Generator for Fire Behavior Research

The goal of this project is to create an ember generating device which mimics the output of firebrands at the wildland urban interface during wildfires. This ember generator will be used by researchers and students at the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources in fire behavior studies and testing of fire-resistant materials.

=Problem Definition= Ember generation is a byproduct of fires. Wildfires are expanded through the emission of embers which start spot fires downwind. Embers emitted from wildfires can cause structure fires at the wildland urban interface. Understanding how these embers interact with natural and human-made material is important in stopping the spread of wildfires and designing fire-resistant construction materials for buildings. Researchers need a way of observing and testing controlled ember-structure interactions that is realistic to wildfire scenarios and can be scaled down and made safe.

Background
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a Standard Firebrand Generator (The Dragon) and later a Reduced‐Scale Continuous Feed Firebrand Generator (The Baby Dragon). We used their Baby Dragon schematic, shown here, as a starting point for our design.

Value Proposition Statement
Wildfires are responsible billions of dollars in damage per year, but a better understanding of how these fires interact with materials could greatly limit these costs in the future. With the goal of better understanding of wildfires and their impact, an ember generator is being designed to output firebrands at a flux equivalent to that seen in wildfires. This will allow for testing and research of an accurate, scaled down wildland fire scenario. It has been shown to be difficult to accurately recreate these scenarios in a lab setting but having a system that can do this will be helpful in a further understanding of forest fire damage. Our group will design and build a working ember generator to meet the requirements needed for physical testing of wildfire impact on structural materials.

Specifications
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Project Schedule



Meeting Minutes

Presentations

Client Interview