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.

Deliverables
The end product will be a fully functional ember generator capable of outputting a steady stream of embers for 15 minutes without refueling.

Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, our client requested a 35%, 65%, and 95% design. The 35% design is our initial design. After testing this prototype we will gather client feedback and redesign for the 65% benchmark and repeat this process for the 95% design. After building this model we will modify it to our client's specifications and deliver a final product.

Specifications
=Design Considerations= {|width="80%" border="0" Our initial design, based partially on the NIST Baby Dragon, has a hopper with a motorized wheel to feed woodchips to a mesh holder. A propane flame ignites the woodchips from below and a blower attached to the side of the flame lifts the embers up the vertical stove pipe. An additional blower or wind tunnel can be attached to the top of the set up to blow embers horizontally downwind.

Woodchip Feed System
The initial design for the wheel feeding system is a motorized shaft with four metal pegs which hold silicon fins that fill the diameter of the square hole between a hopper that holds the woodchips and the piping to the propane flame. Silicon was chosen because it is heat resistant and flexible, reducing clogging from larger woodchips.


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=Project Learning= Our client gave us access to the Idaho Fire Lab, a concrete building used by the College of Natural Resources to study fire behavior, throughout the semester to test our designs.

Third Test
=Final Design=

=Validation=

=Team Members=

=Additional Documentation=

Project Schedule Project Schedule

Meeting Minutes Minutes Folder

Presentations

Client Interview