Читать книгу Heat-Its Role in Wildland Fire - Clive M. Countryman - Страница 12

Table of Contents

Earlier we saw that three ingredients—fuel, heat, and oxygen—are needed for a fire to start and to burn. Enough oxygen for combustion is almost always available in our wildland areas, and fuel is usually abundant. However, we cannot have a fire until the third ingredient, heat, is added—usually in the form of a firebrand of some sort. But the mere presence of a heat source does not necessarily mean that a fire will start. For a flaming or hot firebrand to start a fire, some of its heat must be transferred in some way to the fuel. And if the fire is to continue to burn and to grow, heat must be transferred to the unburned fuel around the fire. Hence, heat transfer is essential for wildland fire.

In this discussion, we have been concerned only with some of the basic characteristics of heat itself. In future reports the elements of heat transfer and its effects on the combustion process, fire behavior, and fire control will be explored.