Influence des brandons sur la propagation dʹun feu de forêt

A two-dimensional weighed-site small-world network is proposed to study the action of firebrands (lofted flaming or glowing debris) on fire spread through homogeneous or heterogeneous systems. The firebrand emission distance obeys an exponentially-decreasing distribution law. For homogeneous systems, the effect of firebrands is strengthened when the fire impact length decreases and the characteristic firebrand emission distance increases. As a result, jumps in the rate of spread appear and time oscillations in the burning area can occur. For heterogeneous systems, this effect becomes weaker as the degree of disorder and the distance of firebrand emission increase. The influence of characteristic lengths of radiation, firebrand emission, and medium heterogeneity on fire spread is discussed. To cite this article: B. Porterie et al., C. R. Physique 6 (2005).