Warning signals for eruptive events in spreading fires
Abstract
As flames spread through forests, buildings, or other complex environments, they can erupt, unexpectedly, into fast-moving conflagrations. This study presents evidence that characteristic patterns in the behavior of spreading flames may indicate when such eruptions are likely to occur. Our results rely on the detection of a phenomenon termed “critical slowing down”—the slowed recovery of multistable systems from perturbations as those systems approach tipping points. Using a bistable combustion system in which flames propagate either as small, slowly moving flames, or as large, rapidly moving flames stabilized by feedback between wind and fire, we provide evidence that slowing responses of spreading flames to sudden changes in environment (e.g., wind, terrain) may anticipate the onset of intense, feedback-stabilized modes of propagation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 09, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.1417043112
Entities
People
- George M. Whitesides
- Jerome M Fox
Organizations
- Harvard University
- John Templeton Foundation
- Office of Basic Energy Sciences