In-field determination of drag through grass for a forest-fire simulation model
| Autor: | T. G. Keith, R. R. Linn, P. M. Kenney, T. T. Ng |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment. |
| ISSN: | 1743-3541 1746-448X |
| Popis: | Forest-fire simulation modelers need fluid-drag data for ground vegetation; however, very little such data is to be found. Further, the gathering of such data using experimental facilities such as large flumes is time, labor, and equipment intensive. This paper presents an initial investigation of a plant-drag measurement procedure which can be carried directly to native plant communities. Instead of using large flumes and potted plants with load cells attached, this work will verify that a portable wind tunnel can be used to determine the difference in total pressure across a stand of vegetation. The total pressure difference can then be equated to the drag through that stand and a drag coefficient determined as a function of the Reynolds number. Vegetal parameters considered in determining a drag coefficient are percentage cover, fractal dimension, and lacunarity. Vorticity and flow through the plant canopy causing plant oscillation are not considered because of the limited height of the tunnel used and because of honeycomb flow straighteners used in the apparatus which destroy vorticity and alter the velocity profile. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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