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Project
Developing an instrument to measure wildfire intensity
Year

2011

status

Completed

Researcher

Ray Ault (Lead); Jim Thomasson

Other Collaborator(s):

University of Alberta

Advisory Member(s):

Alberta Forestry, Parks and Tourism; Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources

Abstract

Collecting the data to calculate the variables in Byram’s Fire Intensity Equation (1959) is time consuming and labour intensive. So in 2005 students in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Alberta developed an instrument called the thermal cube, which FPInnovations has been using to measure fire intensity on its research projects. This instrument measures fire intensity in kW/m2, but most operational wildland firefighting training resources refer to fire intensity in kW/m and there is no easy conversion between the two. This project will develop a robust, easily deployable sensor that will measure wildfire intensity in the field and will provide a measurement relevant to wildfire operations.

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