Wildland Fire
Wildland fire is a natural phenomenon on Earth. But the increasing frequency and severity of wildfire pose an enormous threat to local populations, natural resources, and contribute carbon and particulate emissions to the earth-climate system. Over the last few decades, extreme wildfires (mega-fires) have a big impact on the environment, human life, and property and have posed significant economic losses as demonstrated by devastating wildfires. At the global scale, the impact of wildfires is expected to increase dramatically in the future because of the combined effects of the spreading of the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and climate changes.
Our research aims to investigate wildland fires using small-scale laboratory experiments, field campaigns, remote sensing and numerical modeling. This important research will enhance our understanding of fires and to develop new approaches to mitigate their harmful effects.
• Ignition and fire behaviors of wildland fuels
• Smoldering wildfire
• Urban-Wildland Interface (WUI) fire
• Spotting fire and firebrands
• Wildland fire monitoring and modelling
Funding:
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Modeling and detecting the smoldering peat fire spread in the Inner Mongolian Greater Khingan, Inner Mongolian Science and Technology Fund, RMB 500K, co-PI, 2021 -2024
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Megafire Mitigation: A Novel Methodology to Fight Smouldering Wildfires, HK$1.1M, PolyU Joint Postdoc Fund, 2022 - 2024;
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Fundamental Study on the Hot-Particle Ignition Phenomena in the Wildland-Urban Interface, PolyU Postdoctoral Fellowship, HK$756K, 2019-2021;
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Fundamental Study on the Firebrand Ignition of Building Insulation Materials, PolyU Start-up Fund, HK$ 500K, PI, 2017 - 2020
5 Representative publications:
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S. Lin, Y.K. Cheung, Y. Xiao, X. Huang (2020) Can Rain Suppress Smoldering Peat Fire? Science of the Total Environment, 138468.
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S. Lin, P. Sun, X. Huang (2019) Can Peat Soil Support a Flaming Wildfire? International Journal of Wildland Fire, 28(8): 601-613.
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X. Huang, G. Rein (2016) Interactions of Earth Atmospheric Oxygen and Fuel Moisture in Smouldering Wildfires, Science of the Total Environment, 572: 1440–1446.
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S. Wang, X. Huang, H. Chen, N. Liu (2017) Interaction between Flaming and Smoldering in Hot-Particle Ignition of Forest Fuels and Effects of Moisture and Wind, International Journal of Wildland Fire, 26: 71-81.
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P. Sun, Y. Liu, X. Huang (2022) Exploring the Brachistochrone (Shortest-Time) Path in Fire spread, Scientific Reports, 12, 13600.
Dr Rahul Wadhwani
Dr Shaorun Lin
