Settling dynamics of thermally active particles

Spotting is a wildfire spread mechanism in which small pieces of burning material, known as firebrands, travel long distances and start new fires. Many factors play a role in where these firebrands travel, but the effect of the firebrand’s generated buoyancy is often overlooked. The presence of the generated buoyancy may significantly alter the dynamics of firebrand settling, leading to improper estimates of the distance they can travel before falling to the ground. To gain a fundamental understanding of how buoyancy from internal heat sources affects particle settling, we designed an experimental system to measure the behavior of settling heated particles. We report initial results from these experiments.