Lagrangian simulation of smoke plume from fire and validation using ground-based lidar and aircraft measurements

Abstract A new method to calculate the plume rise of smoke emitted from fires is evaluated. We perform numerical simulations of the plumes originated by fires from prescribed burnings. The field experiments, carried out in August 2013 in Idaho and Washington States (USA), are considered for our simulations. In a Lagrangian particle model, we use different plume rise schemes: a simple estimated effective virtual source height, as used in the operative system; a Lagrangian approach based on a state-of-the-art equation; and the new plume rise scheme able to dynamically simulate the buoyancy due to the high temperature of the plume. Comparisons of model results with lidar ground-based measurements, aircraft data and, large eddy simulations are presented and discussed. The new plume rise scheme performs the same as the other schemes or even better in some conditions, but it does not need any a priori assumption on the dynamics of the plume or the atmospheric conditions.