Les forêts d'altitude connaissent une émergence croissante des feux. Via une analyse rétrospective des feux et du climat des dernières décennies dans le sud-est de la France, cette thèse montre d'abord que l'augmentation de l'activité des feux a été largement restreinte aux zones de montagne, les politiques de lutte contraignant les feux au sein des paysages méditerranéens. Les attributs d'inflammabilité et de résistance des forêts Alpines qui gouvernent ses effets et sa réponse au feu ont ensuite été analysés au sein des niches environnementales des espèces dominantes. Les résultats obtenus montrent que l'abondance et les propriétés d'inflammabilité des litières, des strates herbacées et arbustives varient en fonction de l'ouverture de canopée et la saisonnalité des précipitations. Par ailleurs, les traits de résistance au feu des arbres varient entre espèces en lien avec l'inflammabilité des communautés, selon un compromis entre tolérance (écorce épaisse en climat sec) et évitement (houppier haut en climat humide), suggérant une coévolution entre espèces et feux. Ces gradients biotiques et abiotiques gouvernent ainsi les niches d'inflammabilité des espèces, depuis les forêts denses et humides peu inflammables des Alpes externes du nord aux forêts ouvertes inflammables périméditerranéennes des Alpes du sud et subalpines des Alpes internes. Ainsi, du fait des propriétés de leur niche et de leurs traits d'histoire de vie, les arbres Alpins ne sont pas tous égaux face à l'émergence des feux au sein de la diversité des conditions de végétation et de climat des montagnes du sud de l'Europe. / Mountain forests are experiencing an increase in fire occurrence. Through a retrospective analysis over the past decades of fire and climate, this dissertation firstly shows that Mediterranean ecosystems have experienced a strong decrease in fire activity, emphasizing the strong efficiency of fire suppression policies, while fires have been more frequent and large in mountains like the southern Alps. I used vegetation and climate data to characterize the flammability and fire resistance traits of mountain forests of the western Alps that determine their effects and responses to fire. Then, assessing the vulnerability to fire of mountain ecosystems and tree species was carried out by simulating the behaviour of surface fires and their impacts (tree mortality) within the environmental niches of dominant tree species. Results show that tree cover and the seasonality of precipitation largely drive the amount and flammability properties of surface fuels (litter, grass and shrubs). Therefore, these environmental gradients govern the flammability niches of tree species, from the few flammable dense and moist forests of the northern Alps, to the open and highly flammable sub-Mediterranean and subalpine forests of the southern and inner Alps, respectively. Otherwise, fire resistance traits of trees vary according to community flammability through a trade-off between tolerance (thick bark in dry climates) and avoidance strategies (high crown in moist climates), suggesting a coevolution between species and surface fires. To conclude, the niche properties and the life history traits of Alpine trees make them unequally exposed to an increasing fire risk in southern European mountains.

No description available.

La maîtrise des risques d'incendie et d'explosion dans les procédés industriels repose sur une évaluation des conditions d'occurrence et des conséquences prévisibles de ces évènements. L'étude du retour d'expérience relatif aux accidents industriels impliquant des produits combustibles met souvent en évidence la méconnaissance des dangers des produits par les opérateurs et/ou une évaluation insuffisante ou incomplète des risques générés par le procédé exploité. Les évolutions réglementaires intervenues ces dix dernières années ont pour objectif de mieux identifier et gérer ces risques. Pour autant, afin de réduire la fréquence et la gravité de ces accidents, il est nécessaire d'améliorer encore la sécurité des procédés qui mettent en oeuvre des produits combustibles. C'est lorsque cette évaluation est la plus juste et réaliste que les mesures de prévention et de protection sont adaptées. Ceci nécessite avant tout de caractériser les dangers présentés par les produits stockés, transportés ou utilisés. Il est ensuite nécessaire de mieux identifier et gérer les risques induits. Les travaux effectués ont été consacrés en premier lieu à la caractérisation réglementaire des dangers physico-chimiques des substances et des mélanges, ainsi qu'à l'évaluation de l'aptitude des produits inflammables sous forme de gaz, de vapeur ou de poussière à générer des atmosphères explosives et à être enflammés. En second lieu, ces travaux se sont attachés à mettre en évidence les éléments essentiels du contexte réglementaire, normatif et méthodologique sur les thèmes des atmosphères explosives et de l'évaluation des risques associés et à développer une méthode d'étude du risque associé à la formation d'atmosphères explosives dans les installations industrielles compatible avec les exigences réglementaires applicables / Controlling fire and explosion hazards in industrial processes is based on occurrence conditions and the assessment of possible effects and consequences of these events. The feedback from industrial accidents involving combustible products often reveals an insufficient identification of products hazards and/or an incorrect or incomplete risk assessment of the processes by the operators. The regulatory evolutions in the past decade were aimed at better identification and management of these risks. Nevertheless, in order to reduce the frequency and the severity of these accidents, it is necessary to further improve the safety procedures concerning combustible materials. When this evaluation is the most accurate and realistic, prevention and protection measures are the most adequate. This requires an accurate hazard characterization of the products stored, transported or used. It is also necessary to better identify and manage the risks associated. This work has been devoted primarily to the regulatory characterization of physical and chemical hazards of substances and mixtures, as well as evaluating the ability of flammable gas, vapour or dust to form explosive atmospheres and an eventual ignition. Secondly, this work have attempted to highlight the key elements of the regulatory, normative and methodological context concerning explosive atmospheres and to develop a specific methodology allowing explosive atmospheres explosion risk assessment in industrial facilities, consistent with applicable regulatory requirements

Cette étude s’inscrit dans le cadre de l’évaluation du risque d’accélération de flamme en situation accidentelle. La méthodologie développée dans le cadre de l’évaluation du risque hydrogène dans l’industrie nucléaire a permis de proposer un critère permettant d’évaluer le risque d’accélération des flammes de prémélange hydrogène/air/diluants, sur la base des propriétés du mélange. L’objectif de cette étude est l’acquisition de données fondamentales relatives aux mélanges gaz naturel/air et gaz de synthèse/air puis l’extension de la méthodologie appliquée aux mélanges hydrogène/air à ces mélanges. Ainsi, trois mélanges gazeux ont été choisis et ont fait l’objet de cette étude. Il s’agit du G27 (82%CH4/18%N2), du G222 (77%CH4/23%H2), et du H2/CO (50%H2/50%CO). Au cours de ce travail les limites d’inflammabilités des mélanges ont été déterminées pour une température initiale de 300 K et une pression de 1 et 2 bars. Les vitesses fondamentales de flamme et les longueurs de Markstein ont été mesurées à différentes températures initiales (300, 330 et 360 K) et à deux pressions initiales (1 et 2 bar) pour chacun des mélanges. Une modélisation cinétique de la vitesse de flamme a été réalisée et a permis l’évaluation de l’énergie d’activation globale sur la base du modèle cinétique présentant le meilleur accord avec l’expérience. La propension des mélanges a s’accélérer fortement en présence d’obstacles a ensuite été caractérisée au cours de l’étude de l’accélération de flamme. Cette étude de l’accélération de flamme a permis de mettre en évidence que différents critères d’accélération s’appliquent selon que la flamme soit stable ou pas. Un critère permettant de prédire l’accélération de flamme a été proposée dans les deux cas. / The context of the current study is the assessment of the occurrence of flame acceleration in accidental situations. The methodology developed for the assessment of hydrogen hazard in the nuclear industry led to the definition of a criterion for the prediction of the acceleration potential of a hydrogen/air/dilutant mixture based on its properties. This study aims to extend this methodology to gaseous mixtures that can be encountered in the classical industry. Therefore, three mixtures were chosen: the first two are representatives of a natural gas/air mixture: G27 (82%CH4/18%N2) and G222 (77%CH4/23%H2). The third one is a H2/CO (50%H2/50%CO) mixture and represents the Syngas. During this work, flammability limits were measured at 300 K and two initial pressures (1 and 2 bar) for each mixture. Fundamental flame speeds and Markstein lengths were also measured at three initial temperatures (300, 330, 360 K) and 2 initial pressures (1 and 2 bar) for each mixtures. A kinetic modeling was performed based on three detailed kinetic models and allowed the calculation of the global activation energy on the basis of the kinetic model which showed the best agreement with the experimental data. The acceleration potential for each mixture in presence of obstacles has then been investigated. It was found that different criteria were to be applied depending on whether the flame is stable or not. A predicting criterion was proposed in both case.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:58:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlcioneOG_DISSERT.pdf: 4986234 bytes, checksum: d81c2eeeb91a55690b1f5b9671a9a5e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-26 / Use of natural fibres as a reinforcement material in the manufacture of composites show a series of advantages: availability, biodegradability, low weight and regeneration in relation to synthetic fibres, thus justifying its utilization. In the present research work, composites were developed with chicken feathers (KF), using unsaturated polyester resin as matrix, for diversified applications, mainly in the furniture/timber industry.At present, in Brazil the chicken feathers are used as part of the animal feed, even though this material possesses low aggregated value. The chicken feathers are hollow, light and resistant. After washing with water at room temperature, a part of the chicken feathers were treated with 2% NaOH. Composites were manufactured using treated and untreated chicken feathers with unsaturated orthothalic polyester resin and 1% peroxide as catalyser, obtained in the commerce. Samples with size 150x25x3 mm for mechanical tests were cut by laser in the composite plate. Mechanical analyses were carried out in the Laborat?rio de Metais e Ensaios Mec?nicos UFRN. All the analyses were in accordance with ASTM standards. SEM analyses were also carried out on the samples.In the analyses of the results obtained, it was observed that the composites made with untreated chicken feathers showed better results (Traction 11.406 MPa and 9.107 MPa Bending 34.947 and 20.918 MPa for samples with and without treatment respectively) compared to the composite with treated feathers. Very low values of the water absorption results, evidenced the impermeability characteristic of the feathers. From the SEM images, the structure, fracture and the fibre/matrix adsorption can be evidenced. In the flammability test, it was observed that despite the feathers having sulfur as a constituent, natural inhibitor of flame, no burning support of the composites, because the manufacturing process of the composite / O uso de fibras naturais como refor?o em comp?sitos apresenta uma s?rie de vantagens: abund?ncia, biodegradabilidade, baixo peso e regenerabilidade em rela??o ?s fibras sint?ticas, justificando sua utiliza??o. Na presente pesquisa foram desenvolvidos comp?sitos com penas de frango (KF), utilizando resina de poli?ster n?o-saturado como matriz. Atualmente, no Brasil, as penas de frango s?o utilizadas como parte de ra??o animal, por?m este produto possui um baixo valor agregado. As penas s?o um material oco, leve e resistente. Ap?s a lavagem com ?gua em temperatura ambiente uma parte das penas foi tratada com 2% de NaOH. Foram fabricados dois comp?sitos, um com as penas tratadas e outro sem tratamento, usando o processo de molde fechado por compress?o, utilizando a resina de poli?ster ortoft?lica e 1% de per?xido MEK (per?xido de metil etil cetona) como iniciador, adquiridos no com?rcio local. As amostras com 150x25x3 mm de tamanho para os ensaios mec?nicos foram cortadas a laser na placa do comp?sito. Os ensaios de tra??o e flex?o em tr?s pontos foram realizados no Laborat?rio de Metais e Ensaios Mec?nicos - UFRN. Todas as an?lises estavam de acordo com as normas da ASTM. As amostras resultantes dos ensaios mec?nicas foram avaliadas no MEV. Com base nas observa??es dos resultados nos ensaios mec?nicos, (Tra??o 11,2 Mpa e 8,3 Mpa; Flex?o 34,9 Mpa e 22,9 MPa para as amostras sem e com tratamento respectivamente) observou-se que os comp?sitos refor?ados com as penas sem tratamento apresentaram um melhor comportamento quando foram expostos a carregamentos tanto de tra??o quanto de flex?o. O ensaio de absor??o evidenciou nos valores de absor??o de ?gua, uma das caracter?sticas da prote?na existente nas penas, a queratina, a sua capaciade de impermiabiliza??o a ?gua. Nas imagens do MEV foi poss?vel verificar a estrutura da pena, as regi?es de ruptura do comp?sito e a ades?o fibra/matriz. No ensaio de inflamabilidade, observou-se que apesar das penas terem como constituinte o enxofre, inibidor natural de chama, n?o houve a susten??o da queima nos comp?sitos, devido o processo de fabrica??o do comp?sito

Cette thèse de doctorat est consacrée à l’étude sur le risque d’inflammation de gaz imbrûlés au niveau du système de ventilation suite à un incendie dans un milieu confiné sous-ventilé. La caractérisation de l’état de stratification des fumées et du désenfumage apparaît aussi comme un objectif. Lors d’un incendie en milieu clos, la quantité d’oxygène présente dans le local peut devenir insuffisante, engendrant une combustion incomplète. Des gaz chauds imbrûlés résiduels peuvent alors s’accumuler dans le local et être évacués par la ventilation d’extraction. Lorsque ces derniers sont mis en présence d’air apporté par un autre conduit de ventilation, ils peuvent s’enflammer spontanément et générer une déflagration pouvant rompre le confinement dynamique des matières dangereuses, situation inacceptable pour la sûreté des installations nucléaires. Cette inflammation dépend de la quantité des imbrûlés, de la température dans la gaine d’extraction et de la concentration minimale en oxygène. L’objectif de cette étude est de quantifier et d’analyser ce risque par l’étude aérodynamique de la flamme et par le niveau de confinement dynamique afin de choisir le type de ventilation présentant le moins de risque. Cette étude, à la fois numérique et expérimentale, permet d’améliorer la compréhension de l’influence de la richesse globale liée au niveau de confinement de l’enceinte sur la production d’imbrûlés comme CO, H2 et fuel. Elle permet par la suite de mettre en évidence l’influence de celle-ci sur le risque d’inflammation de gaz imbrûlés au niveau du système de ventilation. / This doctoral thesis is devoted to the study of the risk of ignition of unburnt gases in the ventilation system after a fire in an under-ventilated confined enclosure. The characterization of the state of lamination of smoke and smoke extraction also appears as an objective. In a closed fire, the amount of oxygen present in the room may become insufficient leading to incomplete combustion. Residual unburnt hot gases can then accumulate in the room and be evacuated by extraction ventilation. When the latter are placed in the presence of air supplied by another ventilation duct, they can ignite spontaneously and generate a deflagration capable of breaking the dynamic containment of hazardous materials, an unacceptable situation for the safety of nuclear installations. This ignition depends on the quantity of the unburned gases, the temperature in the extraction sheath and the minimum concentration of oxygen. The objective of this study is to quantify and analyze this risk through the aerodynamic study of the flame and the level of dynamic confinement in order to choose the ventilation posing the least possible risk. This study, both numerical and experimental, makes possible to improve the understanding of the influence of the equivalence ratio linked to the level of confinement of the enclosure on the production of unburned like CO, H2 and fuel. Then, it makes possible to highlight the influence of the latter on the risk of ignition of unburnt gases in the ventilation network.

No description available.

In recent years landscape-scale fires have occurred in mainland Southeast Asia, including important protected areas (PAs). There has been increasing concern that landscape-scale fires are degrading the seasonally dry evergreen forest (SEF) element of the forest mosaic to more open deciduous forest and savanna, with serious implications for biodiversity conservation. Present management approaches, including fire suppression and prescribed burning, have not been effective managing for landscape-scale fire. Research was undertaken to investigate the occurrence, cause, effect, frequency and predictability of fire in SEF. SEF has the greatest species biodiversity in the forest mosaic and is potentially the most affected by fire, yet little research has been done on fire in SEF in mainland Southeast Asia. Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand was selected as the study area. The objectives included: 1) investigate the area of SEF burned in HKK from 1988 to 2002; 2) investigate the conditions for fire in SEF; 3) determine whether the area of SEF in HKK declined as a result of fire; 4) determine the frequency of fire season years between 1984 and 2001 with the conditions for fire spread in SEF; and 5) determine whether there is a significant relationship between pre-fire season drought codes (Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) and Canadian Drought Code (DC)) and identified SEF fire season years for 1981 to 2003. Methods included: development of a Landsat fire history with associated interviews and reconnaissance field checks; fieldwork lighting test fires and measuring fuel characteristics; remote sensing change detection work using Landsat imagery; generation of a twenty-one year daily relative humidity minimum record for SEF; and logistic regression of the pre-fire season drought code values with identified SEF ‘fire’ and ‘non-fire’ years. Results showed: 1. Extensive areas of SEF have burned, but that Landsat imagery was not suitable for detecting fire in intact SEF. 2. SEF burned in years when there were fires burning adjacent to SEF in mid March and the moisture content of the SEF leaf litter fuel was less than 15%. 3. Fifteen percent of SEF in HKK has been either degraded or converted to deciduous forest forms in 12 years. 4. Conditions for fire spread in SEF occurred four times in 17 consecutive years. 5. A significant relationship exists between both the Keetch-Byram Drought Code (KBDI) and Canadian Drought Code (DC) and the SEF fire years. Implications are that large-scale fires have adversely affected intact SEF in HKK, and that the current damaging situation can be expected to continue. Whereas the extent of burning in intact SEF is not known, the need to manage the situation is immediate. Landscape-scale fires in HKK can be managed by using January 31st drought code values to predict potential large-scale fire years, followed by an aggressive fire suppression campaign in those years. In other years, fires can be allowed to burn without serious threat to the forest mosaic, and should to some extent be encouraged to maintain open deciduous forests and savanna. Additional research is required to determine whether a similar approach can be used for protected areas in other parts of the region.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:58:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LucieneMR_DISSERT.pdf: 3721446 bytes, checksum: 16ced8820ae92014f7d8c365770f515c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-11 / In the present research work, composites were prepared using pine apple leaf fibres (PALF) as reinforcement with unsaturated polyester resin as matrix, incorporating with fire retardant at different compositions. The PALF was obtained from the decortication of pine apple leaves obtained from Ramada 4 from Ielmo Marinho in the State of Rio Grande do Norte. The unsaturated polyester resin and the catalyzer were bought from the local establishment. The fire retardant, aluminium tri-hydroxide - Al(OH)3 was donated by Alcoa Alum?nio S.A and was used in the proportions of 20%, 40% and 60% w/w. Initially the fibres were treated with 2% NaOH for 1 hour, to remove any impurities present on the fibre surface, such as wax, fat, pectin and pectate, in order to have a better adsorption of the fibres with the matrix as well as the flame retardant. The fibre mat was prepared in a mat preparator by immersion, developed in the Textile Engineering Laboratory, at the UFRN. The composites (300x300x3 mm) were prepared by compression molding and the samples (150x25x3 mm) for analysis of the properties were cut randomly using a laser cutter. Some of the cut samples were used to measure the smoke emission and fire resistance using UL94 standard. Mechanical tension-extension and flexural properties were carried in CTG?s RN and the Laborat?rio de Metais e Ensaios Mec?nicos Engenharia de Materiais UFRN , as well as SEM studies were carried out at N?cleo de Estudos em Petr?leo e G?s Natural - UFRN . From the observed results, it was noted that, there was no marked influence of the fire retardant on the mechanical properties. Also in the water absorption test, the quantity of water absorbed was less in the sample with higher concentration of fire retardant. It was also observed that the increase in the proportion of the fire retardant increased the time of burning, may be due to the compactness of the composite due to the presence of fire retardant as a filling material even though it was meant to reduce the rate of inflammability of the composite / Na presente pesquisa foram desenvolvidos comp?sitos com fibras da folha do abacaxizeiro (PALF - Pineapple Leaf Fiber), utilizando resina de poli?ster insaturado como matriz, incorporando retardante de chama em diferentes composi??es. As fibras da folha do abacaxizeiro foram obtidas na ramada 4 do munic?pio de Ielmo Marinho no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. A resina de poli?ster insaturado e o catalisador foram comprados no com?rcio. O retardante de chama de alumina trihidratada (hidr?xido de alum?nio - Al(OH)3) foi doado pela empresa Alcoa Alum?nio S.A. e foi utilizado em propor??es de 20%, 40% e 60% do peso do material utilizado na fabrica??o dos comp?sitos. As PALFs foram tratadas com 2% de hidr?xido de s?dio, por 1 hora, para eliminar as impurezas superficiais tais como ceras, gorduras, pectinas e pectatos, para que houvesse uma melhor ades?o da matriz ?s fibras, bem como do retardante de chama. As mantas de fibras foram preparadas num preparador de manta por imers?o, desenvolvido no Laborat?rio de Engenharia T?xtil da UFRN. Os comp?sitos (300x300x3 mm) foram moldados por compress?o e as amostras (150x25x3 mm) para an?lise das propriedades foram cortadas, em diferentes posi??es da placa do comp?sito com aux?lio de uma m?quina de laser. As propriedades mec?nicas de tra??o e flex?o em tr?s pontos foram realizadas no CTG?s RN e no Laborat?rio de Metais e Ensaios Mec?nicos de Engenharia de Materiais da UFRN. Os testes da emiss?o de fuma?a e resist?ncia ao fogo foram realizados no Laborat?rio de Engenharia T?xtil da UFRN, utilizando a norma UL94. As amostras resultantes das propriedades mec?nicas foram avaliadas no MEV do N?cleo de Estudos em Petr?leo e G?s Natural da UFRN. Com base nas an?lises dos resultados nos ensaios mec?nicos, observou-se que o retardante de chama n?o tem influ?ncia significativa. Tamb?m observou-se que no ensaio de abosor??o de ?gua, quanto maior a concentra??o de retardante de chama, a quantidade de ?gua absorvida ? menor. No teste de inflamabilidade, observou-se que quanto maior a concentra??o de retardante de chama, maior o tempo de queima. Pode ser conclu?do que a presen?a de retardante de chama, al?m de atuar como inibidor de chama, tamb?m atua como uma carga que influ?ncia a compacta??o do comp?sito e desta forma reduz a taxa de queima

This thesis presents a research project in the field of oxygen system fire safety relating to the heterogeneous burning of iron in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Fires involving metallic components in oxygen systems often occur, with devastating and costly results, motivating continued research to improve the safety of these devices through a better understanding of the burning phenomena. Metallic materials typically burn in the liquid phase, referred to as heterogeneous burning. A review of the literature indicates that there is a need to improve the overall understanding of heterogeneous burning and better understand the factors that influence metal flammability in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Melting rates for metals burning in reduced gravity have been shown to be higher than those observed under similar conditions in normal gravity, indicating that there is a need for further insight into heterogeneous burning, especially in regard to the rate-limiting mechanism. The objective of the current research is to determine the cause of the higher melting rates observed for metals burning in reduced gravity to (a) identify the rate-limiting mechanism during heterogeneous burning and thus contribute to an improved fundamental understanding of the system, and (b) contribute to improved oxygen system fire safety for both ground-based and space-based applications. In support of the work, a 2-s duration ground-based drop tower reduced-gravity facility was commissioned and a reduced-gravity metals combustion test system was designed, constructed, commissioned and utilised. These experimental systems were used to conduct tests involving burning 3.2-mm diameter cylindrical iron rods in high-pressure oxygen in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Experimental results demonstrate that at the onset of reduced gravity, the burning liquid droplet rapidly attains a spherical shape and engulfs the solid rod, and that this is associated with a rapid increase in the observed melting rate. This link between the geometry of the solid/liquid interface and melting rate during heterogeneous burning is of particular interest in the current research. Heat transfer analysis was performed and shows that a proportional relationship exists between the surface area of the solid/liquid interface and the observed melting rate. This is confirmed through detailed microanalysis of quenched samples that shows excellent agreement between the proportional change in interfacial surface area and the observed melting rate. Thus, it is concluded that the increased melting rates observed for metals burning in reduced gravity are due to altered interfacial geometry, which increases the contact area for heat transfer between the liquid and solid phases. This leads to the conclusion that heat transfer across the solid/liquid interface is the rate-limiting mechanism for melting and burning, limited by the interfacial surface area. This is a fundamental result that applies in normal gravity and reduced gravity and clarifies that oxygen availability, as postulated in the literature, is not rate limiting. It is also established that, except for geometric changes at the solid/liquid interface, the heterogeneous burning phenomenon is the same at each gravity level. A conceptual framework for understanding and discussing the many factors that influence heterogeneous burning is proposed, which is relevant to the study of burning metals and to oxygen system fire safety in both normal-gravity and reduced-gravity applications.