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Publications

 Google Scholar Citations | Research Gate Profile | UC eScholarship Repository (Pre-Prints) | Reports, Articles and Theses | Dataset Repositry

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1.

Xiao, H; Gollner, M J; Oran, E S

From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution Journal Article

In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, no. 34, 2016, ISSN: 10916490.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

@article{Xiao2016,
title = {From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution},
author = {H Xiao and M J Gollner and E S Oran},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1605860113},
issn = {10916490},
year = {2016},
date = {2016-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
volume = {113},
number = {34},
abstract = {textcopyright 2016, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Fire whirls are powerful, spinning disasters for people and surroundings when they occur in large urban and wildland fires. Whereas fire whirls have been studied for fire-safety applications, previous research has yet to harness their potential burning efficiency for enhanced combustion. This article presents laboratory studies of fire whirls initiated as pool fires, but where the fuel sits on a water surface, suggesting the idea of exploiting the high efficiency of fire whirls for oil-spill remediation. We show the transition from a pool fire, to a fire whirl, and then to a previously unobserved state, a "blue whirl." A blue whirl is smaller, very stable, and burns completely blue as a hydrocarbon flame, indicating sootfree burning. The combination of fast mixing, intense swirl, and the water-surface boundary creates the conditions leading to nearly soot-free combustion. With the worldwide need to reduce emissions from both wanted and unwanted combustion, discovery of this state points to possible new pathways for reduced-emission combustion and fuel-spill cleanup. Because current methods to generate a stable vortex are difficult, we also propose that the blue whirl may serve as a research platform for fundamental studies of vortices and vortex breakdown in fluid mechanics.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

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textcopyright 2016, National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Fire whirls are powerful, spinning disasters for people and surroundings when they occur in large urban and wildland fires. Whereas fire whirls have been studied for fire-safety applications, previous research has yet to harness their potential burning efficiency for enhanced combustion. This article presents laboratory studies of fire whirls initiated as pool fires, but where the fuel sits on a water surface, suggesting the idea of exploiting the high efficiency of fire whirls for oil-spill remediation. We show the transition from a pool fire, to a fire whirl, and then to a previously unobserved state, a "blue whirl." A blue whirl is smaller, very stable, and burns completely blue as a hydrocarbon flame, indicating sootfree burning. The combination of fast mixing, intense swirl, and the water-surface boundary creates the conditions leading to nearly soot-free combustion. With the worldwide need to reduce emissions from both wanted and unwanted combustion, discovery of this state points to possible new pathways for reduced-emission combustion and fuel-spill cleanup. Because current methods to generate a stable vortex are difficult, we also propose that the blue whirl may serve as a research platform for fundamental studies of vortices and vortex breakdown in fluid mechanics.

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  • doi:10.1073/pnas.1605860113

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Magazine Articles

Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface
Gollner, M.J., Society of Fire Protection Engineers’ Emerging Trends Newsletter, Issue 101. 2015

Pathways for Building Fire Spread in the Wildland Urban Interface
Gollner, M.J., SFPE Emerging Trends Newsletter, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, August, 2015.

The Flammability of a Storage Commodity
Gollner, M.J., Fire Protection Engineering Magazine, Society of Fire Protection Engineers, April 2014.

Theses

Effect of Microgravity on the Development and Structure of Fire Whirls

Jones, Michael, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland College Park, 2020

A STUDY OF INTERMITTENT CONVECTIVE HEATING OF FINE LIVE WILDLAND FUELS

Orcurto, Ashlynne R, M.S. Thesis, Univeristy of Maryland, College Park, 2020

Laboratory Studies on the Generation of Firebrands from Cylindrical Wooden Dowels
Caton, Sara, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017

Thermal Characterization of Firebrand Piles
Hakes, Raquel Sara Pilar, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017

The Structure of the Blue Whirl: A Soot-Free Reacting Vortex Phenomenon
Sriram Bharath Hariharan, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017

Moisture Content Effects on Energy and Emissions Released During Combustion of Pyrophytic Vegetation
Nathaniel Andrew May, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2017
A Fundamental Study of Boundary Layer Diffusion Flames
Singh, Ajay. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2015.
In Situ Burning Alternatives
Cohen, Brian, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014.
Flame Spread Through Wooden Dowels
Zhao, Zhao, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014.
Upward Flame Spread over Discreet Fuels
Miller, Colin, M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014
Studying Wildland Fire Spread Using Stationary Burners
Gorham, D.J., M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014.
Transient Fire Load on Aluminum Ferries (PDF)
Hall, B. M.S. Thesis, University of Maryland, College Park, 2014.
Studies on Upward Flame Spread (PDF, Official Copy, Presentation)
Gollner, MJ. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, San Diego, 2012.
A Fundamental Approach to Storage Commodity Classification (PDF, Proquest, Presentation)
Gollner, M.J. M.S. Thesis, University of California, San Diego, 2010.

Reports

Literature Review on Spaceport Fire Safety (NFPA Site)
Erin Griffith, Alicea Fitzpatrick, Seth Lattner, Joseph Dowling, Michael J. Gollner

Towards Data-Driven Operational Wildfire Spread Modeling: A REPORT OF THE NSF-FUNDED WIFIRE WORKSHOP
Gollner, M.J. and Trouve, A., 2015.

Pathways for Building Fire Spread at the Wildland Urban Interface (NFPA Site)
Gollner, M.J., Hakes, R., Caton, S. and Kohler, K., Fire Protection Research Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, March, 2015.

Literature Review on Hybrid Fire Suppression Systems
Raia, P. and Gollner, M.J., Fire Protection Research Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, May 2014.

Fire Safety Design and Sustainable Buildings: Challenges and Opportunities: Report of a National Symposium
Gollner, M.J., Kimball, A. and Vecchiarelli, T., Fire Protection Research Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, 2013.

Copyright Notes

In following copyright law, most journals allow their authors to share post-prints of their journal articles (essentially pre-prints with changes from the review process but lacking any publisher modifications or typesetting). Therefore, I have posted PDF Post-Prints of most journal articles in addition to document object identifier (DOI) links to the articles on the publishers site (sometimes requiring subscription). For more information about journal copyrights, please visit http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/. I have posted some conference proceedings on Research Gate. If you do not have access to a final article version, please contact me.

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