Raster-based methods for simulating wildfire spread are computationally more efficient than vectorbased approaches. In spite of this, their success has been limited by the distortions that affect the fire shapes. This work presents a Cellular Automata (CA) approach that is able to mitigate the problem of distorted fire shapes thanks to a redefinition of the spread velocity, where the equations generally used in vector-based approaches are modified by means of some correction factors. A numerical optimization approach is used to find the optimal values for the correction factors. The results are compared to the ones given by two Cellular Automata simulators from the literature under homogeneous conditions. According to this work, the proposed approach provides better results, in terms of accuracy, at a comparable computational cost. The proposed approach has then been compared to Farsite, a vector-based fire-spread simulator, under realistic slope and wind conditions, producing equivalent results in a reduced computational time.

An optimal Cellular Automata algorithm for simulating wildfire spread

GHISU, TIZIANO;
2015-01-01

Abstract

Raster-based methods for simulating wildfire spread are computationally more efficient than vectorbased approaches. In spite of this, their success has been limited by the distortions that affect the fire shapes. This work presents a Cellular Automata (CA) approach that is able to mitigate the problem of distorted fire shapes thanks to a redefinition of the spread velocity, where the equations generally used in vector-based approaches are modified by means of some correction factors. A numerical optimization approach is used to find the optimal values for the correction factors. The results are compared to the ones given by two Cellular Automata simulators from the literature under homogeneous conditions. According to this work, the proposed approach provides better results, in terms of accuracy, at a comparable computational cost. The proposed approach has then been compared to Farsite, a vector-based fire-spread simulator, under realistic slope and wind conditions, producing equivalent results in a reduced computational time.
2015
Cellular automata; Optimization; Raster-based techniques; Tabu search; Vector-based techniques; Wildland fire spread; Ecological Modeling; Environmental Engineering; Software
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
TGhisu_J11.pdf

Solo gestori archivio

Tipologia: versione editoriale (VoR)
Dimensione 1.79 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
1.79 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11584/116210
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 28
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 24
social impact