SBIR-STTR Award

Not all wildfires can be fought from the ground. Millions of dollars are spent each year on aerial firefighting. A major problem concerning the aerial application of fire retardants is to achieve the optimum placement and coverage level (gallons of retardant per 100 square feet of ground) for the type fuel and terrain the fire is burning in. Experienced crews are capable of determining the appropriate placement and coverage level of retardant. Current aerial retardant application systems, however, lack the capability to accurately obtain consistent coverage levels in the field because they fail to make corrections for ground speed, altitude and acceleration variables. These variables directly affect the placement and coverage level of a retardant drop and are important considerations necessary to increase the effectiveness of aerial retardant application systems. Electronic sensors and computer control units are available that might prove suitable to meet the objective of this program. The project objective is to analyze the feasibility of adapting aerial retardant tank systems to a computer controlled retardant flow rate system which takes into consideration ground speed, altitude and acceleration factors to consistently achieve optimum placement and coverage of retardant on wildfires.Applications:Millions of dollars in property and forest resources will be saved annually if wildfires can be controlled more effectively with the aerial application of fire retardants. The proposed research effort will lead to the ability to design and evaluate retardant tank systems that contain flow control devices which receive inputs automatically through an on-board computer and takes into consideration ground speed, drop altitude and acceleration variables. Such a system will result in more economical and effective use of fire retardant by producing desired retardant placement and coverage levels consistently in the field on wildf ires.

Not all wildfires can be fought from the ground. Millions of dollars are spent each year on aerial firefighting. A major challenge concerning the aerial application of fire retardants is to achieve the optimum placement and coverage level (gallons of retardant per 100 square feet of ground) for the type fuel and terrain the fire is burning in. Experienced crews are capable of determining the appropriate placement and coverage level of retardant. Current aerial retardant application systems, however, lack the capability to accurately obtain consistent coverage levels in the field because they fail to make corrections for altitude, crosswind thinning, acceleration, and ground speed variables. These variables directly affect the placement and coverage level of a retardant drop and are important considerations necessary to increase the effectiveness of aerial retardant application systems. Electronic sensors and computer control units are available that might prove suitable to meet the objective of this program. The project objective is to adapt aerial retardant tank systems to a computer controlled retardant flow rate system which takes into consideration altitude, crosswind thinning, acceleration, and ground speed factors to consistently achieve optimum placement and coverage of retardant on wildfires.Applications:The proposed project will lead to the design and evaluation of retardant tank systems that compensate for inflight variables such as altitude, crosswind thinning, acceleration, and ground speed, to achieve consistent retardant coverage levels. Through Phase I testing, the feasibility of adapting an onboard computer to in flight parameter sensors and providing compensation signals to a tank system was favorably demonstrated. Potential applications are wide spread throughout the United States and the World aerial firefighting organizations. Millions of dollars in property and forest resources will be saved annually if wildfires can be controlled more effectively with the aerial application of fire retardant.