LaHetRa: An Advanced Remote Diagnostic for Industrial Flames and Wild Fires

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project is focused on developing and demonstrating applications for a standoff, laser-based, fire radiometer. Instruments developed will address data deficiencies for two challenging problems associated with climate change. Wildfires, as a response to and a cause of climate warming, are an increasing global threat. The total burned area during “fire seasons” has gone from approximately 1000 square miles prior to 2000 to over about 2500 square miles in the last 20 years. NASA’s FireSense program emphasizes real-time observation and characterization of wildfires as a priority focus. However, satellite characterization of fires is limited by daylight, clouds, spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution. Thus, a clear need for terrestrial based data gathering that can fill in data voids and provide real-time data to first responders. A second “use case” for this technology is in the characterization of industrial flares. The project plan involves the construction of two laser heterodyne radiometers for laboratory demonstrations as well as simple “field-scale” demonstrations. The first system will operate in the near infrared and will focus on potassium emission detection, which is a characteristic of only intense fires of plant materials and not fossil combustion. Because of the close technological connection with the PI's prior work and the ready availability of optoelectronics for this spectral region, this system will be the first constructed. The second system will proceed in two generations. In the first instance, a free space heterodyne unit will be constructed for operation at about 2200 1/cm and will focus on detection of both carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide radiative emissions. This sensor is expected to provide directly flame temperature as well as a measure of combustion efficiency. In the second iteration, a source close to 2780 1/cm will be used to explore radiative emissions from methane. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.