skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Modeling and simulation of fire spreading through the activity tracking paradigm

Journal Article · · Ecological Modelling
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3]
  1. Laboratory UMR CNRS LISA, Università di Corsica-Pasquale Paoli
  2. ORNL
  3. Laboratory UMR Biotic Interactions and Plant Health, AgroBiotech Center

Modeling and simulation is essential for understanding complex ecological systems. However, knowledge of the structure and behavior of these systems is limited, and models must be revised frequently as our understanding of a system improves. Moreover, the dynamic, spatial distribution of activity in very large systems necessitates mapping natural mechanisms as logically as possible onto computer structures. This paper describes theoretical and algorithmic tools for building component-based models and simulations of dynamic spatial phenomena. These methods focus attention on and exploit the irregular distribution of activity in ecological processes. We use the DEVS formalism as the basis for a component based approach to modeling spatially distributed systems. DEVS is a mathematical theory of discrete-event systems that is well suited for describing large systems that are described by small parts with irregular, short-range interactions. This event-based approach to modeling leads naturally to efficient simulations algorithms which focus on the active parts of a large model. Ecological modeling benefits from these efficient the simulation algorithms and the reusability of the model s basic components. Our event-based method is demonstrated with a physics-based model of fire spread.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1003779
Journal Information:
Ecological Modelling, Vol. 219, Issue 1-2; ISSN 0304-3800
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English