Multi-scale 3D cellular automata modeling: Application to wildland fire spread

• Published in: Chaos, solitons and fractals Vol. 164; p. 112653
• Main Authors: Byari, M., Bernoussi, A., Jellouli, O., Ouardouz, M., Amharref, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2022
• Subjects: 3D Cellular Automata; Complex terrain; Fire behavior; Heat transfer processes; LiDAR; Multi-scale modeling; Propagation processes; Wildland fire; Propagation processes; Heat transfer processes; Fire behavior; 3D Cellular Automata; Wildland fire; Complex terrain; LiDAR; Multi-scale modeling
• ISSN: 0960-0779; 1873-2887
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2022.112653

In this paper, we propose a new dynamic system based on cellular automata that simulates fire propagation by creating and developing new cell types, 3D neighborhoods, and transition rules that govern the evolution of this system. We describe an innovative mechanism that allows taking into account the heterogeneity of the environment as well as the possibility to follow the evolution of the considered phenomenon while keeping a simplified point of view on the way the wildland fire propagates. The proposed model is based on a multi-scale approach: mesoscopic for heat transfer processes and macroscopic for propagation processes. We dealt with the heterogeneity of the space by associating each cell with a set of attributes. The lattice is constructed either from a 3D point cloud collected by LIDAR at the mesoscopic scale or from raster data collected by satellite images at the macroscopic scale. The results of this work have been integrated into a decision support software for the forest fire problem.