Modeling and experimental study of the effect of pressure on pyrolysis of wet wood

Studies are reported using experiments and numerical simulation, quantifying ignition characteristics of wet wood exposed to radiation at different altitudes. Experiments were conducted separately at an altitude of 3650 m in Lhasa and an altitude of 30 m in Hefei. The comparative experiments indicate that ignition is more likely to occur in the low-pressure environment in Lhasa than in a normal atmospheric pressure environment. A numerical model has been established to simulate the pyrolysis of wet wood at different ambient pressures. In the model, moisture evaporation, the flowing of combustible gas, and pressure work are involved. The pressure effect on the kinetic reaction of pyrolysis is also analyzed and concluded to be insignificant for the pyrolysis process of a whole wood slab.