Proceedings Article | 17 October 2006
Proc. SPIE. 6359, Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Hydrology VIII
KEYWORDS: Target detection, Signal to noise ratio, Particles, 3D modeling, Distance measurement, Solids, Wind energy, Pulsed laser operation, Atmospheric modeling, Flame detectors
Detection of fire smoke plume with a compact cheap rangefinder based on 905 nm laser diode (2 μJ pulse energy,
slashed oh 2 cm telescope and 720 m solid-target range) is demonstrated. Reliable detection of small experimental fires
(20×25 m2 fire plot, burning rate of ~3 kg/s) is achieved for the range of about 255 m. A theoretical model of the mixing
of burning products with air in the wind, based on three-dimensional system of Navier-Stokes equation and commercial
software PHOENICS, is developed. The model predicts 220 m range of smoke detection by the rangefinder, indicating
good agreement between the theoretical and experimental data. On the basis of this theoretical model an estimation of
the smoke detection efficiency for a longer range (20 km for solid targets) instrument, based on a 1540 nm laser with a
pulse energy of 8 mJ and a 4 cm telescope, is made. The obtained smoke-detection range estimation, 6 km, indicate that
more powerful rangefinders can be used not only in shot-range applications, such as fire detection in premises, tunnels
and storage yards, but in more demanding areas, such as wildland fire surveillance, as well.
