Laboratory studies of extinguishing a forest ground fire with soil

Forest fires cause irreparable harm to the environment. The development of machines to combat this dangerous natural disaster requires experimental studies to confirm the sufficiency of the volume of soil supplied to the edge to stop the spread of a forest fire. We have developed a laboratory bench for studying the process of eliminating a combustion source with the help of soil. Laboratory experiments were carried out to assess the localization of combustion on the surface of a soil environment of various structures (with and without forest litter), during which the combustion of plant elements began when temperature values exceeded the temperature of a forest fire. To effectively visualize the representation of the combustion process, the top of the soil and forest floor were surrounded by a “flame” with a temperature exceeding 600 °C. After reaching the required temperature, the combustion zone was covered with soil with a moisture content of 14%, the thickness of the backfill was constant and amounted to 6 cm. After that, the process of cooling of the upper layers of the soil-plant environment was monitored.