A shared feature in the rapid spread of large outdoor fires are the production or generation of new, far smaller combustible fragments from the original fire source referred to as firebrands. A simplified experimental protocol has been developed that allows for the study of firebrand generation processes from various structural materials exposed to an applied wind field. The influence of angle of orientation on the firebrand production process is investigated. The thickest firebrands were produced with experiments with 45° angle under 8 m/s. The influence of angle was found to have the same trend under the tested wind speeds and to be more apparent at 8 m/s than 6 m/s. As installation angles are a key factor for photovoltaic panel (PV) efficiency, often only the solar energy efficiency is considered in PV panel orientation decisions. Yet, this study demonstrates that the types of firebrands generated in the event of large outdoor fires were sensitive to the angle of installation for structural materials used as surrogates for PV panels. The work is unique in that is begins the discussion on firebrand production from cutting edge home technologies, such as PV panels. These results have implications for how installation angles may influence firebrand production in the event of large outdoor fire outbreaks.

中文翻译：

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角度方向对暴露于外加风场的替代光伏 (PV) 面板组件燃烧产生的火痕产生的影响

大型户外火灾迅速蔓延的一个共同特征是从原始火源中产生或产生新的、小得多的可燃碎片，称为火斑。已经开发了一个简化的实验协议，允许研究暴露于应用风场的各种结构材料的火点生成过程。研究了方向角对火标生产过程的影响。在 8 m/s 下以 45° 角的实验产生最厚的火把。发现角度的影响在测试风速下具有相同的趋势，并且在 8 m/s 时比 6 m/s 更明显。由于安装角度是光伏面板 (PV) 效率的关键因素，因此在光伏面板方向决策中通常只考虑太阳能效率。然而，这项研究表明，在发生大型室外火灾时产生的火种类型对用作光伏电池板替代品的结构材料的安装角度很敏感。这项工作的独特之处在于，它开始讨论利用光伏电池板等尖端家居技术生产火柴。这些结果对安装角度如何在发生大规模室外火灾时影响火标产生具有影响。