MrAlexander Castagna

Alexander primarily focuses on research in the realm of fire dynamics and fire safety. He primarily works on modelling the fundamental physics and chemistry involved in pyrolysis and smouldering with attention to the solid phase and the interface between the solid and gas phase. His work is based on both traditional modelling tools, numerically solving conservation equations and using new machine learning tools for the purpose of inverse modelling. Alexander's research spans across different scales, from the small ones at which the chemistry of thermal degradation of the solid occurs, to intermediate ones where coupled heat and mass transfer phenomena dominate, up to large scales where the solid phase models are coupled with gas phase ones.

He is also involved in research regarding smoke dispersion modelling in the context of flaming and smouldering wildfires, coupling analytical models for the gas phase dispersion of smoke with numerical solutions for fire spread in wildfire models.

Alexander also collaborates in the modelling of sustained smouldering in peatlands under different conditions of moisture, density and inorganic content.

He collaborates on modelling of the ignition of smouldering wildland fires due to hot metal particles ejected by power lines coupling models of particle generation and transport with models of solid phase pyrolysis and smouldering.

His research interests also extend to the origins and historical development of fire modelling.