Date of Award
Spring 2026
Access Restriction
Campus Access only Theses
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Computer Science
School or College
Seaver College of Science and Engineering
First Advisor
Robert B.W. Johnson
Second Advisor
Ray Toal
Third Advisor
Krishnamurthy Narayanaswamy
Abstract
This thesis investigates whether coordinated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms can meaningfully contribute to wildfire suppression through a combination of low-frequency acoustic flame disruption and rotor-wash ember deflection. While acoustic flame suppression has been demonstrated for small flames in controlled laboratory settings, it remains unclear whether the underlying mechanisms scale to real wildfire conditions or whether useful suppression can be achieved by airborne platforms in the wildland-urban interface.
Through literature review, physics-based feasibility analysis, and agent-based simulation of swarm behavior, this work evaluates the energy levels, stand-off distances, and environmental constraints that govern UAV-mounted acoustic suppression and its interaction with the rotor-wash inherent to multirotor flight. The feasibility analysis eliminates all large-scale and flame-front-directed acoustic concepts on physical grounds: acoustic intensity decays too rapidly outdoors, wildfire convection columns dominate local airflow, and drone platforms cannot survive the radiant heat near active flames.
The analysis identifies one operationally viable mechanism: a hybrid suppression approach in which every drone in the swarm simultaneously delivers acoustic forcing of small flame kernels and rotor-wash deflection of airborne embers. The two mechanisms address different failure modes of the same suppression problem and operate within the same environmental envelope. Simulation of a 100-UAV swarm operating 30 to 300 m downwind of a fireline shows that this combined mechanism produces a 99% reduction in peak ember activity relative to the no-drone control, while a rotor-wash-only configuration achieves 44%, demonstrating that the addition of acoustic fire disruption to an aerodynamic platform yields meaningful additional suppression.
The thesis concludes with the operational boundaries of this approach, namely a wind ceiling near 12 m/s, a coverage range bounded by short-range ember spotting distances, and an effectiveness limit set by long-distance spotting that lies outside any fixed-perimeter swarm. It identifies hybrid UAV ember-management as a complement to ground-based firefighting rather than a replacement, and recommends pathways for future research including precision droplet delivery, larger fleet coordination, and integration with conventional aerial firefighting assets.
Recommended Citation
Langmayr, Christine, "Coordinated Drone Swarms for Hybrid Acoustic-Aerodynamic Ember Suppression in Wildfire Response" (2026). LMU Theses and Dissertations. 1417.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/1417
