Wildfire Knowledge Graph · Water Systems
Hydraulic head required to raise water through a vertical elevation difference.
In plain language
Hydraulic head required to raise water through a vertical elevation difference.
Why it matters
Elevation Head is useful because it separates one specific part of wildfire behaviour, exposure, operations or evidence from nearby concepts that can otherwise be mixed together.
What is elevation head?
Elevation head is the energy per unit weight associated with the vertical position of a fluid. In the Bernoulli energy equation it is represented by the elevation term z.
For a pump or hose system, the practical quantity is usually the difference in elevation between two points: Δz = z₂ − z₁. A positive elevation difference adds head that the pump must overcome; a downhill difference can reduce the required static contribution.
Simple example
If a water source is at 420 m elevation and the discharge point is at 470 m, the elevation difference is 50 m. Before friction losses and required nozzle pressure are considered, the system already needs to account for 50 m of elevation head.
Elevation head vs static head vs total dynamic head
- Elevation head: the vertical-position term.
- Static head: the pressure-equivalent elevation difference when flow-related losses are excluded.
- Total dynamic head: the combined head requirement at a specified flow, including elevation, friction and other losses plus any required residual pressure.
This distinction matters in wildfire water-supply calculations because a pump that appears adequate at ground level may deliver very different performance when elevation and hose friction are added.
Related concepts: Static Head · Total Dynamic Head · Hose Friction Loss · Pump Curve.