Dynamic Structure Cellular Automata in a Fire Spreading Application

Studying complex propagation phenomena is usually performed through cellular simulation models. Usually cellular models are specific cellular automata developed by non-computer specialists. We attempt to present here a mathematical specification of a new kind of CA. The latter allows to soundly specify cellular models using a discrete time base, avoiding basic CA limitations (infinite lattice, neighborhood and rules uniformity of the cells, closure of the system to external events, static structure, etc.). Object-oriented techniques and discrete event simulation are used to achieve this goal. The approach is validated through a fire spreading application.