NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A SELF-REGENERATIVE FLAMELESS OXIDATION BURNER OPERATION IN A PILOT-SCALE FURNACE

Abstract

An experimental study was performed on a 200 kW natural gas furnace, equipped with a self-regenerative burner working in the diluted combustion mode (flameless oxidation). In-flame temperature and species concentration measurements and UV imaging were used in order to get more detailed information on the characteristics of this combustion process: low NOx emission and uniformity of heat transfer (location and extension of the reaction zone).

The commercial CFD code FLUENT is used to model the furnace with some of the combustion models available. The validation of those models, based on the comparison of experimental profiles of temperature and main species, is discussed.

Keywords:

• CFD modeling
• flameless oxidation
• natural gas burner
• NOx

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work has been performed in the framework of the IEA Implementing Agreement for a Program of Applied Research, Development and Demonstration in Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction in Combustion. The authors wish to thank the Walloon Government for continuous financial support of this program since 1992.