Numerical Simulation of Combustion Characteristics in High Temperature Air Combustion Furnace

The influences of air preheating temperature, oxygen concentration, and fuel inlet temperature on flame properties, and NOx formation and emission in the furnace were studied with numerical simulation. The turbulence behavior was modeled using the standard k-ε model with wall function, and radiation was handled using discrete ordinate radiation model. The PDF （probability density function） /mixture fraction combustion model was used to simulate the propane combustion. Additionally, computations of NOx formation rates and NOx concentration were carried out using a post-processor on the basis of previously calculated velocities, turbulence, temperature, and chemical composition fields. The results showed that high temperature air combustion （HiTAC） is spread over a much larger volume than traditional combustion, flame volume increases with a reduction of oxygen concentration, and this trend is clearer if oxygen concentration in the preheated air is below 10%. The temperature profile becomes more uniform when oxygen concentration in preheated air decreases, especially at low oxygen levels. Increase in fuel inlet tempera- ture lessens the mixing of the fuel and air in primary combustion zone, creates more uniform distribution of reactants inside the flame, decreases the maximum temperature in furnace, and reduces NOx emission greatly.

Lowering the cost of large-scale energy storage:High temperature adiabatic compressed air energy storage

Compressed air energy storage is an energy storage technology with strong potential to play a significant role in balancing energy on transmission networks,owing to its use of mature technologies and low cost per unit of storage capacity.Adiabatic compressed air energy storage(A-CAES)systems typically compress air from ambient temperature in the charge phase and expand the air back to ambient temperature in the discharge phase.This papers explores the use of an innovative operating scheme for an A-CAES system aimed at lowering the total cost of the system for a given exergy storage capacity.The configuration proposed considers preheating of the air before compression which increases the fraction of the total exergy that is stored in the fom of high-grade heat in comparison to existing designs in which the main exergy storage medium is the compressed air itself.Storing a high fraction of the total exergy as heat allows reducing the capacity of costly pressure stores in the system and replacing it with cheaper thermal energy stores.Additionally,a configuration that integrates a system based on the aforementioned concept with solar thermal power or low-medium grade waste heat is introduced and thoroughly discussed.

Investigation on Combustion Characteristics and NO Formation of Methane with Swirling and Non-Swirling High Temperature Air

Combustion characteristics of methane jet flames in an industrial burner working in high temperature combustion regime were investigated experimentally and numerically to clarify the effects of swirling high temperature air on combustion.Speziale-Sarkar-Gatski(SSG) Reynolds stress model,Eddy-Dissipation Model(EDM),Discrete Ordinates Method(DTM) combined with Weighted-Sum-of-Grey Gases Model(WSGG) were employed for the numerical simulation.Both Thermal-NO and Prompt-NO mechanism were considered to evaluate the NO formation.Temperature distribution,NO emissions by experiment and computation in swirling and non-swirling patterns show combustion characteristics of methane jet flames are totally different.Non-swirling high temperature air made high NO formation while significant NO prohibition were achieved by swirling high temperature air.Furthermore,velocity fields,dimensionless major species mole fraction distributions and Thermal-NO molar reaction rate profiles by computation interpret an inner exhaust gas recirculation formed in the combustion zone in swirling case.

An Experimental Study on High Temperature and Low Oxygen Air Combustion

High temperature preheated and diluted air combustion has been confirmed as the technology, mainly applied to industrial furnaces and kilns, to realize higher thermal efficiency and lower emissions. The purpose of this study was to investigate fundamental aspects of the above-mentioned combustion experimentally and to compare with those in ordinary hydrocarbon combustion with room temperature air. The test items were exhaust gas components of CO, NOx, flame shape and radical components of CH, OH and C2,which were measured with gas analyser, camera and ICCD(Intensified Charged - Coupled Device) camera. Many Phenomena as results appeared in combustion with the oxidizer, low oxygen concentration and extremely high temperature air, such as expansion of the flammable limits, increased flame propagation speed, it looked so strange as compared with those in existing combustion technology. We confirmed that such extraordinary phenomena were believable through the hot-test experiment.

Dynamic simulation on effect of flame arrangement on thermal process of regenerative reheating furnace

By analyzing the characteristics of combustion and billet heating process, a 3-D transient computer fluid dynamic simulation system based on commercial software CFX4.3 and some self-programmed codes were developed to simulate the thermal process in a continuous heating furnace using high temperature air combustion technology. The effects of different switching modes on injection entrancement of multi burners, combustion and billet heating process in furnace were analyzed numerically, and the computational results were compared with on-site measurement, which verified the practicability of this numerical simulation system. The results indicate that the flow pattern and distribution of temperature in regenerative reheating furnace with partial same-side-switching combustion mode are favorable to satisfy the high quality requirements of reheating, in which the terminal heating temperature of billets is more than 1 460 K and the temperature difference between two nodes is not more than 10 K. But since the surface average temperature of billets apart fi＇om heating zone is only about 1 350 K and continued heating is needed in soaking zone, the design and operation of current state are still needed to be optimized to improve the temperature schedule of billet heating. The distribution of velocity and temperature in regenerative reheating furnace with same-side-switching combustion mode cannot satisfy the even and fast heating process. The terminal heating temperature of billets is lower than that of the former case by 30 K. The distribution of flow and temperature can be improved by using cross-switching combustion mode, whose terminal temperature of billets is about 1 470 K with small temperature difference within 10 K.

Temperature Distribution and Heat Saturating Time of Regenerative Heat Transfer

In this paper, heat transfer of the ceramic honeycomb regenerator was numerically simulated based on the computational fluid dynamics numerical analysis software CFX5. The longitudinal temperature distribution of regenerator and gas were obtained. The variation of temperature with time was discussed. In addition, the effects of some parameters such as switching time, gas temperature at the inlet of regenerator, height of regenerator and specific heat of the regenerative materials on heat saturating time were discussed. It provided primarily theoretic basis for further study of regenerative heat transfer mechanism.

Progress and recent trend in MILD combustion

Moderate or intense low oxygen dilution(MILD)combustion plays a significant role in the mitigation of combustion-generated pollutants and greenhouse gases whilst meeting thermal efficiency needs.However,due to the lack of the fundamental knowledge on this combustion,there is a misconception that MILD combustion should be established by high preheating of the air,which has limited its application.Our research and development on this combustion has been performed for several years. We have found that the requirements for establishing the MILD combustion are more relaxed than previously.It is also revealed that this combustion of different type,i.e.,non-premixed,partially premixed and fully premixed,can be achieved by firing various fuels(i.e.,gaseous,liquid and solid fuels).It is suggested that the application of the MILD combustion can be expanded significantly.The present review summarizes the progress and recent trend made in the R&D of this combustion and recommends further fundamental studies for improving our knowledge and widening its applications.

Dome Combustion Hot Blast Stove for Huge Blast Furnace

In Shougang Jingtang 5 500m 3 huge blast furnace ( BF ) design , dome combustion hot blast stove ( DCHBS ) technology is developed.DCHBS process is optimized and integrated , and reasonable hot blast stove ( HBS ) technical parameters are determined.Mathematic model is established and adopted by computational fluid dynamics ( CFD ) .The transmission theory is studied for hot blast stove combustion and gas flow , and distribution results of HBS velocity field , CO density field and temperature field are achieved.Physical test model and hot trail unit are established , and the numeral calculation result is verified through test and investigation.3-D simulation design is adopted.HBS process flow and process layout are optimized and designed.Combustion air two-stage high temperature preheating technology is designed and developed.Two sets of small size DCHBSs are adopted to preheat the combustion air to 520-600℃.With the precondition of BF gas combustion , the hot blast stove dome temperature can exceed 1 420 ℃. According to DCHBS technical features , reasonable refractory structure is designed.Effective technical measures are adopted to prevent hot blast stove shell intercrystalline stress corrosion.Hot blast stove hot pipe and lining system are optimized and designed.After blowing in , the blast temperature keeps increasing , and the monthly average blast temperature reaches 1 300℃ when burning single BF gas.