Experimental research on flame propagation characteristics of coal dust combustion

The presence of coal dust explosions in coal mining are significant safety hazards.This study mainly explores the flame propagation of coal dust combustion so as to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of coal dust explosions.In the experiment,a dust cloud ignition device was used to experimentally explore the influence of the coal dust concentration on the flame propagation of the coal dust,and high-speed photography was used to record the coal dust flame propagation process.The results show that the flame propagates vertically along the wall of the vertical glass tube,emits a bright yellow light during the propagation process,and forms a mushroom cloud-shaped flame at the upper end of the vertical glass tube.When the concentration of coal dust is 250 g/m^(3),its burning time is much less than those of 500 g/m^(3)and 750 g/m^(3).When the concentrations are 250 g/m^(3),500 g/m^(3)and 750 g/m^(3),respectively,the corresponding maximum propagation velocities of the flame front reach 1.51 m/s,2.00 m/s and 1.61 m/s at 100 ms,353 ms and 310 ms,respectively.The time for the flame front velocity to reach the maximum and the maximum velocity of flame propagation first increase and then decrease with the rising of concentration.

Numerical Simulation of Oxy-coal Combustion for a Swirl Burner with EDC Model

The characteristics of oxy-coal combustion for a swirl burner with a specially designed preheating chamber are studied numerically. In order to increase the accuracy in the prediction of flame temperature and igni- tion position, eddy dissipation concept （EDC） model with a skeletal chemical reaction mechanism was adopted to describe the combustion of volatile matter. Simulation was conducted under six oxidant stream conditions with dif- ferent OjN2/CO2 molar ratios： 21/79/0, 30/70/0, 50/50/0, 21/0/79, 30/0/70 and 50/0/50. Results showed that 02 en- richment in the primary oxidant stream is in favor of combustion stabilization, acceleration of ignition and increase of maximum flame temperature, while the full substitution of N2 by CO2 in the oxidant stream delays ignition and decreases the maximum flame temperature. However, the overall flow field and flame shapes in these cases are very similar at the same flow rate of the primary oxidant stream. Combustion characteristics of the air-coal is similar to that of the oxy-coal with 30% 02 and 70% CO2 in the oxidant stream, indicating that the rear condition is suitable for retrofitting an air-coal fired boiler to an oxy-coal one. The swirl burner with a specially designed preheating chamber can increase flame temperature, accelerate ignition and enhance burning intensity of pulverized coal under oxy-coal combustion. Also, qualitative experimental validation indicated the burner can reduce the overall NOx emission under certain 02 enrichment and oxy-coal combustion conditions against the air-coal combustion.

Experiment study on the propagation laws of gas and coal dust explosion in coal mine

The experiment of gas and coal dust explosion propagation in a single lanewaywas carried out in a large experimental roadway that is nearly the same with actual environmentand geometry conditions.In the experiment,the time when the gas and coal dustexplosion flame reaches test points has a logarithmic function relation with the test pointdistances.The explosion flame propagation velocity rises rapidly in the foreside of the coaldust segment and comes down after that.The length of the flame area is about 2 timesthat of the original coal dust accumulation area.Shock wave pressure comes down to therock bottom in the coal dust segment,then reaches the maximum peak rapidly and comesdown.The theoretical basis of the research and assemble of across or explosion is suppliedby the experiment conclusion.Compared with gas explosion,the force and destructiondegree of gas and coal dust explosion is much larger.

Recent Advances in Flame Tomography

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel fired power plants,a range of new combustion technologies are being developed or refined,including oxy-fuel combustion,co-firing biomass with coal and fluidized bed combustion.Flame characteristics under such combustion conditions are expected to be different from those in normal air fired combustion processes.Quantified flame characteristics such as temperature distribution,oscillation frequency,and ignition volume play an important part in the optimized design and operation of the environmentally friendly power generation systems.However,it is challenging to obtain such flame characteristics particularly through a three-dimensional and non-intrusive means.Various tomography methods have been proposed to visualize and characterize flames,including passive optical tomography,laser based tomography,and electrical tomography.This paper identifies the challenges in flame tomography and reviews existing techniques for the quantitative characterization of flames.Future trends in flame tomography for industrial applications are discussed.

Measurement method and experimental research on flame emissivity in coal-fired furnaces

The combustion condition in coal-fired furnaces of the large power station boiler is very complex and the flame emissivity is one of the important combustion parameters. A measurement method of the flame emissivity based on the blackbody furnace calibration of CCD （Charge Coupled Device） cameras and the color image processing techniques of computer was introduced. The experimental research on the flame emissivity in a 200 MW boiler furnace and a 300 MW boiler furnace was conducted respectively through the several CCD cameras installed at different height in furnace. The measurement results show： the flame emissivity increases with the increase of the unit load, the flame emissivity of the burner areas in furnace is the highest and the flame emissivity decrease with the increase of height of furnace above the burners area.

Study on the forecast method for underground coal mine

At present,coal mine fires were forecasted with some temperature,smog,CO,CO_2,etc,however,this method can't meet the requirements for safe production of coalmines in monitoring accuracy and validity.Overcoming these problems of foregone moni-toring methods,using multi-parameters which include fire image,smog,CO,CO_2,O_2,etc,the paper put forward a synthetical analysis monitor with advanced technology of neuralnetwork.The research and application of this method has significance in theory and prac-tical value for coal mine fire forecast.

Mathematical Modeling of Flow Field in CeramicCandle Filter

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is one of the candidates to achieve stringent environmental regulation among the clean coal technologies. Advancing the technology of the hot gas cleanupsystems is the most critical component in the development of the IGCC. Thus the aim of this study isto understand the flow field in the ceramic filter and the influence of ceramic filter in removal of theparticles contained in the hot gas flow. The numerical model based on the Reynolds stress turbulencemodel with the Darcy’s law in the porous region is adopted. It is found that the effect of the porosityin the flowfield is negligibly small while the effect of the filter length is significant. It is also found asthe permeability decreases, the reattachment point due to the flow separation moves upstream. Thisis because the fluid is sucked into the filter region due to the pressure drop before the flow separationoccurs. The particle follows well with the fluid stream and the particle is directly sucked into the filterdue to the pressure drop even in the flow separation region.

Analysis of Turbulence and Surface Growth Models on the Estimation of Soot Level in Ethylene Non-Premixed Flames

Soot prediction in a combustion system has become a subject of attention, as many factors influence its accuracy. An accurate temperature prediction will likely yield better soot predictions, since the inception, growth and de- struction of the soot are affected by the temperature. This paper reported the study on the influences of turbulence closure and surface growth models on the prediction of soot levels in turbulent flames. The results demonstrated that a substantial distinction was observed in terms of temperature predictions derived using the k-c and the Rey- nolds stress models, for the two ethylene flames studied here amongst the four types of surface growth rate model investigated, the assumption of the soot surface growth rate proportional to the particle number density, but inde- pendent on the surface area of soot particles,f（As） = pNs, yields in closest agreement with the radial data. Without any adjustment to the constants in the surface growth term, other approaches where the surface growth directly proportional to the surface area and square root of surface area, f （As） = As and f （A,） = √As, result in an un- der-prediction of soot volume fraction. These results suggest that predictions of soot volume fraction are sensitive to the modelling of surface growth.

Experimental investigation on flame stabilization of a kerosene-fueled scramjet combustor with pilot hydrogen

Flame stabilization in a kerosene-fueled scramjet combustor was investigated experimentally through Schlieren,flame luminosity,and wall pressure measurement,aiming to obtain better insight into combustion characteristics.Experiments were conducted in a direct-connected supersonic combustion facility with inflow conditions of Mach number 2.0,stagnation pressure 0.82 MPa,and temperature 950 K,simulating the flight condition of Mach number 4.0.Results revealed that kerosene was able to be ignited when the equivalence ratio of pilot hydrogen reached 0.080,but was unsuccessful when the equivalence ratio was 0.040.Once ignited,the intense combustion induced high back pressure forcing the flame to spread into the isolator.The pilot flame invariably appeared in the cavity shear layer and attached to the cavity ramp under different equivalence ratios of pilot hydrogen.With the mass flux of pilot hydrogen increased,the kerosene flame located near the cavity ramp was asymmetrical and unstable since it propagated upstream repeatedly.Therefore,the kerosene could be ignited by a suitable equivalence ratio of continuous pilot hydrogen,potentially accompanied with unstable combustion.

Flame Spread over Aviation Kerosene with an Obstacle in Liquid Phase

The phenomena of flame spread over aviation kerosene with an obstacle in liquid phase are investigated experimentally through surface temperature measurement by using infrared camera,schlieren images of subsurface flow in front of and behind obstacle and residence time of flame obtained from video recording.Experimental results reveal that obstacle has no effect on gas phase controlled flame spread.But for liquid phase controlled flame spread,flame can be stopped by an obstacle with its top edge flush with oil surface,and the residence time decreases with the increase of initial temperature of fuel.That conduction and radiation only play a subsidiary role in flame spread over liquid fuel was proved by schlieren images and surface temperature profiles.

Combustion Stabilization based on a Center Flame Strut in a Liquid Kerosene Fueled Supersonic Combustor

A newly designed strut is proposed in this paper for fuel injection and flame holding in a liquid-kerosene-fueled supersonic combustor. The thickness of the strut is 8ram and the front blockage is about 8%. The characteristic of this strut is that extra oxygen can be injected through a set of orifices at the back of the strut, which can change the local flow field structure and ER （Equivalence Ratio）. Based on the above mentioned strut, a stable local flame is generated at the back of the strut and the main combustion can be organized around this local fire. Nu- merical simulation is conducted to compare the local flow field distribution at the back of the strut with/without extra oxygen injection. Experiments are conducted to test the combustion characteristics based on this fuel injec- tion and flame holding strategy. The temperature distribution which can reflect the local flame characteristic has been measured in the experiments conducted under cold incoming supersonic air flow condition. In addition, the overall combustion performance in a full-scale supersonic combustor has been evaluated in the experiments con- ducted under hot incoming supersonic air flow condition. Results show that this strut strategy is very promising since it can organize stable supersonic combustion at the center of the combustor without any cavity or rearward facing step. Besides that, even with the 8ram thick strut, the combustion can be stable in a wide range of ER from 0.25-1 by using liquid room-temperature kerosene.