Title: The use of CFD in design of combustion equipment

Authors: John Gillespie

Addresses: Mitsui Babcock Energy Limited, Technology Centre, High St., Renfrew, PA4 8UW, Scotland, UK

Abstract: Previously combustion equipment design methods were usually based on engineering judgement derived from practical experience of similar plant. This approach was generally applicable to a specific type of equipment with the primary objective being to scale the plant for different operating conditions. In order to build plant which is outside the current experience ||envelope||, or whose performance must be improved, more sophisticated design methods are needed. The tumbling costs of computing power and the availability of readily accessible commercial Navier-Stokes solvers have led to the rapid growth in the application of CFD techniques within the combustion industry. The major objective of computer aided engineering tools is to make design and development more timely and effective. However uncertainty about the accuracy of the predictions limits the application of CFD within the design process. It is important to understand the limitations as well as the potential of the technique. In this paper, examples will be presented to illustrate the practical use of CFD in combustion equipment design and development, and guidelines on the accuracy that can realistically be expected are presented.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics (CFD); combustion; coal; furnaces.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2001.001473

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2001 Vol.1 No.1/2/3, pp.80-90

Published online: 04 Jul 2003 *

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