Modeling Homogeneous Combustion in Bubbling Beds Burning Liquid Fuels

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziano Faravelli ◽  
Alessio Frassoldati ◽  
Eliseo Ranzi ◽  
Francesco Miccio ◽  
Michele Miccio
Keyword(s):  
Fluidized Bed ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Model Development ◽  
Detailed Chemical Kinetics ◽  
Injection Point ◽  
Emulsion Phase ◽  
Bed Temperature ◽  
Homogeneous Combustion

This paper presents a first implementation of a model for the description of homogeneous combustion of different fuels in fluidized bed combustors (FBC) at temperatures lower than the classical value for solid fuels, i.e. 850°C. Model construction is based on a key feature of the bubbling fluidized bed: a fuel-rich (endogenous) bubble is generated at the fuel injection point, travels inside the bed at constant pressure and undergoes chemical conversion in presence of mass transfer with the emulsion phase and of coalescence with air (exogenous) bubbles formed at the distributor and, possibly, with other endogenous bubbles. The model couples a fluid-dynamic sub-model based on the two phases theory of fluidization with a sub-model of gas phase oxidation. To this end, model development takes full advantage of a detailed chemical kinetics scheme, which includes both the low and high temperature mechanisms of hydrocarbon oxidation and accounts for about 200 molecular and radical species involved in more than 5000 reactions. Simple hypotheses are made to set-up and close mass balances of the various species as well as enthalpy balances in the bed. First, conversion and oxidation of gaseous fuels (e.g. methane) have been calculated as a test case for the model; then, n-dodecane has been taken into consideration to simply represent a diesel fuel by means of a pure hydrocarbon. Model predictions qualitatively agree with some evidences coming from experimental data reported in the literature. The fate of hydrocarbon species is extremely sensitive to temperature changes and oxygen availability in the rising bubble. A preliminary model validation has been attempted against the results of experiments carried out on a pre-pilot, bubbling combustor fired with underbed injection of a diesel fuel. In particular, model results confirm the trends that the heat release either in the bed or in the freeboard experimentally shows as a function of bed temperature. At lower emulsion phase temperatures many combustible species leave unburned the bed, post-combustion occurs past the bed and freeboard temperature considerably increases; as it is well known, this is an undesirable feature from the viewpoints of practical application and emission control.

Modeling Homogeneous Combustion in Bubbling Beds Burning Liquid Fuels

2006 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziano Faravelli ◽  
Alessio Frassoldati ◽  
Eliseo Ranzi ◽  
Miccio Francesco ◽  
Miccio Michele
Keyword(s):  
Fluidized Bed ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Kinetic Scheme ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Injection Point ◽  
Emulsion Phase ◽  
Bed Temperature ◽  
Homogeneous Combustion

This paper introduces a model for the description of the homogeneous combustion of various fuels in fluidized bed combustors (FBC) at temperatures lower than the classical value for solid fuels, i.e., 850°C. The model construction is based on a key bubbling fluidized bed feature: A fuel-rich (endogenous) bubble is generated at the fuel injection point, travels inside the bed at constant pressure, and undergoes chemical conversion in the presence of mass transfer with the emulsion phase and of coalescence with air (exogenous) bubbles formed at the distributor and, possibly, with other endogenous bubbles. The model couples a fluid-dynamic submodel based on two-phase fluidization theory with a submodel of gas phase oxidation. To this end, the model development takes full advantage of a detailed chemical kinetic scheme, which includes both the low and high temperature mechanisms of hydrocarbon oxidation, and accounts for about 200 molecular and radical species involved in more than 5000 reactions. Simple hypotheses are made to set up and close mass balances for the various species as well as enthalpy balances in the bed. First, the conversion and oxidation of gaseous fuels (e.g., methane) were calculated as a test case for the model; then, n-dodecane was taken into consideration to give a simple representation of diesel fuel using a pure hydrocarbon. The model predictions qualitatively agree with some of the evidence from the experimental data reported in the literature. The fate of hydrocarbon species is extremely sensitive to temperature change and oxygen availability in the rising bubble. A preliminary model validation was attempted with results of experiments carried out on a prepilot, bubbling combustor fired by underbed injection of a diesel fuel. Specifically, the model results confirm that heat release both in the bed and in the freeboard is a function of bed temperature. At lower emulsion phase temperatures many combustible species leave the bed unburned, while post-combustion occurs after the bed and freeboard temperature considerably increases. This is a well-recognized undesirable feature from the viewpoint of practical application and emission control.

The Local Heat Balance in a Stationary Fluidized-Bed Furnace Burning Biomass Fuels

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrik Niklasson ◽  
Filip Johnsson
Keyword(s):  
Fluidized Bed ◽  
Combustion Rate ◽  
Heat Balance ◽  
Circulating Fluidized Bed ◽  
Local Heat ◽  
Splash Zone ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Bed Temperature ◽  
Temperature Constant ◽  
The Vertical Distribution

This work investigates the influence of biomass fuel properties on the local heat balance in a commercial-scale fluidized bed furnace. Experiments with different wood based fuels were performed in the Chalmers 12 MWth circulating fluidized bed boiler, temporarily modified to run under stationary conditions. A two-phase flow model of the bed and splash zone is applied, where the combustion rate in the bed is estimated by global kinetic expressions, limited by gas exchange between oxygen-rich bubbles and a fuel-rich emulsion phase. The outflow of bubbles from the bed is treated as “ghost bubbles” in the splash zone, where the combustion rate is determined from turbulent properties. It is found that a large amount of heat is required for the fuel and air to reach the temperature of the bed, in which the heat from combustion is limited by a low char content of the fuel. This implies that a substantial fraction of the heat from combustion of volatiles in the splash zone has to be transferred back to the bed to keep the bed temperature constant. It is concluded that the moisture content of the fuel does not considerably alter the vertical distribution of heat emitted, as long as the bed temperature is kept constant by means of flue gas recycling.

A phenomenological combustion analysis of a dual-fuel natural-gas diesel engine

2016 ◽  
Vol 231 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuonan Xu ◽  
David Anderson ◽  
Mark Hoffman ◽  
Robert Prucka ◽  
Zoran Filipi
Keyword(s):  
Diesel Engine ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Heat Release ◽  
Diesel Fuel ◽  
Fuel Injection ◽  
Dual Fuel ◽  
Injection Timing ◽  
Heavy Duty ◽  
Engine System ◽  
Wiebe Function

Energy security concerns and an abundant supply of natural gas in the USA provide the impetus for engine designers to consider alternative gaseous fuels in the existing engines. The dual-fuel natural-gas diesel engine concept is attractive because of the minimal design changes, the ability to preserve a high compression ratio of the baseline diesel, and the lack of range anxiety. However, the increased complexity of a dual-fuel engine poses challenges, including the knock limit at a high load, the combustion instability at a low load, and the transient response of an engine with directly injected diesel fuel and port fuel injection of compressed natural gas upstream of the intake manifold. Predictive simulations of the complete engine system are an invaluable tool for investigations of these conditions and development of dual-fuel control strategies. This paper presents the development of a phenomenological combustion model of a heavy-duty dual-fuel engine, aided by insights from experimental data. Heat release analysis is carried out first, using the cylinder pressure data acquired with both diesel-only and dual-fuel (diesel and natural gas) combustion over a wide operating range. A diesel injection timing correlation based on the injector solenoid valve pulse widths is developed, enabling the diesel fuel start of injection to be detected without extra sensors on the fuel injection cam. The experimental heat release trends are obtained with a hybrid triple-Wiebe function for both diesel-only operation and dual-fuel operation. The ignition delay period of dual-fuel operation is examined and estimated with a predictive correlation using the concept of a pseudo-diesel equivalence ratio. A four-stage combustion mechanism is discussed, and it is shown that a triple-Wiebe function has the ability to represent all stages of dual-fuel combustion. This creates a critical building block for modeling a heavy-duty dual-fuel turbocharged engine system.

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