Discussion on the Practical Use of CFD for Furnaces;A Case of Grate Type Waste Incinerators

연소로 열유동 해석 방식과 결과 분석에 대한 고찰;화격자식 소각로의 사례

Computational flow dynamics(CFD) has been frequently applied to the waste incinerators to understand the flow performance for various design and operating parameters. Though it needs many simplifications and complicated flow models, the reasonability of its results is not fully evaluated. For example, the inlet condition is calculated from an arbitrarily assumed properties of combustion gas release from the waste bed, since the combustion in the bed is difficult to be predicted. In this study, the computational modeling and calculation procedures of CFD for the grate type waste incinerator were evaluated using comparative simulations. Though the assumption method on the generation of the combustion gas directly affected the temperature and gas species concentrations, the overall flow pattern was dominated by the secondary air jets. The gaseous reaction could be included by assuming the release of the products of incomplete combusion from the bed. However, the reaction effficiency cannot not be directly evaluated from the species concentration, since it is not possible to simulate the actual co-existence of fuel rich or oxygen rich puffs over the bed. In predicting the turbulence, the higher order model, such as Reynolds stress model, gave difference shape of local recirculation zones, but similar results was acquired from the standard $k-{\varepsilon}$ model. Introducing radiation model was required for accurate temperature prediction, but it also caused heat imbalance due to the fixed temperature of the inlet, i.e. the waste bed. Thus, the computational modeling procedures on incinerators and the analysis of the predicted results should be progressed carefully. Though not validated experimentally, current simulation method is capable of comparative evaluation on the flow-related parameters such as the furnace shape and secondary air injection using identical inlet conditions. Quantitative analysis using measures of the residence time and mixing is essential to compare the flow performance efficiently.