Characteristics of a power station boiler

An experimental investigation of the flow patterns in a model of a power station boiler has been carried out under isothermal conditions, to produce data for computational fluid dynamic code validation. Measurements were made in three dimensions on a single swirl burner in isolation, in two dimensions on a bank of 12 burners in a 4 × 3 grid and in the model boiler with this bank installed. The single burner exhibited a central reverse flow zone with high levels of turbulence at its boundaries. The general flow pattern found in the single burner was greatly distorted when interaction with surrounding burners in the bank occurred. Several unexpected secondary flows occurred. The model boiler displayed a complex flow arrangement with recirculation zones and two stagnation points.