Simulation of Pulverized Coal Combustion Process Considering Turbulence-Radiation Interaction

In this paper, the combustion process of a 350 MW opposite pulverized coal combustion boiler is studied using a combined field test and numerical simulation. Considering the turbulence-radiation interaction (TRI) effect caused by turbulent particle pulsation during the combustion process, the TRI model is modified by introducing optical factors. The interaction between the optical thickness and the radiation pulsation of pulverized coal particles during the combustion process is studied to learn the influences of turbulent particle combustion on radiative heat transfer. According to the analysis of the TRI influence on pulverized coal combustion, the temperature of the cross section decreases with TRI. Compared with the traditional radiation model calculation, the time-average temperature of the cross section is reduced by 49.85 K, and the deviation from the experimental data is reduced by 1.54%. It is proved that the temperature distribution in the furnace considering TRI is closer to reality. In the numerical simulation of the TRI sensitivity to the optical thickness of the particles, it is found that with TRI, the increase of optical thickness will strengthen the effect of turbulent kinetic energy in the combustion area. Due to the increase in particle density, the content of the main radiation medium produced by combustion, H₂O and CO₂, increases and the radiation effect in the furnace is enhanced. In the fire area with dense particles, the average temperature of the cross section increases by 28 K. Hence, the change in optical thickness causes the change of TRI parameters, and the TRI effect becomes more significant with the increase of particle load.