00/03550 Modeling of hydrodynamics of large scale atmospheric circulating fluidized bed coal combustors

Abstract

A model for evaluation of the hydrodynamics of gas-solid flow in the riser of a circulating fluidized bed coal boiler is proposed. The 3D fields of the gas and solid velocities and of the solid concentration in the riser are estimated from measured data of the vertical pressure profile. The model includes semi-empirical laws developed on the basis of a set of experimental data on six industrial boilers ranging from 12 MWth to 700 MWth. Its relevance for laboratory scale risers was not tested. The estimation of flow of solids near the walls was fulfilled with a special care due to the influence of this flow on heat transfer. For the validation of the model, measurements of solid concentration with guarded capacitance probes were performed in the 250 MWe Stein Industrie-Lurgi type CFB boiler in Gardanne, France. Finally, an attempt to predict the vertical pressure profile on the riser, starting from the operating conditions (and based on an empirical evaluation of the variation of the downward flow of solid from local conditions) is presented and compared to experimental data.