In Situ PLIF and Particle Image Velocimetry Measurements of the Primary Entrainment Fuel Jet in a Naturally Aspirated Water Heater

Abstract

The time-averaged characteristics of a fuel jet have been measured via acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) in the primary mixing region of an operating gas-fired water heater. These measurements allow for experimental characterization of the cross-sectional scalar and velocity fields as well as the estimation of the mass entrainment as the flow enters the burner in a practical system. In these experiments, reasonable results were obtained when only the fuel jet was seeded with acetone or PIV particles rather than the entire flow, thus demonstrating the potential for simplified experimental configurations in some applications where controlling or seeding the entire flow may be difficult. The entrainment characteristics of the fuel jet are compared with benchmarks from literature. The commercial device exhibits a larger mass entrainment rate than is found in typical free jets that have been studied in the literature. This may be a result of the jet's low Reynolds number (9,600) in comparison with other literature studies, and a result of initial conditions.