Numerical and experimental analyses of a novel natural gas cooking burner with the aim of improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental pollution

Abstract

Any optimization performed on home stoves can substantially reduce natural gas consumption due to their widespread utilization. The advantages of these optimizations include reduced energy consumption, economic benefits, and reduced emissions. Hence, the present study aims to perform experimental and numerical analyses on the effect of parameters such as outlet port swirling, port number, conical inlet nozzle, and the vessel height (burner-to-vessel distance) on the performance of home stoves. The numerical modeling was initially performed to observe the impact of the mentioned parameters on the stove performance. Subsequently, the combustion performance of the burner was investigated in an experimental study for different gas stoves to evaluate the results. Eventually, the validity of the numerical study was confirmed by the experimental data. The simple inlet nozzle demonstrated a uniform temperature distribution that reached the bottom of the vessel with a higher temperature. The maximum flame temperature was approximately 1300 K, which exhibited a wider range for a simple nozzle. Based on the conditions of this study, the amount of heat flux at the bottom of the vessel was 5 kW/m2. Increasing the number of ports did not lead to a complete flame distribution around the burner, and the flame was observed only in four areas adjacent to the burner. The experimental study showed that the highest efficiency belonged to the vessel height of 32.2 mm. Finally, the analysis revealed that the swirl burner with a 1.5 mm port and at a vessel height of 32.2 mm caused two types of ovens with efficiencies of 59.6% and 64.5% to increase the efficiency by 2.46% and 1.6%, respectively. This increase in efficiency led to the conversion of the studied stove to a higher-grade gas stove.