Numerical and experimental study for a modified LPG cooking burner

Abstract

A new modification of the LPG burner (NB-5) is proposed in this study. The modification combines the advantageous features that originated from three Thai commercial burners: KB-5, S-5, and EB-5. CFD techniques were used to investigate and prove the benefits each burner’s features. Combining features increase the mixing intensity and primary aeration, generates a swirling central flame, reduces heat loss, and increases secondary aeration. These enhancements cause an increase in combustion temperature and flow velocity, which significantly improves the net heat flux of the NB-5. The simulation results indicated that the NB-5 produced the highest average temperature of 929.35 K, and the highest heat flux of 58.01 kW/m2. This leads directly to an enhancement in thermal efficiency. The new modification burner (NB-5) was built and tested experimentally based on CFD results. The NB-5 burner obtained significant improvements in thermal efficiency and a reduction in CO and NOx emissions over the three commercial burners. In comparison with the traditional KB-5 burner, it was found that the NB-5, EB-5, and S-5 burners provided average energy savings of 22.37%, 8.46%, and 1.69%, respectively. This study shows the benefit of utilizing the CFD simulations to assist in designing and modifying LPG burners. This allows manufacturers to design and optimize burners more effectively at a much lower cost than the traditional water boiling tests.