Advanced boiler design
by John Thompson
Market pressures on more cost ef-
fective, energy efficient and environ-
ment-friendly boiler designs are in-
creasing continuously. Additionally,
the challenges faced in boiler design
and combustion technology demand
more accurate engineering methods.
To meet these demands John Thomp-
son’s team of experienced engineers
are armed with state of the art engi-
neering tools through the company’s
investment in Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) technology.
The combustion process inside a
modern watertube boiler is a complex
phenomenon, consisting of numerous
chemical reactions all of which play an
important role in boiler performance.
Traditionally these boilers were
designed using lumped thermal
models of the combustion reactions
to determine fluid composition and
properties. However, these methods
required empirical correlation factors
that may not have been appropriate
for all applications.
John Thompson MicroGen
Biomass- / Fossil Fuel-fired Boiler
Computational Fluid
Dynamics
CFD technology enables engineers to
model the combustion process and
related physics of various fossil- and
biomass-fired watertube boilers and
resolve any design and operating
problems before manufacture and
commissioning.
When doing these computations dif-
ferent physical models are implement-
ed in the code to simulate the process.
Physics in the CFD model include:
tracking of the fuel particles, evapora-
tion and devolatisation of these parti-
cles, surface combustion on the fuel
particles, the combustion process in
the gas, radiation heat transfer and
pollution formation.
A high level of geometric detail is
included in the model to capture
certain key results. The geometries
considered in detail are the fuel
spreaders, the combustion air system
and furnace. The tube banks of the
various heat exchanger sections are
also included.
The results from the CFD analysis
show the temperature contours,
flow patterns, and gas composition
throughout the boiler.
The image on the right shows
combustion gas temperature contours
displayed on a plane through the
centre of the boiler model. The image
on the far right is a still image of a
video clip taken with a thermal camera
at grate level.
These more precise calculations and
data enable us to keep improving
our boiler designs which are Industry
benchmarks.
Industrial Applications
Due to the fact that CFD links
the flow characteristics with the
chemical reactions of combustion
it is an ideal platform to investigate
enhancement of fuel and air mixing,
time for combustion and temperature
of reaction. This leads to better
combustion with difficult fuels and
also higher plant efficiency with lower
emissions.
The interaction of the 3D flow and
temperature fields with the fuel
particles allows analysis of new fuels
with regard to fouling and corrosion.
Erosion is of particular importance
for biomass fuels and CFD has been
proven to predict wear patterns
realistically.
Due to recent advances in computer
hardware, complex models built on
a CFD platform have become feasible
for industrial use. This provides a
unique opportunity to investigate
cleaner and more efficient energy
from thermo-chemical conversion.
The challenges ahead are to further
develop CFD models to include more
detail and accuracy through on-site
validation.
For further information please contact:
Philip du Toit
Email: philipd@johnthompson.co.za
 Boiler design
using CFD
technology

Thermography at grate-level vs CFD results of combustion gas temperature

We use Computational Fluid Dynamics

technology to enhance our design and
engineering capabilities for the power
generation and industrial markets.

Cape Town: +27 (0)21 959 8400, Johannesburg: +27 (0)11 392 0900, Durban: +27 (0)31 408 9700
philipd@johnthompson.co.za www.johnthompson.co.za