COMBUSTION AND FLAME 23, 143~201(1974)

Combustion in Swirling Flows: A FReview

N. SYRED* and J. M. BEkR
Departmmt of ChemicalEngineering and Fuel Technology, Sheffield University. Sheffield SI 3JD, Engbtrd

swirling. flows haur been commonly used iorrt numberof yearsfor the stabilization of high imensKy
combustion processes. In general these swirling flowr are poctly understood because of their com-
plexity. This paper describes the recent proltlea in underskwding and using these swirling flows, The
main cffcctsof swirl arrto lmpruve ~rruncstability as a resuIt of the formation of toroidrd recircuh-
tion ZO;I~:S and to reduce combustion lengths by producina hizh rates of entrainment of the ambient
fltianr! fast rnixiw, particularIyX%r to fhi! boundarbes of recuculaiion zones. Two main types bf
swirl ccrlbustor can be identified as follows:
The hid Burner. Here swirling flow exhausts into a furnace or cavity and combustion occurs in
and just 1tutside the burner exit.
The Cjclone Combusriun Chamber. Here air is injected tangentially into a large, usually, cylindrical
chamber and exhausts through a centrally located exit hole in one end. Combustion mostly occurs
inside 1111:
cyclone chamber.
Initially the isothermal performance of swirl combustors is considered, and it is demonstrated that.
contrary to many previous assumptions, the flow is often not axisymmetric but three-dimensional
timodeprndent. Under moat normal nonpremixed combustion conditions, the swirling flow returns
to axis\ olmetry, although there is still a residual presence of the tieedimensionality, particularly on
the boundary of the reverse flow zone. Swirl inaeases considerablythe stability limits of most flames;
in fact with certain swirl burners, the blow-off limits are virtually infinite. Cyclone combustion
chambershave large internal reverse flow zones which provide very long residence times for the
fuel/air mixtare. They are typically used for the combustion of diffiiuh materials such as poor
quality wal or vegetable refuse. In contrast to the swirl burner which usually has one central toroidal.
recircukdion zone, the cyclone combustor often has up to three concentric toroidal recirculation
zones. Sufficient information is also available to indicate that stratified or staged fuel or air entry
may be wed to minimize noise, hydrocarbon, and NO, emissions from swirl comhustors.

1. Introduction (c) As the blockage is aerodynamic, flame im-

Swirl has been commonly used for the stabiliza-
tion of high-intensity combustion [l-6] .
The main effects of swirl are as follows:
(a) To reduce combustion lengths by producing
higher rates of entrainment of the ambient fluid
and fast mixing close to the exit nozzle and on the
boundaries of recirculation zones [l-6].
(b) To improve flame stability as a result of the
formation of toroidal recirculation zones in
strongly swirling zones [l-6 1.
--
*Pr(:sent address: Department of Mechanical Engineer-
ing, University Ccdlege, Cardiff CFl 1 XP, Wales.
pingement on the burner may be minimized, thus
ensuring minimum maintenance and extended
life for the unit.
These toroidal recirculation zones, which
recirculate heat and active chemical species to the
root of the flame, thus reducing velocity require-
ments for flame stabilization, are only formed
beyond a critical swirl nunbe: (>0.6) [7]. Non-
recirculating swirling flows have been extensively
investigated [7-121, but the most significant
effects of swirling flow are produced by recircula-
tion. This paper is hence mainly concerned with
swirling flow and recirculation.

Copyright Q 1974 by The Combustion Instltuto

Publish& Whnarican Elwier Publishia&ompuly. Inc.
 144

(a)

Fig. 1. (a) Scheme of swirl burner with axial and tangential air entries [Zl] . (b) Russian Enin cyclone furnace with dis-
tributed fuel and air admission I491 . 3, secondary ak box; 2, vortex ring; 3, gas coUector;4, furnace roof; 5, oil atomizers;
6, cyclane chamber; 7, water cooled casing; 8, outlet throat; 9, electrical ignition.

In general, two main types of swirl combustor
m&y be found.
(a) The Swid Burner. Swirling flow exhausts
inta the atmosphere or furnace or cavity. Com-
bustion mostly OCC~IS in and just outside the
bumer exit [Fig. 1(a)] . Groups of sim3ar burners
may be arranged to fire into a furnace or cavity.
(b) TIzeCyclone Co~nbustion Charnbep. Air is
injected tangentially into a large, usually cykdri-
cal, chamber and exhausts through a cer,ltrally
i46

SWiRt PIPE
17.5 cm. I.D.

A momentum parameter 51&f@Q’ ad a

fluctuating pressure parameter Ap@ /pE.

SLITS 4~8cm.WIBE
35 cm. LONG.
2.1 Swirl Burnerr
Two principal modes of swirl generation are in
common use: (a) guide vanes in axial tubes: [Fig+
2(a)] ; (b) tangential entry of the fluid stream, or
part of it, into a cylindrical duct [Fig. 2(b)] I
There are naturally many variations, ranglrq
from the movable-block swirl generator of Beer
and Leuckel [ 141 developed at the InternMona
Flame Research Foundation to the axial-tangential
vane units of Akhmedor and Rashidov [IS-l Q]+
which are, la fact, a hybrid of types (a) and (b)
swirl generation.
Despite the differences in configuration, there
are many similarities in flow patterns produced
by different types of swirl generators. Swirl
numbers of typical burners are usually in tie
range 0.6 -+ 2.5,
The results of detailed measurements of ths flow
structure produced by the swirl burner shown in
Fig. 2(b) are detailed in Figs. 3 and 4 [ 17-l S] .
It may be seen that a large toroidal recirculation
AXIAL AIR QR GAS
zone is formed i.n the exit, occupying up to 75%
INLET 1.25 cm t.D.
of the exit diameter, with up to 80% of the initial
flow being recirculated [Fig. 3(a)], the stid
number being 2.2. The tangential velocity distri-
bution is of Rankine form (i.e., free/forced vortex)
phe.nomenonwhich must be taken into
brcttkdo~va inside the swirler, decaying to a forced vortex
account when designing swirl combustors. distribution at the exit plane [Fig. 3(b)] I ‘Very
high levels of kinetic energy of turbulence are
formed (a 300%) just by the exit lip [Fig. 4(a)],
& E cZ!q CF= coverageexit velocity, based on
v with a rapid decay occurring afts/r one exit diam-
the total mass flow rate, the eter. When the axial’and tangential velocity Ruc-
exit area and the exit gas tern- * tuations are considered separately> considerable
t prature ) anisotropy is revealed. The maxima of the tan
gential velocity fluctuations [Fig. 4(b)] occur just
v = /kine:.:maticviscosity of the gases by the exit lip at O/L& = 0.8, with a rapid decay
at the exit, based on the exit . occurring toward the axis of symmetry. With the
( gas temperature ; axial velocity fluctuation [Fig. 4(c)], two maxima
are revealed, one just past the exit lip at #&, *
115i:lVM
the lirecating vortex core (PVC) is present 0.9 and cne just inside the swirl burner near the
Es
-1
I48
mm3 for stronglyswirlingjets, except for those
of iirstimenkofig), who for a cyclone chamber of
&nl;iarconfiguration to the swirlm generator of
Fig, 2@), but of large swirl num’ber(X w 3 l),
obtained similar trends fur mean velocity, velocity
fluctuations, and kinetk energy of turbulence pro-
Blea The vi&M absence of sWr1in the reverse
flow, also shown by w&r model photographs in
(I$), was also demonstrated. The addition of a
throat to the cyclona chtli:%er raised the absolute
rms values of velocity flup,tuation by a factor of 3
to 5, This means that the kinetic energy of turbu-
lence X u;“/Uz has been raduced by abdut 30%
bthen the increased miwn veloci~: through the
,throat due to th; redaction in diameter (by a
factor of 25) has been taken into account. How-
ever, it must be remembered that correspondingly
SWM number has been reduced by a factor of
&e;he
2,s oting to the reduction in throat diameter;
thus it may ba concluded that a throat enables
SimW k&tic energy of turbulence levels to be
g+znrntedfur much lower swirl number, which
in turn means tfie total pressure drop through the
WM generator $3much reduced (see Fig. 93,
Trends of turbulencedecay far m&iy swkiiag
jets (S m 0.6), siMlar to those &o~rr iti Fig, 4 far
strongly swirlingjet, have been measured by AUen
(20), He found a we&defied change over po&
tion, occurring between 3 to 4 jet diameters dome
stream, where the ma&mm mrbulence values
found in a swirlingjet became leas than those
found in a nonswirling jet,
The size and shape of the recirculation zone and
associated region of high turbulencle [6, 191 are
critical to flame stabfiity, intensity, and perfor-
mance, Suffkfent data are now nvailabla to m&e
interesting comparisons between the isotherms3
performance of various swirl generators and the
effect of various geometrical additions such as
conical divergences, oil guns or injectors, and
furnace enclosures. Besides the streamline dis-
tribution shown in Fig. 3(a), three others are
compared in Fig. 5(a)-(c) [21-22j+ It may be
seen that the “eye” of the recirculation eddy al-
ways occurs very close TVthe exit nozzle, and
fairly similar patterns are obtained in all cases, the
main difference lying in the recirculated mass
ffow ratio. When all the available data [4,6,21,
 Fig. 5, Spatial distribution of streamlines (Q/$0) formed by swirling
jets, (a) (shown here) S - 1.57 = straight exit and oil gun [21].

NO DATA
l&IDE NOZZLE

1.S

Fig. 5&). S- 1.17 = ConicaI exit, (halfangle 31.5”), no oilgun [22].

from ~ubless vaned swirlers) seems to make little S = 0.508 -I-5.66M, - 6.25M; +-2.28M!
&&re.r~e to the overall recirculated mass flow.
fi@ luiic~tig equation has been fitted to the data The presence of an oil gun at the throat of a
Thrstgrai&Sexits: tangential entry swirler appears to halve the rscir-
 ‘/R 0 SYRED (6) S=2*2
0 MATHEA (4) S=1*98
Qw-
o-,o

A CHIGGER I$ BEE’R (21) LDiv /De = 0 *‘I , S = 1’ 8

V# 0 DVORAK (23) tDiv/Dc :: 3-O , St 1.57

ii&&dGikkrt (24) was,in part,dueto the bloclcage the degree of swirl and the mgle of divergence of
48%x%
af f:b,~mned swirkr In the duct. The shape the oztlet (Fig. ‘i), For annular vmed swirlers
M &@&~.WEe &W aoRe&&mds pl-i~c~ppsruy on (straight exit), a long thin reverse flow is formed
-.
154
(i) The very high rates of entrainment, men-
tioned above, often cause the swirlingjet to stick
to a waU. This is due to the initial part of the jet
entraining and suckingback fluid from further
downstream,hence causingattachment and
another region of reciteulation.
;(ii) Especiallyat high swirlnumbers the decay
of swirl velocity is usually uneven across the en-
&sure; hence strong annular zones of high axial
pressuregradient may be crented, which then in
-urn may set up severaldifferent regions of coaxid
reversedflow [4,2S], rather analogousto the
complex flowpatterns formed in cyclone combus-
tion chamber&(to be diwdssedlater).
Asa result of these effects, two main recircula-
Zionareas are often set up close to the exit nozzle
when free swirlingjets ate confined. One is the
usual central recirculation zone and the other is
located between the swirlingjet boundary and the
wdls of the enclosure. Dependingon the swirl
ntimber and confinement ratio (i.e., area ratio of
cnrmlasureto the burner throat) the outer recircula-
tion zone may be laqer 02 der than the c&r93
recirculation zone [4,25] * The central recircula-
tion zone is of most interest to combbustiuaen&
neers, as the outer zone is less efflcierIt for fIaIW
stabihzation purposes because of hi& rates of
heat transfer to the walls;thus in Fig. 8 the vasti*
tion of central recirculated mass flow with swirl
number and confmement ratio is shown.
The resultsof Afrosimoua[25] we cher ta the
case of a free swirlingjet than those of Mathst and
Maccallum [4) as the confinement ratio is hzrgar
and closer to the situation of a free swirlingjet
issuinginto an infinite enclosure. It is interesting
to note that generally for swirl numbers less than
2.4 confmement increases the central recirculated
mass flow, while for swirlnumbers greater &an
about 1.6 [4,26] the outer region of recirculation
disappears. This occurs because, upon leating the
swirl generator, the swirlingflop sticks imme-
diately to the walls of the confinement while
further downstream complex reci,rculationpatterns
similar to those of cyclone combustion chambers
develop.
 06

0s

04

02
 TABLE 1
Characteristics of Different Types of Swirler

Tangential entry
Vant:d including radial
Straight Frofiled vanes Movable blcck scroll

Easy to construct Blades more difficult High efficiency, low S eady varied. High Easy to canstruct-
and instaU. Low to construct, High loss coefficients. efficiency, low loss single tangential in-
efrcient:y and Ri efficiency, low loss Mp similar to coefficient. Effi- let. Mediocre
10~scoefficient at coefficient, Insuffi- straight vaned ciency 60-70%. Efficiency m 47%.
S > 033, Efficiency cient data for de- swirler, but mcir- r&w loss casfficiemt.
function of swirl tailed comparison culation zone
number-low at with other swirlers. smaller far same S.
highs, Efficiency = 70% Efficiency 70-80%.
-- --
Wect of oil gun An oil gun positioned at the ‘throat reduced the recirculated mass flow Qfr) and the size of the
recirculation zone considerably-oil gun should therefore be withdrawn as far from the throat
as possible,
-
&ID0 Ratio &De w 0.5 reduced loss coefficient considerably.
--
Effect r3fedt Enlarges recirculation zones, increases recirculated mass flow substantially, reduces pressureloss
diwqgsnce coefficient.
-

Of lo% coeff%ient with. Re for radial vaned pro-
5&d blade swirlers,
If the effr&ncy of swirl generation is con-
sidered, defied as the ratio of the flux of Lietic
energy of the swirling flow through the throat to
the &op uf total pressure between the air inlets
srrd the throat of the burner, the trends indicated
in Fig, 9 are further emphasized (Fig, 10) where
it may be seen that straight vane swirkxs [4] are
ar~ly t,obe recommended at low swirl numbers.
7%~r:ent.rx~l oil gun is responsible for the reduc-
t’kl-gin efkierxy v&h swir! number for the axial-
Z;tq$%W eratry $wirlac[ 11 . some of Ivanov’s
@N.&n&RI3W&? plattsd on Fig. 10. Wnfortu-
rq#ac%y, 2tis rlif%zu2t#oexert the swirl parameter
EOswirl number for al! of his results, as insuffi-
Gent deta& are givenof the burners. However,
effreknchs of about 7U%were obtairied for radial
@da W.IW+
twirler, &T&H to ihho~ of Louckel
@Q WMo Rr’Qr thtl: scr& swirler (single tangential
t&:) c~‘!kW$x sf about 50% were recorded.
~~fik~g the vanes of a mned swirler increases the
cfI>ai~~~ of swkl generation by a factor of 3.
Ivaxkov[JOI r~ammends that scroll swirlers
&Ad be superseded by profiled vaned svhllers
asix @atant% the ~rne swirl, because of their
the nonuniformity of the flow at the exit of most
of the swirlers described in this paper.
Table 1 summarizes the main conclusions of this
survey of the isothermal performance of swirl
generators.
2.2 Cyclone Combustion Chambers
The cyclone combustor uswtlly has been used for
the combustion of matter-i&which are normaNy
considered difficult to bum efficiently, such as
damp vegetable refuse (32-341, high ash content
and brown cc&, anthracite [3548], and.high
sulphur oils [4F]. The swirl number has not been
employed for the characterization of cyclone
chambers. However, it wrouldappear to be a
suitable parameter for characterizing cyclone
chambers as well as for comparing them to swirl
burners.
The swirl number, based on input and exit
parameters, has thus been used as follows:
Input Angular Momentum
S=
De/2 X Exit Angular Momentum
Assuming a uniform exit axial velocity profile
 cationofsundard cjwlone dust sew.ratorzz,e,g,,
[SO-511, f.0%kmk?rconBgarmtim, f#E!lbing
timply ifddad to the amge~tld Met: mcam
The aartiymtics a#-al? ant sype UTCyGlsn~
fFi& f xftrjj h.aw b&xi dmumenaed paa] * an
prf,iw~dJp,F3alwvmd Trqmti f SS-q ) bMid%S
mstsur@ ~5i;scftypr&.ks, hoye &o Intensively
SnvM’tpz& the efkt of different variables, such
as tie Lf& t l&j, 1Ad/AT ratio ;and the number
and y&GtlMY STthe tzira~enri~t&t% .AZWrIrnary
of the ~&nersJa~r,9ynamks of such cyclterna~Is
shown in Fig, 12, PM charsctWMc annarfar
xs)ncsare distin#u&hable [35j c Tham %If! two
Fii. 11. Mdrr types of cyclone chamkr. min downward RCW, rotating.coaxEa&, whkh
carv the main mass af gas, namely, the wall flow
1 and the axi& Bow 3. In the5.ekws the ma&ma
of Wan.d Uare combined, Flows 1 and 3 are
divided by a pripheral intermediate zone 2,
LI& 1.0-3.0 l.O-i.25 occupied by the rising turbulent vortices
W’o 0.4 - 0.7 0.4 + 0.5 bnncblng from flows 1 and 3 and formining as a
No tang. inlets At least 2 Often only 1 resu’ftthe revere stream 2. In zone 2, the profiles
sametime of Wdip, Uis reversed, and hence the tangential
up to 4
abd veloci@ profnes are of saddle-like form, vary=
s 2-1 I 8-20
Fuel entry usuauy tang. UsuaIly tang.
ing over the cyclone height, Xnthe central zone 5,
two &ghtly swMed axiaI e-xo~smove col~~ti to
each e&es, a dkect flow from the top, and a re=
This swirl number is only applicable to iso- verse flow lat the exit. The* cent& tlaws are
thermal flows and will be subsequently modified twisted a$ they move by flaw 3 bec&~ of
for the effects of combustion, In general, swirl turbulent mass transfer thruugh the axial inter-
numbers are appreciably higher than for the swirl mediate zone 4. &Cal velocities Uin zone 4 are
generators considered in Sec. 2.1, typically: reversed and directed toward rhe top The streams
S = 1 I for the Siemens-AgrestCyclone f32-341. of gas from the tangential nozzle branch.into two
3 < S < 11 for the cyclone shown in Fig. 1l(a) rotating flows, one of which passes toward the
13%371 ?? exit (flow I) and *theother toward the top+ Their
8 < S < 20 for the cyclone combustor, based on interrelationship is governed by the ralatiw di.s=
cyclone dust separators, Fig+11 (b) C38-42)I tance of the nozzles from the top; with Increase
Very high residence times are achieved with these in this distance the prspsrtkm of upward flow
swirl numbers f32-331 5 and most of the combus increases.
tion process appears to occur inside the chamber Remembering that the exit of this cydune is at
[34,38-44,491. the bottom, axial and tangential vehMx in the
Two main forms of cyclone appear to be in ascendingflow rapidly diminish with approach to
common use (Fig. 11). The first type (a), appears the top plate, and radial velocities appreciably
to be used for higher calorific value fuels where increase. A large proportion of the gas, without
slag and ash generation and removal is not a se& reaching the cyclone axis, develups an atia.I veloc-
ous problem. The second Eype(b) operates at ity and leaves the top, forming flow 3, Huwever,
higher swirl numbers than the first and is used for some of the gas ti this $og buund&rylayer is
high ash content fuels where problems due to slag carried over to the cyclone axis and forms the
formation and fly ash carry-over may often arise. weak descending flow 5. ms flow rapitiy decays
This type of cyclone seems to be a simple mod% toward aero within one chamber diameter, The
 recirculation zones shown in the bottom of the
cyclone near the exit are particularly well devel-
oped in h&h chambers (L/Do sz 2.4-4) and with
small exit diameters (L&/De * 0.3-W). WEJI an
inward facing step is fitted as shown in Fig. 1l(a)
or the tmgentid inlets are distributed along the
length of the cyclone as by Agrest and Schmidt
[33-341, this recirculation pattern is altered and
an increase in residence time occurs, owing to
flow 1 sticking to the outer wal1 until the bottom
of the chamber,
Tt is clearly shown that at least two or more
symmetricaUyspaced tangentia1 inlets must be
used, as otherwise a highly uneven flow structure
results, especially when L/De >* 1.S and &/De 3
0.5. Single banks of tangential inlets also cause an
increase in pressure-loss coefficient, as well as in
the combustive state uneven and incomplete
burning 1361. The tangential inlet area, or AT/A=
ratio, appreciably affects the tangential and axial
velocity profiles in the cyclone chamber; with an
increase in this ratio the saddle-like structures of
the velocity profiles smooth out because of a
decrease in axial and tangential velocities in
Region 1, am., rl the reverse and forward streams in
zones 4 and 5 disappear and a strong central
descending flow appears instead. This is the type
-_AMI
of flaw situation that occurs in the Siemens-Agrest
Fig. 12. Aerodynamics of a cycloae chamber:‘Ty$e”
Cyclone 132-341. The configuration of the tan- a [351.
gential nozzles does not affect the flow patterns
decisively [36] + The position of the tangential
nozzles rdative to the roof and throat governs the around the peak of tangential velocity (Region 3,
rehmonship between the magnitude of flows 1 Fig. 12). The turbulence intensity was approxi-
and 3, It is suggested that fhr? tangential nozzles mately 5 times lower near the outer waifs, When
sh.ataldbgtpositioned at some distance from the the exit throat was removed [the cydone cham-
top of the cyclone (Q/L e 0,08-0.15). The throat ber then being very similar to the swirl generator
diameter js one of the main parameters, and shown in Fig. 2(b)] y the rms values of the veloc-
recommended values are in the range 0.4-0.7&. ity fluctuations (W2 and W”) were I.5 times
With an increase of the L/D, ratio beyond 1.5 (to higher near the walls, and in the main flow
achieve higher residence times), flow 3 intensifies (Region 3) 3-5 times luwer than in the cyclone
as compared with flow 3; for L/Da ratios greater chamber which has a throat. This is also of im-
than 2.5 tile distribution of tangential inlets along portance to swirl burners, as previously mentioned,
ihe bmgtih of the cyclone is necessary to preserve enabling a given turbulence level to be achieved
symmetry and uniformity of the flow. for a lower swirl number.
Mimenko (19) has made detailed lurbuience The flow in the boundary layer on the endplate
measurements in this type of cyclone using hot- of a cyclone, opposite to the exit, is obviously
wire anemometers. He showed that maximum crucial in the generation of the type of flow
values of turbulence intensity occurred at and pattern shown in Fig. 12. Large changes can be
h
23 2.2 1,s
Pig. 14. (a) hlet losses for various types of swiriers;
(II) chamber friction, swkl and outlet losses [ 54 J .
!&, the pressure loss coefficient across the tang8n-
tirrlinlet, was typically 1.3-l .4. Values of & for
ty,picaIinlet geometries are given in Fig, 14(a).
The loss coefficient is about P.3-l .4 for hn-
gentid entry swirl generation, being increased by
v&es, discontinkties, or coaxial gas fuel pipes.
Radial gui& vanes, (iv) and (v), have generally low
loss coefficients, except where the flow must turn
through two right angles before entering the swirl
chamber (i.e,, (iv) when g&= 1.85).
Similarly,
AF,. = 4’,, %,
!&, the pressure loss coefficient from the inlets to
the exhaust was shown to be mainly a function of
outlet geometry [Fig. 14(b)]. Convergent exits
(v) produce the lowest loss coefficients, while the
cy~lontidust separator type of outlet [Figs. I l(B)
and J 3 (vi)] has the highest loss coefficient of 4.0.
The first type of c:~clonedescribed in this section
has an etit loss caafficlent of 1.8 for a plain exit
and 2,2 for the invfard facing type. TIkeseloss co-
%Hkientsapply when L&/J?, = 0.45.
Tager [54] has also correlated much experimen-
tal information to produce a graph and formula
for predicting the effect of variations in throat
diameter on the total chamber pressure drop. The
relative re,&tance of the combustion chamber is
defined as equal to the :Iratioof the actual drag of
40
Hence
Then the total pressure drop through the cyclone
is obtained by adding on the inlet losses, A& or
& (M&+,JZg). Remembering that the inlet
losses stay the same as the tangential inlet area
remains constant, Fig. 15 shows that a decrease in
De/D0 from 0.45 to 0.3 leads, other conditions
being equal, to a twofold increase in asrodynarnk
drag of the combustion chamber. An ir~rease of
De/Do to 0.6 halves A&-. Thus, by using the
loss coefficients given in Fig+14 for De/De =
0.45, the formula for AP,, ana the &ove formula,
predictions may be made of the total pressure
drop through a cyclone combtEstorsystem, The
validity of using these several equatiuns together
for prediction of pressure drop might weI! be
doubted. However, they accurately predkt AP
through the Agrest comb&or described in [33]
(and this is for a combustive system!} and the
authors have found that they give reasonable
predictions for other cyclone eombustors and
some swirl burners.
A comparison of the efficiency of swirl gene-r%
tion of cyclone combustors and swirl burners is
interesting. With swirl burners the efficiency of
swirl generation is based upon the swirl generated
at the exit throat. Usually, as moss of the volume
 0.1 OS2 0.3 089 AT IAL0
I I
1 I
0.25 0.5 0.75 1.0 D* /Do

Kg. I& Dependence of the aerodynamic efficiency on the constructional parameters

of the cyclone chamber [37].

of this second breakdown f55] : the axisym-

metric, spiral, and double helix, Apart from the
double helix breakdown, which occurs infre-
quently, the flay after the second breakdown is
highly turbulent and appears to her@d the onset of
flow reversal arid the formation of large toroidal
recirculation zones.
The occurrence and position of the vortex
breakdown was shown to be a function both of
swirl number and Reynolds Number (55)
(Fig. 17). There is a clear division between the
axisymmetric and spiral breakdown regions apart
from a narrow region of hysteresis, in which the
double helix breakdown occasionally occurs.
It is evident for swirl numbers >I that the axi-
symmetric breakdown reaches the rear wall of
the swirl generators. When S m 0.6 vortex break-
down may not occw until high Reynolds Numbers
and this appears to be the case of the breakdown
uf aircraft wing tip vortices [584&j +
Although Fig. 17 is for a.very specific swirl
generator, it appears to have a much wider ap
plication than might be fir& supposed_ As will
be reported later, the authors have found that this
figure provides a good description of vortex
 -1 u t 2 3 h 5 5 7
%*

Fig. 17. Occurrence of vortex breakdown ;fs a fm .“ion

of swirl and Reynolds Nttmtor [ 55 )

breakdown found in other types of swirl gene

erator such as that shown in Fig, Z(b), Brooke-
Benjamin 1611 has suggested that the vortex
breakdown is not a manifestation of instability,
but a finite transition between two conjugate
flow states, one supercritical and rmable to sustain
infinitesimal stand!ag waves, the other subcritical.
It is hypothesised that the conjugate subcrizld
state ha: an excess of flow force which, if the
flow were first held steady after the initial tcansi-
tion and then released, would be bound to
generate an unsteady, highly turbulent motton.
The above summary of the occurrence of the
vortex breakdown phenomenon shows it to be a
very interesting but still poorly understood oc-
currence. For swirl combustors our main interest
is to ensure that for a given swirl number, the
Reynolds Number is always outside the re&otl uf
initial vortex breakdown such that a large stable
recirculation zone is established. For S > 0~3 a
satisfactory lower limit of Re seems to be about
18,0CHL2Operation at lower values of Re would
mean that small perturbations of Re could pause
very large changes in the recirculattion and mixing

2This allows for the effect of different types of stil

generation md boundary cm&ions.
i:tg. 38. R,rldizl secrion thraugh water model of swirl
izl~,~n.~r,
Vig. 2(b). The path of’the polystyrene clearly
rho~ V’~SS~~R core precession. Re = 3.5 X 10’ [ 181.
Fig. 19. (a) Longitudinal section through water model of
a short swirl burner @/De < 1). Re = 1.45 X 105 [67].
Ib) Longitudinal section thrrugt water model of swirl
burner, Fig. 2(b). Re = 1.45 X lo5 [18].

will of course be a continuous process with this

eddy being continuously peeled off by the PVC-
it is termed the radial-axial eddy (18). Once
again dissipation of this eddy rapidly occurs.
The phenomenon of the PVC and associated
instabilities explains the very high levels of tur-
bulence initially measured in this type of swirl
generator (17) (Fig. 3). The PVC appears to lie
between the reverse flow boundary and the zero
stream line [Fig. 3(a)]. This corresponds to the
area of maximum kinetic energy of turbulence
[Fig. 4(a)] . The rapid decay of kinetic energy of
turbulence (corresponding with that of the PVC)
 b

2%. Per&&$y in the airmodel. Time scale used on

c
Fig. 22. Low frequency fluctuations in the axial plane.
The bottom trace is of PVC close to wall. la) 0 < d/D, <
0.17. (b) 0.17 <d/De < 0.74. (c) d/LJ, < 0.74. From
Ref. [67].

persists over all the exit plane (Fig. 22). Three

distinct regions may be recognized as follows:
 N. SYRED and J, M.

a
@. 24 1 Concentric bands of precessing vortex cores found in a thin cylindrical vortex chamber. fa) Inlet vortices.
(b) Outlet vortices. From Ref. ,[73] .

x,0.1) up to two concentric bands of

(JUDO
PVCs may occur around the varying areas of
recirculation (Fig. 24) /73] , In the exit (Fig. 24,
Plate b) four distinct PVCs may be discerned,
while in the outer part of the chamber at the
boundary of the outer reverse flow zone
[see 741 a secondary ring containing many
PVCs occurs (Fig. 24, Plate a).
Thus with cyclone chambers it is evident that
the behavior of PVCs is more complex than with
simple swirl generators and burners. It appears that
vartex core precession may occur in three main
ways in cyclone chambers:
(i) If the cyclone chamber is long (L/Do> 4)
and if the tangential inlets are grouped near the
exit.
(ii) In a manner similar to that described for
swirl generators. For a given Re as the swirl
number S is increased to heyand 0.6, vortex
breakdown occurs in the exit. As S is increased
further, the breakdown extends back down into
the cyclone, eventually reachmg the end wall.
Ihe associated PVC which follows the vortex
breakdown seems to be mainly confmed to the
exit region and is analogous to that found in swirl
burners (Sec. 3.2.1).
(iii) As has been described in Sec. 2.2, several
t

c
 TABLE 2,
Summary of Flame Characttistics

Cumbustian Recmsing vortex P22

tntmity and sores intensity
I Frequency Pressure drop
%me type comb. length LC frequency f correlation &P cm Wg Rem&S
--
isothermal swirl 1, < 5 watt&ma Good, especially APi, = G.3-32 Audible law frequency
burner fiS = 15-200 Hz at high Re For Re = 50 X IO3 - 2 X 10’ noise.
J.,argeWCs present.
(5) Premixed Comb, iutensi,ty Fair AP-3APi, Blow off limits: wide
flame with W Re = 3 x IO4 - lo5 Flame oscillates violently
tangential Lc = I-2OL& Large PVCs present.
injection
@) Diffusion Comb. intensity Poor at low AP - 0.9AP Blow off limits:
flame with axial medium Reyndds Numbers Re=Sx tOf-2x 10s very wide
fuel entry L, = 3-50, Flame quiet
PVCs damped.
(c) Diffusion Comb. intensity I - 0.81i, Good at high? AP - 0.85~Pi, Flame bums in and
WllWiXhl w f - 0.85& Reynolds Numbers Re=5X 104-2X 10’ loud NC at # > 50.
fuel entry on i.., = 0.5& for forti N 50 Large PVC present.
axis of symmetry @=50
(d) Diffusion Comb. intensity Z-IjsX 10-2 Poor at low AP N ZAPis Blow off limits: nalrow,
flame with medium f”fis Reynolds Numbers Re=5 X 103-1.5X lo5 Flame quiet
tangential L, = 2-30, PVCSdamped
fuel entry
“The subscript ‘is’refers to the isothermal state.
con~ntricregions
of reversed nuw may be formed
inside cyclone &ambers. For tlGn ctibers
(L/Do << I), bands of$aPCJgmay be formed
around some af the outer zones sf mciroulat5on.
The frequency of t&e PVC %xrns to iacwase
quasi&nearly with flow rate, except at few R$
[13,18,62,63,66,67] w By careful geomt?trW
des@n it is possible to construct a stir1 generator
such that the frequency of the PVC is linearly
proportional to mm flaw rate. A swirl Bow-
meter using this principle is now marketad by
Fisher and Porter, Inc. (U.S,A.) and employs 5
digital counter to count the pukes (75).

3.3-l. Swirl 3urners

The interaction of swirling fk~~; and combus-
tion is introduced in this section because combus-
tion has a decisive effect on the PVC and thus on
the aerodynamics of the flow produced by
swirl burners. The PVC may be either excited or
damped merely by altering the mode of fuel
entry [I& 273. This may be illustrated by
reference to the swirl burner of Fig. 2(b). Jn
general four different types of flame and flow
pattern could be detected past the vortex break-
down (Re >18,000) and mixture ratios between
0-g and 200 [ 18,27,76] , using natural gas as
fuel.
(aa) I%el and Air Premixed 1.4 < @< 6.0. A
very short intense flame is produced with combus-
tion even occurring in the tangential inlets
[Fig. 25(a)] _ This type of flame was very noisy,
the flow was unstable, and appeared to be
analogous TVthe isothermal cas-ewith one large
PVC producing w3-ylarge fluctuations of velocity
and pressure.
(b) Fuel Enhy at or near the Base PI&620.8 <
# < 40. This flame is far less intense and more
stable than type (a) [Fig. 2S(b)l 1 as the PVC is
considerably damped both. in amplitude and fre-
quency, There was always an annular ring *fair
around the flame inside the swirl burner. At no
time w&d the flame bum at the wall. The
length and shape of the flame were drastica@
altered by mixture ratio $J,the flame extending
some three exit diameters for a mixture ratio of
172
is an intermediate type of flame between types (a)
and (b:) [Fig. 25(e)] typically extending some two
exit diameters outside the combustor for a
mixture ratio of 1, The stability limits are poor
[l8,2’7].
A summary of flame characteristics is shown in
Table 12. The type of fuel does not seem 1:ohave
much effect on these flame forms. Town gas
(-50% Hz) only changed the nature of the
flames with tangential fuel entry; a type (a)
flame with the large PVC was produced, and it is
believed this was due to the much higher molec-
ular diffusion rate of hydrogen compared to
methane [ 181.
The short intense fhme, type (a), usually
produced by premixing the fuel and air appeared
to be analogous to the isothermal state (Fig. 23),
in which a vortex core precesses about the central
axis of symmetry. Comparison of the signals
produced from the pressure transducer under
isothermal conditions and under this combustive
state is shown ‘in Fig. 26. (Measurements were all
taken at _Y/D, = 0, d/D, = 0.8). A high degree of
similarity is shown. Correlation techniques using
two probes were u.sed to investigate th5 ritirnbet
of PVCs present for giv5n flow rates. Only one
PVC could be det.ected for both isothermal agd
hot premixed covlditions over a tide range of
flow rates a.nd mixture ratios. The variation of the
frequency of the PVC with flow rate and mixture
BLO& OFF
REGION
*_
ac 06 08 10 l,Z
R* 1 IO“
Fig. 27. Effect of Re and Q on frequency of PVC with
premixed combustion [27].
_.
I
I/ I
o-5 1.0 i-5
2.0
Rc I IO-’
Fig. 28. Variation of intensity of oscillation of WC with
#and Re [27].
ratio is shown in Fig. 27. The frequency of the
PVC is increased by a factor of 2 to 4 compared to
the isothermal state. Transition to a type (d)
flame occurs at mixture ratios richer than 1.4.
Blowoff limits may be seen to be wide, especially
at lower Reynolds Numbers- The action of the
PVC also apparently causes partial separation of
the premixed fuel and air, so as to produce a
mixture within the combustible range even at
high excess air values. The effect of flow rate and
mixture ratio on the intensity of the oseillation
is shown in Fig. 28 and is also compared with the
isothermal state. Some variation of intensity
with mixture ratio was found, but the most sig
nificant effect was caused by the variation of
Reynolds Number. Sharp rises in intensity with
Reynolds Number are shown for both the iso-
thermal (Re > 1 X 1@) and combustive states
(Re > 0.5 X 10+5). No direct evidence of the
radial-axial eddy found in [ 181 and [67] could
be deltected in this combustor, although under
1c 16
certain flow ‘rates and mixture ratios the com-
bustor would violently oscillate. Dorrestein 1771
showed that vibrations in a crude oil burner were
174
Axial or tangential fuel entry (type (b) and (d)
flames) produces a far mcrre uniform and less
intense flame than that produced with premixed
air and fuel (type {a)). The flame burns at some
distance from the wall and preliminary investiga-
tion showed that the large PVC had been sub-
stanti& damped [ 18,271, although some
residual oscillation could be detected on the
boundary of the reverse flaw zone; this is ti-
lustrated in Fig. 29. Equipment available on the
large combustor was not sendtive enough to
measure these smaller oscil~aGons and so the
results foi type (b)and (d) flames were taken on a
oae&fth scale model burner. Frequency analysis
of the pressure fluctuations measured by a pitot
tube and condenser microphone showed that on
and Just inside the boundary of the flame there
was a sharp peak of frequency and this varied with
FTavvrate and mixture ratio in a manner analogous
to r%aelarge PVC produced with premixed fuel and
air. Measurements af frequency and intensity
0 2.5
!J 3.5
AXIAL FUEL.
were, complicated by the large variations in size
and shape of the flame and the reverse flow zone
which took place with changes in mixture ratio
and flow rate. Measurements were always taken
on and near the boundary of the flame, at the
point where the highest Pressure fluctuations were
recorded. This was usually some OS to 1.S
diameters past the exit.
Figure 30 shows the effect of flow rate and
mixture ratio on frequency both for axial and
tangential fuel entry and also for isothermal con-
ditions. With axial fuel entry and above an Re of
7,000, there appears to be little variation of fre-
quency with flow rate or rtiuturc ratio, fre-
quencies of around 200 Hz being recorded. The
flames produced with tangential fuel entry had
very narrow blow-off limits (Fig* 30), only being
stabilized near the stoichiornetric mixture ratio.
Measured frequencies were approximately half
those measured with axial fuel entry, beingin
the 40-100 Hz range.
?? 1.0
??1.1
@ 1.25
 40- R* * WC
0,s

Fig. 31, Variation of intensity of fhctuathns of WC

with # and Re for axial and tangmthl fueI entry IZ?]+
 NOTE THE MUCH %ALLER BAPJD OF PRECESSING VORTEX CORES
INSIDE THE SWIRLER AND THE ABSENCE OF THE
RADIAL - AXIAL EOOY.

RADlAL
_- SECTiON (EXIT)

I
COMPUSTIVE STATE (AXIAL ANU_
TANGENTIAL ENTRY)

Fii* 32. Summary of #low sta.tewith damped WC prcwhced by large radial density or pressuregradients [ 18 ] .

specific frequency was noted. Putnam [82] has

recently suggested that the specific frequency of
the PVC may have been excited above the audible
range, and beyond the range of instrumentation,
bearing in mind the results presented in Sec. 3.3.1
on the excitation of the PVC by prembced combus-
tion. When the fuel supply was fed in on the axis
much lower frequencies were generated, this fre-
quency increasing with flow rate from the start af
oscillation to blow-off. Putnam [SZ] suggests that
the oscillation generated under combustion condi-
tions is associated with Helmholtz oscillations of
the cornhustor. Possibly a similar mechanism of
excitation occuzs as found by Syred, Hanby, and
Gupta [78] in which the damped PVC was found
capable of exciting a quarter wve oacgIation in a
long tube attached to a swirl burner.
Thus paAMs may be drawn between the be-
havior of Putnam’s combustor and the type (a),
(Is), and (c) flames,produced by the sv&irlbrrmcr
Fig. Z(b).
Basically, the large PVC does not seem to ba a
problem in cyclone combustors, although Schmidt
(34) and Baluev atld Troy&& 135-371 do men-
tion some instability in the bottoms of certain
extralong cyclones. It is probable that a damping
of the PVC, simitar to thar. occurring in stir1
burners, happens &Ithe exits of cyclone combus-
tion chambers. This & substantiated by the flame
photographs of Schmidt [3;+J which show a tulip
flame shape in the exit of a cyclone chatibet, very
 ----,_.
Q
?? l&7
620

Fig. 33. Effect of flame type on pressure&up.

slimilar POthose produced in swirl burners

(Fig. 51).

0 .6

Fig. 34. Frequencyparameteras a function of Reyndds numb far katham;rl fkws,

1.78 N. SYRED and. 1. M. BEI%

flows there is a steady increase in the frequency
parameter with the momentum parameter (swirl
number)., The vahres of j@/Q tend to be
csnstant values at higher Re, The asymptotic,
high Fb ~vvalucs of the frequency and pressure
parameters were troth shown to increase quasi-
linearly tith the momentum parameter.
With combustim, the behavior of the PVC and
hence of the frequ,ency parameter is much more
complicated. The variation off @/Q with Re for
the foirr different :flame types described in Sec.
3,J.l. is shwn in Fig. 35 (a)-(c). The results for
the highly, damped PVC (type (b) and (d)) were
t.aken on a 1/s scale model burner. Considering
the isothermal state initially [Fig. 35(a) and (b)] ,
it may be seen that the frequency parameter tends
trr a constant value at high Re for both cases.
I~iowever, it is evident that the use of the mctmen-
turn parameter LU&/~Q2 may lead to some in-
acc:curacywhen large changes in surface area/
volume ratio occur as there is some 30% difference
between the twc values off’Dz/Q at high Re (if
S&&/@Q’ were alunc sufficient fair characteriza-
tion, jD2 /Q should have been of similar value for
the two cases at higher Re). It has, however, been
shown [13] that this parameter (OD,/pQ’) is
adequate for changes in surface area/volume ratio
as high as 2, as 0ppose.d to 5 in this one. This
conclusion is supported by Suzuki [66] where Zt
was shown that the frequency of the PVC slowly
decreased because of frictional effects as the
L/De ratio was increased.
For type (a) flames with premixed fue.1and air
the frequency parameter tends to a constant value
at higher Re and mixture ratios between 1.47 and
3 [Fig. 35(a)] 1 The mixture ratio cause:; an in-
crease of the frequency parameter by a factor of
between 2 and 4, compared to the isothermal
state. With type (cc)flames with fuel entry on the
axis, it is reduced by up to 25% [Fig. 35(b)] ,
A different pattern emerges with type (b) and
(d) flames produced by axial and tangential fuel
entry [Fig. 35(c)] . The high values of j@/Q
produced at low Re are du: to vortex breakdown
and the variation in the size of the recirculation
zone with small changes in Re in this range of Re

I I I 1

Fig JS, VnrL.tlon ctf fqu?ncy psrn~~t~rjD,“& with Reynoids Number and mode of fuel entry. (a) (Shown 1.xe.)
Remixed ccrobustion 1271.
b

l-6
to= ?? ISOTHERMAL.
-A

1.2

Fig. 35. (b) Axial and tangential fueI entry [ 27j_ Cc) Axial fuci entry at weak mrxture ratias C$ > 501 j75].

(27). It is evident that the frequency parameter
is tending toward a constant value at high Re for
both modes of fuel entry, somewhat lower than
the isothermal state.
All these resdts foe the four different types of
flame me summarized in Fig. 36. The results for
axial md tangential fuel entry (type (b) and (d)
flames] have been corrected for ske to t&at oF the
large Turner by reduckr~ the VJties off*o,j @ by
the ratio of the asymptatlc V&l& offDj/G of the
full arld scale modd burners, unider isot.herxaraI
conditians. It should be mted that the camx2ian
factol- used m bring the two curves tog&+x &
equal ta p V-Pwhere p is the scab 1Cactm. It is
turn flux, although care must be taken when large
changes of surface area/volume ratio occur. A
change ti surface areajvolums ratio of a factor of
5 produces some 30% change in the frequency
parameter, evea though the value of QD, fpQ2 is
s+nilar in both cases.
_U. StobirityR@ms Of SwMing K&v
A summary of tie stability regimes ofirw
portaace far swirl burners is shown in Table 3. Aa
expfanatlon af the damping of the WC is
presented by the Rayleigh criterion [B3J which
states that a rotating fluid is st&le if Wrincreases
witi f. It Is thus probable that the radial density
gradient from tie centre to the outer parts of the
flow is responsible for the damping of the PVC
fbr most combustive states.
With swirl-stabilizedcombustioq it is obviously
desirable to operate ouQiidetie. transition r&on
at Re r lS,OIIIO.rt is fortun& tit rrnostSW&l
burners operate with the damped FIRI, state 3, as
Be <2,im

otherwise resonance problems would arise with

the undamped PVC. Even the dmped PVC is,
however, capable of excitl’ng acoustic ~~ilk%tians
in cavities, furnaces, ox tubes attached to swirl.
burners (78).

4. Combustion Effects
The influence of combustion upo,n the PVC has
been disclrssed in the previous section+ Here, the
effect of combustion uposn the aerodynamia of
highly swirling flow is discussed.

4.1. Swirl Bumm

4.1.1. General E&me l%tZFaCtffiics tl?ZdAcmdymmb

In this section, flames using gneous fuels will be

mainly considered, as few data are available on
the combustion of solid or liquid fuels [S, 6,87-
921 ??

The general temperature charactedstia of a

flame produced in a swirl burner [Fig* Z(b)] are
shown in Fig. 37. Radial distributions oftern-
prature are shown in Fig. 37(a). M&murm tern--
 N. SYRED an<! 3, M. BE6R

24

RADIAL tw5TAtuCE ‘IR

more ranrlom nature than found in isothermal

flow, thup showing how the nature of the mixing
process has changed. In the isothermal state it is
dominated by a velocity fluctuation of very
regular form, in the combustive state by a near-
random form of turbulence.
Using the latest technique of laser doppler
anemometry, Dvorak 1231 9 for a swirl burner
(divergent exit) operating at low degrees of swirl
near the point of vortex breakdown (S < 0.6),
has shown that turbulence levels are increased by
combustion. Baker et al. i23j have made similar
measurements in a swirling flow with recircdation
 Town gas (*SO% Hz) was wed foaail those rcsult~~

(S = 0.5 - divergent exi:). H#I llevcls of km!

turbulemx intensity were sAum mar the bouu&
ary of the reverse flow zone (= I lZ%] and on the
axis of symmetry (=75%). Jt 9 pmbable that the
high levels of turbulence intensity zre not only
due to the swirl but to the 35” angle ofdiver-
gence of the exit quark NormaIiy tith a straight
exit, the vortex brezkdown phenomenon and re-
circulation only occur with S > 0.6.
As only a few data points are available on the
variation of recirculated mass flow rate with swiri
number and mixture ratio, they zre shown in
Table 4. Considering unenclosed swi.rlburners
first and compzring the combustive results to the
isothermal results (Fig. 6) it becomes evident
that a considerable reduction in recirc&ted MQSS
flow occurs, particularly nez.r the stoichkimetric
mixture ratio and with premixed combsuticn, Bea
sides these changes the recircuIation zones are
shorter and wider in the combustive case (compare
Fig* 7 and Table 4) and the anset of the vortex
breakdown phenomenon znd recirculation oc~urz
at a slightly higher swirl number (g$), With
combustion, the maximum zxizl v&city rises
initially to roughly double the mzximum axial
velocity in the corresponding isothermal state.
The decay of maximum axial velocity in both
combustive and axial states is similar from one
exit diameter (SS), The density changes resulting
from combustion cause the initial jet spread to be
greater than the equivalent isothermal state.
A comparison of the reverse flaw zone bsunde
aries produced by different degrees of swiri and
premixed combustion is shown in Fig. 38(a).
184 N.SYRBD and I. M. I&R

ANNULAR VANED SW’RCERS

PREMIXED FUEi f&R :
q = 1.63 (88)

3O’ANNULAR SWIRLER.

15 3o” (5~0~387)
HUBLESS SWIRCERS
10
(S-t-160) t PREMIXED FUEL/AIR
# = 1.63 (86)

1.5
r4a
a b

FQ. 38. (a) Boundaries of reverse flow zones-effect of swirl number. (b) Vtiation in shape of reverseflow boundary
~~4thmode of fuel eirtry. Fuel-.natural gas: ??tangentia1 fuel en&y, straight exit; ? ?
axial fuel entry, straight exit; 0 axial/
radialfird entry, straight cxit;a convergent/divergent exit, axial fuel entry. TAxial fuel entry, straight exit 4 = 13,8-
fuel town gas (50% Hz) [6]. . . . Isothermal.

greakr maximum diameter in approximateiy the
s-amelength. This result is consistent with the
considerable excitation of the PVC shown in an
earlier WAion.
A ,wcmkmixture ratio reduces the size of the
P’LWMflow zone considerably [Fig, 38(b)].
Sfmi!sr canciustons may be drawn for tangent.ial
~txy Mrl &~mepsa$ for the vaned type, namely
that at near-stoichiometric mixture ratios the
reverse flow zones are shorter and wider than
under the isothermal state.
The effect of enclosure upon a swirl burner is,
as for the isothermal state, dependent upon tTile
ratio of furnace to burner diameter, the limiting
value at which this ratio affects a swirl burner
(S = 0.72) being about 8 and i.ncreasing for higher

TABLE 5
C)Ptiacteristics of Enclosed Swirl Burners
4rpn*v-

tl Length of width
Dist. to recirc. zone of reck. Type of Type of
% 8 Mp q!& impingement Xl& zone fuel entry swirler Source
-*lL”*.r~-~i+C..~~~ --
a.7r I tam36 3 0.43Df 0-0.63Df AIUlUk AfrOSiIllO~
AXid
I.13 i 0.326 3 0.5 3Df 0-0.9Df 1 Vaned PI
&72 l.63 5 0.4Df o-L5Df Annular Beltagui and
I.23 1.53 5 Q.rnf O-l .5Df Vaned Maccallum[ 891
1
TvlR ga3 TmS0% Hz) was used for aU these results.
dqreesofswirf (89), Table 5 shows that the
size of the central recirculation zone is principally
a function of fr.~naceand not of swider diameter
16%26,891. The effect is complicated by the
outer peripheral recirculation zone which forms
between the swirling flow and the uuter wall, Wu
and Fricker (26) show that at sufficiently h&h
swirl numbers a m&al wall jet is formed (as in
the isothermal state), the peripheral recirculation
zone disappears, and the flame sticks to the front
wall of the enclosure, This effect occurs at
swirl numbers greater than IS as the outer peri-
pheral recirculation zone is still present at a swirl
number of 1.25. Table 5 demonstrates that the
shape of the recirculation zone and the re-
circulated mass flow-rate are complex functions
both of the mixture ratio and mode nf fuel entry.
The most consistent conclusion to be drawn from
Table 5 is that the impingement @nt of e&e
flame on the wall lies between 0.2 and 0.5
furnace diameters in the range
Beltagui (89) suggeststhat the stir1 parameter
tobe used in comparing confined swirling flows
shoufd be (2G&$G,), rather than (2G,JQG,).
Becauseof the increase in axial momentum tlux
with burning, the effective swirl number in the
combustive state is less than in the isothermal state
[26,89], a factor of 10% being suggested by
Beltagui [89g. It is later shown that this effect is
even more dramatic with cyclone combustors.
4.1.2. Mdeliing
The technique of modelling swirl combu&ors by
isothermal models is well established [X, I6,29,
93-99 ] , particularly where solid and liquid fuels
are used, as measurement of most parameters close
to the flame becomes especially difficult [I 1.
Despite the changes in the mixing pattern
produced by the damping of the PVC, it is evident
there has been much successin modelling combus-
tive flows wi*hisothermal swirlingflows. In
particular, Russian experimenters [30,31,93-
991 have evolved a series of highly efficient swisl
burners for the combustion of low+ality pul-
verized cods. The flow patterns, velocity proffieo,
and recirculation zones have been principally
mctdelledfrcm isothemal measurements with
good rest&. There seem to be a number of reaa
suns for this zrecessful extrapolation of isathere
maI measurements.
(a) To mir&rize the hydraulic resistance to air
flaw of the burner, the degree ofswirl is kept to a
n:xGrrrumconsistent with obtaining a large
ORr>U_@ recirculation zone (Mr * 5*10% [94X) for
fl;tme stabilization, *us minimizing the effect of
the PVCirxthe isothermaI model.
Hence the influence of the PVCwas minimized
(unintentionally) and must of the mixing was due
to shear between various air layers and the effect
nf an outlet divergencewhen fitted, Isothermal
air and water models of Ewirlburners have proved
to be useful in modelling the shape and size of
the reverse flow zones fl ,4,6,27] I as af:stoichio-
metric mixture ratios the size and Shape of the
rcsverseflow zones are quite well simula.tedby air
or v:a.termodels [Fig. 38(b)] +
The prediction of the total pressure drop
throt;gb a swirl burner is often of cruf;ia!
importance to the dedgner. Hydraulic resistance
coefficients for the combustive state are often
given in terms of the isotherrnd resistance co-
efficient. HakIuytt and North [tE>e] &towedthat
the aerodynamic resistance of an Admiralty SWM
burner was increased by approtiately 25% by
combustion. Syred and Be&rl27] showed that
the hicrease in prt?ssuredrop due to srombu$tTrwr
was dependen? upon the mNIe eaffuel e.ntry md
cuuld be as high as 300% with preitied ~ornbu~
tion. Rus&n workers 19%993 have lskawxil how
the resistanoe of swirl burners can he divided into
two main parts: the enerw ne0Ssary to sfwzrji the
go in the burner, including the resistance of the
Met ports, and the r&stance of ti outI& [XI*
93,96-991. Unfosmmte~y, stig to m a-
defined s&l parmeter it L tlu%clAt a0 tnk,m&sle:
their remulti to the eqtivdeaat w&l zm?hfx;
Jmmhele~, raay km amti hy&adic retstmm
cc&Gents are obt$ned Q * Z-5 [*I) for ap
 N. SYRED and J. M. BEIiR

Gd I sec.
cyi
0 0 &&ACE. 15.2
A 0 MODEL. 20
I l-56 FURNACE. 18. 3
A 1 ,56 M3DEL 20
D 2.24 FURNACE. !7. 9
V 2 I 24 MODEL. 20
0 3.9 FURNACE. 19.3
0 3 9 MODEL. 20

Fig. 39. Tracer concentration decay as a function of swirl number &I model and proto-
type futnace [ 1011.

pmndly msonably high levels of swirls. Such re-
sistance cwfficients may be extrapolated from the
!hWxmii to the ctrmbustiw state (for pulvmised
tiaafcl:mrbustim) simply by taking into account
the ~du&~ra in density and increase in velocity
33fthe gases due to tempemture effects. The
~Ehoti have found the technique of Tager [54] ,
&xadkd in Sec. 2.2, useful far obtaining the
tW.l hydraulic resistance coefscient, both in the
&othermaIad combustive states, for swirl burners
tiitns to that shuwn in Fig. 2(b), despite the
f~‘urmul@ a&InaUy being intended for cyclone
c-aonbustars.
-43 funqept oFa weU-stir& reactor coupled
to aph@Iaw reactor has proven to be a power-
ful model of the performance and efficiency of
swirl burners [101.-1021. It has been shown that
the performance can be optimized for a tighly
loaded burner by appropriately varying the pro-
portions of the mean residence time spent in the
well-stirred and plug-flow parts respectively,
Figure 39 shows the results of helium tracer ex-
periments carried out with pulverized coaf flames
and compared with equivalent results from a l/l0
scale water model. The graphs represent the de-
cay of tracer concentration in the exit stream after
the tracer introduction to the burner has been cut
off. Provided appropriate coriection has been
made to the swirl number (101) to allow for the
effect of combustion,
COMBUSTION IN SWIRLING FiDWS

Fig. 40. Residence time in stated section a~ a fraction of

total residence time as a func ;ion of swirl number [ 101I _

S=$whereR,
-=R
“’ 3
,

x c

R, is the equivalent nozzlS: radius, the tracer con-

centration decay diagrams for the combustive and
isothermal states show gocld agreement. The
residence time distributiolr may be effectively
controlled by swirl (Figs, 39 and 401, the propor-
tion of residence time in t!pe stirred section t,lTas
a function of swir1 number going thruugh a mini-
mum as the swirl degree is increased. Drake and
Hubbard 121 showed that for oil-fired combustian
chambers the degree of SWId that gives the mini-
mum f,/TvaIue yiefds the maximum performance
with minimum smoke emi:;sion. Presumably, the
good agreement between t xe water model and
combustion experiments by Be& and Lee [lo1 f
must be due to the very raTid dissipation of the
PVC in the water model w’th the tunnel enclosure.

‘A similar modelling criteria should be applied to the

furnace diameter to allow for trxpansion effects [89,
1031, Beltagui (89) reduced t31eDf(D, of his furnace
from 5 to 2.6 in accordance with the Thrlng-Newby
parameter [103] to allow com~arisan JI isothermal and
combustive data.
1188

70 BURNER
RESONACE

60

: 50

40

CDMBUSTiON I; AXtAL
RADIAL FUEL I 45:65)

60

m
0 50

20 50 IDD 200 SW lOOD 2001) 5DciI10000 40000

FREQUENCY.

COMBUSTION t CDNXRGENt
DIVERGENT NOZZLE 1

FREQUENCY

Fig. 42. Noise spectra obtained with differing modes of fuei entry [Ii051 . (a) Isothermal
flow-straight exit. (b) Combustion with axiak-radial fuel entry (45/U%)-straight exit.
(c) Combustion with axial fuel entry-convergezrtldiverge:ni: exit.

variation in the mixture ratio or fuel composition

may lead to flame blow-off- The application of
swirl, by moving the fuel rich Emit to a lower mix-
ture ratio, provides a flame insensitive to random
fluctuations in mixture ratio &adfuel composition.
The blow-off limits are sensitive to the configu-
ration of the burner. Cricket [ 1041 showed that
for an ijmuiden tyJipeswirl burner (Fig. 48) opti-
mum swirl numbera were between 1.1 and 1.7 for
the widest blow-off limits. For swirl burners,
similar to Fig*2(b), Syred (76) and Manheimer-
Timnat (92) show enhanced blow-off Emits com-
pared to the results of Fricker. T.nfact the authors
have found that at S = I.86 the blow-off limits of
this type ofburn&a32 virtual4y Mhite. The xi&
limit could nut be found md the K”& Ihnh CE-
curred at a mixture ratio of 100 srthigh RqmI3s
Number [76] (Le., approximmly 3,000 ~&ms
of air were entering the combustor for evev oIi+z
of Ilaturai gas!).
With premixed combustior~,blow-off hits are
much reduced f27,40] . l3afuwaand Mx~aUm
(90) showed that with hubless rzmed swiders, the
long thin recirculation zones formed recisubted
 N. SYRED and J. M. BEiR
tw
CLAW PceHS PLOW PATTERNS.

~L.I*.U,m_~C,___ -- WI “. ~__._.._.___.-.. ._.--_“I

;TYPE I FLAMES
FQ_ 45. Two mkn types of flame produced bjr ijmuiden
swirl hrner (Fig. 48) [104] .

0- 20' 30' 35O

WRNER WAR1 HALF ANGLE (a)

Fig. 46. Influence of flame type on noise level produced

by Ijmuiden wiTI burner I104j.

leaves enough behind in the reverse flow region to

burn and stabilize the flame, Because the Type II,
flame was noisy and the Type I was quiet, Fricker
hypothesized that

(fuel + heat) + combustion air

-+ quiet mixing controlled ignition

{fuel + combustion: air) ,t heat

- -i ;loisy “explosion” ignition.

Figure 46 shows the re:glts of a more detailed

study of the effect of the ;ztic: of gas velocity to
air velocity, and the quarl angle. Two regions are
delineated, where Type I ar?d Type II flames exist.
When the gas velocity is near fhe critical value for
penetration, the flame is unstable and the noise
level is up to 5 dB above that with a stable flame.
Changing the fuel injection from a single axial jet
to a multihole divergent set of jets was found to
quiet the flame when in this unstable region. For
Type fi stable flames, the noise level was found to
 increase linearly from106 to 114 d.l3as the SVirf
number increas& fromzero to 1.7. This latter
value nearly corresponds ts the swirl of the burner
studied by Syred and Be& (27),
It is ciear that there are a wide v3ricty of n&z
producing phenomena, ran&g from fji~ p~~ess&g
vortex core and associated excited resofcrnan~ in-
stabilities, discussed in Set, [24,77,X!, 511, trr
combustion roar discussed above. No DA gcncr&
ization of results can be given 8s yet owing ts the
range of sizes and canfigurati.ons dsund 5n the
literature.
The maximization of fuel burnout and reduction
ofhydrocarbon and NO, emission are becoming
increasingly important a Gupta et al, [S&W] have
extended their work on noise [lo51 to itzdude
detailed measurements of temperature, ;emp~-
ture ffuctuations, pressure fluctuations, species
and NO, concentrations, natural gac again being
used as fueP. The measurements show that vir-
tually complete burnout and the lowest NO,
concentration are produced by a&al fuef entry
and a convergent/divergent exit nozzle. The low
NO, concentrations are due to the convergent
exit nozzle increasing substantially the size of the
recirculation zone, recirculating colder combus-
tion products and thus quenching the reactions
that form NO,. However, axial/radial fueI entry
only produced slightly more NO, Tt was clearly
??

shown that high levels of NO, as well as Ha and

CO were produced at the exit near to the mgisn
of highest temperature. However, as bumou$
proceeded downstream, the free hydrogen md
carbon monoxide reduced some of the NO, that
had been formed back to nitrogen, with the result
that only small concentrations of NO, (and
negligible CO and Hz) resulted in the final bum-
.out combustion products. Et is evident that
further reduction of NO, may be obtained by
combinations of staged combustion ctnd increased
levels of recirculation. Virtually compfete burn-
out of the natural gas fuel occurred both with thhe
case of axial/radial fuel entry and with axial fud
entry and a convergent/divergent nozzle. Axial
fuel entry and tangential fuel entry with a straight
exit both left small but sign&ant praportion~ of
the fuel unburnt. Meyer and Mauss [IW] shawcd
how low levels of NO,@50 p-pm) may be ob-
tained by stratified burning using a distillate
 RADIAL INJECTOI?

MC’ 10%
/
‘-/ \ .-,
\ /’
\ *’ \ ??I /# 1
** \
/ , \
x)‘I. ’

\ I
1 I
‘J
m- 450-
1 2 s 1 s-5

8 b c
Fig, 47, Influenceof level of swirl 011n’tric oxide formation in pulverised coal flames [110] . (a) Effect of varying fuel
#q,kwbxs.
:
Injector

Velocity
Type m/six-’
P-
A Single hole 19
B ” ” 19
C ” I’ 26
H #’ ‘I 52
F RadIial hole 27

@I %k&& fwl Injection-effect of primary air percentagean NO formation. Cc) Annular fuel injection-effect of primary
air percentageon NO formation.

ferent types of industrial swirl burners. Figure 48

shows the “Ejmuiden”type burner referred to in
this paper [29] . It consists of a series of wedge-
shaped moveable blocks on two annular rings,
Interlocked, the blocks form alternate radial and
tangential flow channels, such that the air flow
splits into an equaI number of radial and tangential
streams which combine further downstream into
cne swirling flow. By simply rotating the back
plate I32 relative to the front one 31, the resulting
flux of angular momentum may be continuously
altered [l, 2aj 1 The second type of burner, dis-
cussed by Drake and Hubbard [Z] , is typical of
industrialpractice and combines a small primary
air Mrler with large tangential vanes in a swir1
chamber coming to a throat and exit divergence
pig. 49). As in the case of the “Ejmuiden”type
burner, fuel may be injected on the axis at she
exit ,throat. However, in this type of burner there
is sometimes an auxiriary set of gaseous fuel in-
jectors equally spaced around $he periphery of the
throat (spuds).
4.1.6. Effect of Different Fiefs
Most swid burners usutiiy produce blue, t8~.
luminosity flames when burning natural gas,
However, fairly luminous flames are produced by
the Type I flame of the ljmuiden Swirl Burner
(Fig. 48) f 1] , when the central fuel jet is fired
through the recirculation zone in the divergent
exit.
Flames simikr to those produced by gaseous
fuels occur with oil or pulverised coal as fuel to a
given swirl burner, i.e., Type I and Type II flames
could both be produced in the Ijmuiden Swirl
Burner with oil or pulvexisedcoal as futi;l[I t 80,
104,112]. However, the flames were*obviously,
of enhanced luminosity.

42. Cyclone Combuskw

There is far less information concerning combus-
tion effects in cyclone combustors than h swirl
burners. The main reason is tbt cyclone cambus~
tars have almost always been used for the comW
bustion of solid fuels and hence aerodynamic and
m93t &her measurements in the air streams un&r
combs~5or conditions are extremely difficult.

194
Fig. 49. Industrial swirl burner with primary arPd secondary air registers 121.
many types of swirl burner [34] (Fig. 5 I)+ Opti-
mum k&l burnout and combustion efficiency
occurred when some 2-376 of the air was ad-
mitted on the tis of symmetry. Two-stage
cambustion was sometimes used to enhance resi-
dence times and thus complete burnout of the
fuel 1341,
One of the most remarkable capabilities of the
cyclone combustor is its ability to separate out the
ash tmrn solid ftrets during the cyclone process
[E-M, 38-M] 1 Agrest f32,33] has shown how
W& vap skins or cotton &ed husks may be
&Mcntly hxtrt~d and the residual fIy ash
sqxmtsd out by the cyclonic action of the com-
busilor and used as ferttizer? Schmidt 1341 shows
huw the same design of combustor may be adapted
to the combustion of higb+olatile~ontent coal or
poor~qudity oti. Strnitarly, Tager [49] shows how
1 i;‘@~~e chamber can be designed to efficientIy
burn high-suulphurm-cuntentoil without any flame
impingement on the walls, thus avoiding serious
problems of corrosion thar had occurred with pre-
Gous designs,
‘The wu basic designs of the Soviet Cyclone
Ctin~busto~, F&s. 12 and 13 described in Sec. 2.2,
N.SYRED and f, M. B&R
have nearly always been used for the combustion
of poor-quality coals [35-48] . Generalization of
the resuhs is difficult, as changes in the position
or size of the tangential inlets or the shape of the
outlet can make large changes in the Wning
zones, combustion intensity, and final burnout of
the coal [e.g., 381, A number of conclusions can,
however, be drawn:
(a) At least two symmetrically arranged tan-
gential inlets should be used. The use of only one
set results in uneven burning (especially in longer
chambers) and an increase in total pressure drop
[35-J& 40-431.
(b) Up to three oxygen-deftcient gasification
zones occur (fuel-coal), particularly with the
second type of cyclone C38-43 J (Fig. 13). This is
illustrated in Fig. 50, which shows the spatial
distribution of excess air in a cyclone combustor
(similar to Fig. 13)with a singIe tangential air
and coal feed burning a low-ash, high-volatile-
content coal. The asymmetry of the combustiun
process is immediately evident. Three zones in
which cw< 1 can be discerned. The fawest values
of CY are found, not immediately after the air and
[3335] may be easily calculated from Tager’s
forf~lulse[54] , despite the differences in
~anfigurafion.
It was shown in Sec.‘2,2 that the swirl number,
5, ofmostcyclone combustors was very high
under isothermal cunditions (often S > 10).
ifnder combustion conditions the inlet angular
momentum to the cyclone chamber remains ap-
proximately constant. However, the axial mo-
mentum of the outlet fluid stream is considerably
!ncreasedas a result of acceleration effects of
combustion in the cyclone chamber. In fact the
girl number is reduced by the following ratio,
;xpproximately :
F rnbl r*averageinltt temperature of gases,
T0uttet-;:average outleI temperature of gases.
(a) The prediction of the i&id vortex break-
down phenomena and establishing the initial on-
set of recirculation, basically at low Re.
(b) The prediction of isothermal and combus-
tive flows containing the large PVC.
(cc) The prediction of flows where the ampli-
tude of the PVC has been damped to such an ex-
tent that it no longer dominates the flow.
(d) Predicting whether or not the large PW
will be damped or not in a given flow, basically
the transition between State b and c above.
Attempts at the prediction of the initial vortex
breakdown phenomena have been summarized
and illustrated by Mager [60]. I-k showed that
similarity solutions could be found for a free/
forced vortex combination which indicated
infinite axial velocity gradients at high Re. This
point was thus taken as the initial onset of the vor-
tex breakdown. The initial onset of vortex break-
down is of much more direct interest to aircraft
aeradynamicists than to combustion engineers.
The operating regime of most swirl cornbustors
should be past this region, although the prediction
of the Re at which vortex breakdown occurs is
still of in*.erest.
Possibly the best attempt at predicting the fre-
quency of vortex core precession has been made
by Sozou and Swithenbank [ I141 . Using a fust-
order perturbation method for the solution of a
forced vortex embedded in a Rank& vortex, they
achieved reasonable success in prediction of the
frequency of vortex core precession despite ne-
glecting second-order and high terms. Bellamy
Knights [I 151 obtained a time-dependent solution
of the Nader-Stokes equations for the case of a
forced vortex embedded in a free vortex. Axial
fluctuations with time were predic.ted, with
rather artificial boundary conditions and assump
tiom about the variation of velocity in the axial
direction (variations in the r and 8 directions
being neglected). The results were applied to the
formation and dissipation of meteorlogical vor-
tices. It is probable that a comparable similarity
~dutio~ could be applied for fluctuations in the t
and 6 directions, neglecting axial velociv fluctua-
tions, aithough any solution would doubtless de-
pend an artificial assumptions concerning velocity
profiles and boundary conditions. It must be
concluded that prediction of the flortr patterns
associated with the precessing varbx cm is drf-
ficult and any results obtained are likely to de*
pend ORthe init assumptims made. It is prob-
able that more complete sdutbns of the problem
will ordy occur when finite-difference camputer
methods become available for tie solution of

BOUNDARY LAYER BLOWING

DtLUTfDN AIR

STAGE

Fig. 53. Proposal for two-stage gas tur’uine cyckme

cumtrustor.
198 N. SYRED and J. M. BE&R

associated instabilities, as the trend (especially in Exit throat diameter

gas turbine combustors) tcward prevapouxise d, or Diameter of rod
effectively premixed cambustsrs, will tend to ex- Frequency, Hz
cite the preeessing vortex core. Flux of axi momentum
The review of cyclone combustors is intended to Flux of angular momentum
show that these devices cowId well be adapted to Kinetic energy of turbulence-(u” + Wf2 +
gas turbine combustors and other situations where
V’)/U;
long residen~cetimes are needed for the effkient
Length
combustion of poor-quality fuels. Air and fuel
Length of exit divergence
could anter tangentially into the combustor. De-
Entrained mass flowrate both referenced
pen&g on the exact geometry, a series of con-
Recirculated mass flowrate I to input
centric annular reverse-flow zones/well-stirred
Number of tangential inlets
reactors could be set up with the final burnout
Precessing vortex core
occurring in a plugflow region near the exit.
Flowrate
Dilution air (for gas turbine combustors) could
Radius
even be added on the axis of symmetry if the flow
Radius of exit throat
pattern of Schmidt [34] (Fig. 52) was chosen (no
Reynolds number based on average exit
revere flow on axis, con?rast with Baluev 135,361
velocity through exit throat
(Fig 12)) With proper design the flame front
Swirl number
could be moved away from the outer wall, slightly,
Temperature “C
tt7 reduce tX\aWI temperature. Such a cornbus-
Residence time in stirred reactor
trar could be made extremely flexible, as large T Lr.l ,.-,;rlnp 1 4:..mn :.* ,~~~~~b..- 4 _,
i O;Cr IUDIUG~G c.uitG UI bU~ilUU:ilLri
&m@e$ couid be made to tfie flow circtllation yat-
Axial velocity
terns and weI!-stirred reactor/plug-flow regions by
Average exit throat axial velocity
the small changes in geametry suggeskd in Sec. 2,
Radial velocity
e,g*, by VNJ+I~ the lotd tangential inlet area and
Tangential velocity
tha p~ltion at which fluid was blow11into the
Axial distance
&amber; or by blowing 5-l&% of the total air
Pressure drop
supply through rhe base plate at a srndl radius so
Pressure drop through tangential inl&s
3%to reverse the boundary layer.
Pressure drop from tangential inlets to exit
of combustor
Excess air factor
Mixture ratio-(Mass Air/Mass Fuel) X
(I /Stoichiometric Ratio)
Kinematic viscosity
Density
Pressure loss coefficient
Stream function

Subscripts
isothermal-refers to isothe!:mal conditions
in -refers to inlet conditions
ex,!? -refers to exit conditions
f -refers to furnace conditions

Supetseripts
I
-refers to flwtuating quantities,
 21.

22,

I. Be&, J. M*,and chigier, N, A., ~0rnbw~wz A fro+

dynamics, Applied Science Publishers, London, 23,
1972.
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98 (1966)* 24.
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C19651, 25.
4. M&x, M. L., and MaccaEum, N. R. L.1 J. Xclst. 26”
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13tk. ht. Symposium on Con&t&ion, The \70m-
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~4111tmUer, Pm. 5th. Oanfieid FMScs Cbnfmwce,

Stockholm, Sweden, June, 1972.
74. savino, J. M., and K&ock, I$ G., Experimental
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