Paper #21 COMBINED CONVECTION-RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER, IN A SURFACE COMBUSTOR-HEATER, A.A. Mohamad and R. Viskanta Heat Transfer Laboratory School of Mechanical Engineering Purdue University ‘West Lafayette, IN 47907 ABSTRACT ‘The paper presents a model to predict combined conduction-convection-radiation heat transfer in a porous bed from which heat is extracted by a coolant circulated in tubes embedded in the porous matrix. The two-dimensional model is based on first principles of mass, momentum and energy conservation. The flow is modeled using the Brinkman-Forchheimer modified Darcy's equations, and the differential approximation is used for radiative transfer in the porous bed. Energy balances are made on the solid and the gas separately. The model equations are solved numerically using the SIMPLER algorithm. The numerical results reported in the paper show that the opacity of the bed and the product of the heat transfer coefficient and the surface area per unit volume of the bed are important parameters which control the thermal performance of the system. NOMENCLATURE surface area of the porous matrix per unit volume inertia coefficient, C = 0.5 specific heat dimension of square duct, see Fig.1 Planck black body emitted flux, oT* radiative flux vector, ¥ = iF, +iFy irradiance asymmetry factor height of porous matrix, see Fig.1 chemical heat release rate per unit volume heat transfer coefficient between solid matrix and gas heat transfer coefficient between solid matrix and ambient permeability thermal conductivity length of porous matrix, see Fig.1 total heat extraction rate from system defined by equation (17) heat flux at the tube surface distance measured around the duct perimeter temperature inlet velocity ‘velocity components in the x- and y-directions xy coordinates snes prrnge pan Sal OS a> £ %Greek Letters extinction coefficient, k + o emissivity kinematic viscosity of the gas reflectivity or density parameter defined by equation (11) thermal efficiency defined by equation (16) absorption coefficient optical dimension (opacity), SH porosity single scattering albedo, 0/8 Stefan-Boltzmann constant or scattering coefficient qgesgagsreeD a refers to ambient g refers to gas, i refers to inlet conditions ° refers to outlet conditions 8 refers to porous solid w refers to tube wall INTRODUCTION ‘The surface combustor-heater is a device that is based on the concept in which the relatively cold heat exchange surfaces are embedded in a stationary bed of refractory material where gaseous fuel is burned. The heat liberated is extracted by the embedded heat exchanger. Removing heat simultaneously with the combustion process has the advantage of reducing the combustion temperature and suppressing formation of nitrogen oxides (Jasionowski et al., 1987). In a conventional combustor, the presence of large areas of cold heat exchange surfaces within the combustion zone would quench the flame, thereby producing increased carbon monoxide and total hydrocarbon emissions. In an advanced surface combustor-heater concept fired by natural gas, heat exchange surfaces (tubes) are embedded in a packed stationary bed of alumina chips where natural gas is burned (Jasionowski et al., 1987; Simpson, 1987). As the bed (porous material) is heated by the combustion products, the heat is extracted by a coolant, such as water circulating in the tubes, and simultaneously the combustion products are cooled. The combustor-heater has the benefit of reducing NO, formation by decreasing the combustion temperature. ‘The additional incentives for the development of an advanced natural gas-fired surface combustor-heater with high combustion efficiency and firing density are the high heat transfer rate to the load, high thermal efficiency, ultra-low emissions, low pressure drop, and adequate turndown ratio (Jasionowski et al., 1987). Besides the very large market for natural gas for process heaters, the surface combustor-heater concept can provide the basis for development of advanced and more efficient ultra-low pollutant emissions boilers, water heaters, thermal fluid heaters, and air heaters for industrialapplications; steamers for enhanced oil recovery; and steam superheaters for waste-to- energy systems. In the residential and commercial areas the surface combustor-heater concept can provide the basis for development of highly compact, efficient ultra-low pollutant emissions water heaters, air heaters, thermal fluid heaters, and space heating systems. The purpose of this paper is to describe a mathematical model to simulate heat transfer in a porous bed and to predict conduction-convection-radiation heat transfer in a model surface combustor-heater. There are a very large number of parameters governing the system such as the tube diameter and spacing, number of tube rows, material, porosity and particle diameter of the bed, thermophysical and radiative properties of the bed and the tubes, operating conditions, etc., hence it is not possible to be comprehensive. Some typical results are presented in the paper and the salient features of the system are discussed. ANALYSIS Physical Model and Assumptions ‘A schematic diagram of the physical system considered is shown schematically in Fig.1. A mixture of natural gas and air is introduced into the combustor-heater through a cooled distributor plate to prevent back-firing, and the mixture is burned inside the porous matrix. The chemical energy generated during the process of combustion is released in the gas. The combustion products heat the bed which is capable of emitting, absorbing and scattering thermal radiation. Heat transfer from the bed to the tubes is by conduction and radiation, and heat transfer from the combustion products to the tubes is only by convection as the opacity of the products of combustion (primarily CO, and H,0) is considered to be negligible as a result of the very small interstitial distances in the bed. The purpose of the analysis is to predict the thermal performance of the surface combustor-heater by determining the fraction of the heat released by the combustion which is transferred to the tube surfaces. This objective will be achieved by predicting the temperature distribution of the solid particles and the gases in the bed. The process of combustion is not modeled, and the heat of combustion is assumed to be released in the gas and is replaced by a volumetric heat source. In possible heater designs there could be several rows of tubes in the heater and a large number of tubes in a row through which a working fluid is circulated (Jasionowski et al., 1987), mathematical modeling of the entire heater does not appear to be practical. Therefore, the heater will be assumed to consist of numerous but identical vertical sections (modules), and only one section is modeled. The vertical boundaries of the module are located on the planes passing midway between two adjacent rows of tubes which are arranged horizontally (Fig.1). In the figure only a single, square tube is indicated, but in possible heater designs there may be a large number of tubes in a row and a number of rows. In the analysis a square instead of a circular duct is considered, because it is computationally simpler. ‘The transport of mass, momentum and energy is considered to be two-dimensional. As a first approximation, flow through the porous medium is assumed to be two- dimensional and governed by the Forchheimer and Brinkman modified Darcy equations(Beckerman et al., 1988). The porous bed-gas system is assumed to be a gray medium capable of absorbing, emitting and scattering thermal radiation. The gas is considered to be transparent, because its opacity based on the mean distance between the particles in the bed is very small. Hence, radiative transfer is assumed to take place only between the particles comprising the solid bed and between the bed and the tubes. . The radiative transfer is two-dimensional and is modeled using a differential approximation (Vortmeyer, 1978; Viskanta and Mengue, 1989). The absorption and scattering coefficients, single scattering albedo as well as the forward and backward scattering fractions for the porous bed are assumed to be gray. Little data are available for the radiative properties; therefore, a detailed treatment of radiative transfer in the bed does not appear to be warranted at the present time. Model Equations ‘The temperature of the porous solid (T,) is assumed to be different than that of the combustion products (T,). Heat transfer in the solid is coupled to that in the gas through the convection which is expressed in terms of the convective heat transfer coefficient between the solid and the gas (h) and the temperature difference between the solid bed and the gas (T, —T,). ‘The porous bed with the coolant pipes embedded ‘in it. is assumed to be two-dimensional, ie., the temperature changes in the z-direction (perpendicular to the plane of the figure) are negligible in comparison to the x- and y- directions. ‘The energy equation for the porous bed matrix matrix is 0 =(1-#)k, VT, — VF — A(T, — (1) ‘The conservation equations for the gas are; Mass: a ah tet @) Momentum: o= 2B 4 iva (vk +0/VK |a|Ju @) 2 tov — ik + 6/VE lle (4) Energy: or, etl GE +V EE) m dk, —DATe Ty) + 08H) 6) ‘The boundary conditions are taken to be: