ABSTRACT
The pulverized coal (PC) fired boiler is a key piece of equipment governing the overall energy efficiency of coal fired power stations. The performance of a PC fired boiler depends on several design and operating parameters, such as configuration of the boiler; the number, location, and design of burners (tilt and swirl at burners); the locations and configurations of internal heat exchangers; coal characteristics (quality (coal rank), sulfur and nitrogen contents, particle size distribution, composition, reactivity and its feed rate); extent of excess air; possibility of air ingress; imbalance in temperatures of steam drums; heat transfer effectiveness, etc. It is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of the influence of furnace configuration, burner design, and different operating parameters on the overall performance of a coal fired boiler. Information on the temperature field within the boiler and local heat transfer coefficients at the boiler tubes is of interest. Knowledge of particle trajectories (bottom ash as well as fly ash) is also one of the key interests in understanding the long-term performance of coal fired boilers. The particles may interact with preheater and superheater tubes. Understanding such interactions is important in estimating erosion rates. Because many of these parameters are strongly coupled and may influence performance in a complex way, it is always desirable to develop a computational model that establishes a relationship between hardware design/operating parameters and PC boiler performance.
