Validation of an effervescent spray model with secondary atomization and its application to modeling of a large-scale furnace

The present work consists of a validation attempt of an effervescent spray model with secondary atomization. The objective is the simulation of a 1 MW industrial-type liquid fuel burner equipped with effervescent spray nozzle. The adopted approach is based on a double experimental validation. Firstly, the evolution of radial drop size distributions of an isothermal spray is investigated. Secondly, the spray model is tested in a swirling combustion simulation by means of measured wall heat flux profile along the flame. In the first part of the paper, both experiments are described along with the measuring techniques. Drop sizes and velocities measured using a Dantec phase/Doppler particle analyzer are analyzed in detail for six radial positions. Local heat fluxes are measured by a reliable technique along the furnace walls in a large-scale water-cooled laboratory furnace. In the second part Euler - Lagrange approach is applied for two-phase flow spray simulations. The adopted spray model is based on the latest industrially relevant (i.e. computationally manageable) primary and secondary breakup sub-models complemented with droplet collision model and a dynamic droplet drag model. Results show discrepancies in the prediction of radial evolution of Sauter mean diameter and exaggerated bimodality in drop size distributions. A partial qualitative agreement is found in radial evolution of drop size distributions. Difficulties in predicting the formation of small drops are highlighted. Comparison of the predicted wall heat fluxes and measured heat loads in swirling flame combustion simulation shows that the absence of the smallest droplets causes a significant elongation of the flame. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.