Control of Heat Flux Profiles from Rotary Kiln Burners by Modification of Mixing

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The effect of flame shaping using a Precessing Jet (PJ) burner on heat flux profiles was measured at the semi‐industrial scale (2MW) in the cement kiln zone simulator at the International Flame Research Foundation. Natural gas was used as the fuel and measurements were taken at air preheat temperatures of 400°C, 640°C and 840°C. Results showed that the radiation from the shaped PJ flames was greater than that produced by momentum controlled flames from a multi‐channel burner. Increasing the proportion of shaping jet to Precessing Jet also “stretched” the shape of the heat flux profile such that the location of the peak heat flux was shifted down the kiln and reduced in magnitude slightly. The changes in the heat flux profiles are related to the changes in the mixing field of the non‐reacting jet flows recorded using a semi‐quantitative flow visualisation technique.</jats:p>