Towards a generic, reliable CFD modelling methodology for waste-fired grate boilers

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is increasingly used in industry for detailed understanding of the combustion process and for appropriate design and optimization of Waste–to–Energy (WtE) plants. In this paper, CFD modelling of waste wood combustion in a 13 MW grate-fired boiler in a WtE plant is presented. To reduce the risk of slagging, optimize the temperature control and enhance turbulent mixing, part of the flue gas is recycled into the grate boiler. In the simulation, a 1D in–house bed model is developed to simulate the conversion of the waste wood in the fuel bed on the grate, which provides the appropriate inlet boundary condition for the freeboard 3D CFD simulation. Additionally, a refined WSGGM (weighted sum of gray gases model) of greater accuracy, completeness and applicability is proposed and implemented into the CFD model via user defined functions (UDF) to better address the impacts of the increased CO2 and H2O vapour concentrations on radiative heat transfer in the boiler. The impacts of full buoyancy on turbulence are also investigated. As a validation effort, the temperature profiles at different ports inside the furnace are measured and the experimental values are compared with the CFD results.