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Preface

This thesis is submitted for partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in Energy Engineering at Aalborg University. The work has been carried out in
the period Mars 2003 to June 2007 and is part of the PSO2002-4730 project: Development of
generalized model for grate combustion of biomass.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my supervisors, Associate Professor Lasse Rosendahl


and Associate Professor Sren Knudsen Kr, as well as my colleges at the institute of Energy
Technology at Aalborg University. Special thanks to Henrik Srensen for valuable input and
help to the experimental work. I would also like to thank Jan Christiansen and Mads Lund
for all their support in the workshop. Furthermore, I would like to thank Rasmus Jensen and
Melissa Berry, whose student projects have contributed with important experimental data to
this thesis.

Part of this work was carried out during a five months long stay at Sheffield University Waste
Incineration Centre (SUWIC), UK. I would like to thank Professor Jim Swithenbank,
Professor Vida N Sharifi and Dr. Yao-bin Yang for excellent guidance and valuable
discussions. I would also like to thank the other PhD students at SUWIC, who all made my
stay in Sheffield very pleasant and memorable.

Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for always being there and supporting
me. I am so grateful for having such wonderful friends. A special thank you to Jenny and
Sren, for their great hospitality and making Aalborg feel like home. Without you I would
never have made it all the way.

Hanna Sabelstrm
Aalborg, June 2007
Abstract

This work is part of a long term project of developing a bed model, describing the
combustion process of straw on a vibrating grate. For a vibrating grate, the mixing and
transportation of the fuel are of great significance and the work presented in this report
investigates how the effect of vibrations can be incorporated into a numerical model.

The chosen model approach has been to separate the gas and solid phases into two
independent models related to each other through the bed porosity. By treating the bed as a
porous media and using Erguns equation for the gas flow, the numerical work is simplified
and the computational time shortened. The vibrations are affecting the transport and mixing
of the fuel and incorporated into the model through the diffusion coefficient in the
conservation equation of the solid phase.

Experimental work has been carried out with the aim to study the behaviour of wood pellets
on a vibrating grate and deriving the diffusion coefficient to be used in the numerical model.
Three different grate designs are used and the particle trajectories have been captured by a
camera placed above the grate. The diffusion coefficient is defined as the deviation from the
mean movement of the particles. The results show that the diffusion of the particles increases
with increasing vibration amplitude and frequency and decreasing particle layer thickness.
There is a significant difference in the magnitude of the diffusion coefficients for the different
test set-ups, which shows that the diffusion is strongly dependent on the grate design and a
diffusion coefficient has to be determined for each type of grate to be modeled.

Different alternatives of how to represent the velocity and diffusion coefficients in the model
have been investigated. It has been found that the vibrations give rise to both a diffusive and a
convective contribution and that the velocity depends on the position of the grate. It is
suggested that the mean velocity of the particles should be seen as a convective process
whilst the deviation from the mean velocity should be treated as a diffusive process. In order
to introduce a varying velocity depending on the position on the grate, a modification of the
model is necessary where also the density will vary as a consequence of the continuity
equation. The definition of the density will thereby change from being the particle density to
be the cell density, i.e. a measure of how dense the particles are packed in each cell.
Contents

Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Climate Changes ............ 1
1.2 Biomass as renewable energy source 1
1.3 The use of CFD for designing and optimising furnaces 2
1.4 Problem statement . 3
1.5 Report structure . 4

2 Biomass- an overview 5
2.1 Biomass properties . 6
2.2 Fuel characterisation .. 7
2.2.1 Wood . 7
2.2.2 Herbaceous and annual growth materials- straw ... 7
2.2.3 Agricultural wastes and residues ... 8
2.2.4 Refused-derived fuels and combustible waste .. 8
2.3 Chemical composition of biomass . 8
2.4 Thermal conversion ... 9
2.5 Combustion technologies ... 11
2.5.1 Fluidised bed combustion .. 11
2.5.2 Fixed bed combustion- grate furnaces ... 12
2.5.3 Travelling grate and moving grate ..... 13
2.5.4 Vibrating grate ... 14
2.5.5 Suspension firing ... 14
2.6 Emissions ... 14

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

3 Bed models- state of the art 17


3.1 Kinetics .. 18
3.2 Modelling of a single particle 19
3.3 Modelling of fixed and moving beds 21
3.3.1 Ignition front . 21
3.3.2 Primary air flow . 22
3.4 Bed models 23

4 Mixing theory of particles 31


4.1 Gas kinetic theory .. 32
4.2 Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function 32
4.3 Brownian motion ... 33
4.4 Diffusion 33
4.4.1 Transport equation 33
4.5 Particle mixing ... 34
4.6 Granular flow . 34
4.7 Simulation of granular material . 36
4.7.1 Continuum mechanics approach 37
4.7.2 Discrete element approach 37
4.7.3 Event Driven Method- hard sphere method .. 37
4.7.4 Time Driven Method- soft particle method ... 38
4.7.5 Kinetic theory approach . 39
4.8 Vibration of granular material ... 41
4.9 Mixing in bed models 44
4.10 Mixing process on a vibrating grate .. 45
4.11 Diffusion concept of this project ... 46

5 Experimental work 49
5.1 Rig constructions / vibrating grate systems ... 50
5.1.1 Grate A- pneumatically driven vibrations . 50
5.1.2 Grate B- vibrations induced by amplitude wheel .. 52
5.1.3 Grate C- pivoting grate .. 53
5.2 Particle types .. 55

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Contents

5.3 Data treatment 56


5.4 Experiments on grate A . 57
5.5 Experiments on grate B . 59
5.6 Experiments on grate C . 60
5.7 Results and discussion ... 62
5.7.1 Results- grate A . 62
5.7.2 Results- grate B .. 64
5.7.3 Grate B- variation of Dx along the grate 64
5.7.4 Grate B- variation of Dx across the grate ... 65
5.7.5 Grate B- comparison of Dx and Dy . 66
5.7.6 Grate B- influence of frequency and amplitude 67
5.7.7 Grate B- Influence of grate construction ... 69
5.7.8 Results- grate C .. 70
5.7.9 Grate C- variation of Dx and Dy along the grate 71
5.7.10 Grate C- variation of Dx and Dy aross the grate 73
5.7.11 Grate C- dependency on frequency ... 75
5.7.12 Grate C- influence of grate construction ... 77
5.8 Comparison between the experiments ... 79
5.9 Comparison to literature 80
5.9.1 Comparison with theoretical diffusion coefficient 81
5.9.2 Comparison to experiments by Yang et al. 83
5.10 Experiences from an industrial vibrating grate .. 84
5.11 Future investigations .. 85
5.12 Conclusion / summary ... 86

6 Modelling work 87
6.1 Model structure . 88
6.2 Gas phase ... 89
6.2.1 Porosity .. 90
6.2.2 Test of Erguns equation 90
6.3 Solid phase . 92
6.4 The Finite Volume Method ... 94
6.5 Test cases ... 95

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

6.5.1 Test case 1- constant velocity and diffusion coefficient 97


6.5.2 Test case 2- varying diffusion coefficient . 101
6.5.3 Test case 3- Varying velocity 102
6.5.4 Test case 4- Comparison to a real case .. 103
6.6 Future work 108
6.6.1 Three dimensions ... 108
6.6.2 Combustion 108

7 Conclusion and perspectives 109

8 References 113

Appendix A 119

iv
Chapter1: Introduction

1 Introduction

1.1 Climate changes

At the moment a rapidly growing interest and concern about climate changes is taking place
globally. A contributing factor to the growing interest is the increasing number of extreme
weather events all over the world with catastrophic consequences for millions of people.
Some examples are high frequency of heavy precipitation, longer and more severe droughts,
an increase of intense tropical cyclone activities, increasing number of heat waves and
decreasing snow cover.

Most researchers have agreed that these climate changes are caused by high concentrations of
greenhouse gases produced by mankind, resulting in an increased average temperature of the
atmosphere. An important greenhouse gas is CO2, emitted as a consequence of combustion of
fossil fuel such as coal and oil. The CO2 emissions have grown from 1970 to 2004 by about
80% (IPCC, 2007). To change the trend of an increasing average global temperature, drastic
actions need to be undertaken concerning emissions in general and of CO2 in particular.

The western society today is highly energy consuming and there is a fast going development
taking place in the east and in developing countries pointing towards an even higher energy
demand in the future. It is therefore extremely important to find and start using new,
sustainable energy sources to replace the fossil fuel. Strong political actions have started to
take form, the well known Kyoto agreement is one example where countries have obliged to
reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases with 5.2% by year 2012, based on year 1990
levels. The political actions also lead to an increased interest and amount of research
activities within renewable energy resources like wind, solar, wave and biomass.

1.2 Biomass as renewable energy source

To replace fossil fuel by biomass is one step to achieve a reduction of the CO2 emissions to
the atmosphere. Biomass is considered to be CO2 neutral since it is fast growing and thereby
consuming an equal amount of CO2 as produced during combustion, provided that re-
plantation is done. Biomass is a very heterogeneous group of fuel, comprising wood, bark,
branches, twigs, various kinds of crops, straw, olive stones, rape-oil, ethanol and many other
things. Today, biomass contributes to approximately 14% of the worlds total energy supply
(Yang et al., 2005a). However, this number also includes primitive combustion methods,
without any process control or emission reductions, that are frequently used in the third
world.

In Denmark, which is a country with a lot of cultivated land and not so many forests, straw is
a commonly used biomass fuel. Straw is a very complex fuel, containing high levels of

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

potassium, chlorine and sulphur, causing severe corrosion problems in the combustion
chamber. There are also large problems in the form of formation of deposits and slagging on
the heat transfer surfaces in the furnace, leading to decreased furnace efficiency.

When burning straw to generate heat and energy it can be used on its own or in co-
combustion with coal or wood. When used on it its own straw is generally burnt on a
vibrating grate. Vibrating grates have shown to be a well suited method for straw combustion,
since the vibrations tend to prevent agglomeration of the straw. However, an additional
problem during combustion of straw on vibrating grates is the high occurrence of emissions
peaks, most likely related to the vibration movements.

Even though biomass is the oldest type of fuel for small scale, domestic energy production,
modern, large scale biomass combustion is still a fairly new technology. The fuel properties
of biomass differ from those of traditional fuels like coal and oil and to achieve an effective
combustion with a minimum of emissions, modifications of existing technology are
necessary.

1.3 The use of CFD for designing and optimising furnaces

When designing grates and furnaces the applied technology is based on experience and not
much on theoretical studies. By developing numerical methods of the process in the furnace a
detailed knowledge can be achieved and valuable insights can be drawn. By simulating the
combustion behaviour, different parameters can be studied such as fuel type, fuel properties
and air distribution and their effect on the emission levels and furnace efficiency, without
having to make expensive and time consuming real scale measurements,

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become an increasingly used tool for this type of
calculations. Lots of research work is carried out in developing CFD models of the free board
area in the furnace to investigate the optimal air distribution and identify recirculation zones.
A frequent problem with the CFD codes is that there is a lack of accurate inlet conditions
from the fuel bed. The process in the fuel bed is of great significance and it would be
extremely valuable to be able to predict the right distribution and amount of particles and
volatiles leaving the bed to use as inlet conditions to a CFD model.

The purpose of bed models is not uniquely to provide inlet conditions to CFD models, it is
also of great importance to study the combustion process inside the bed and understanding
the underlying mechanisms. Bed models have been developed for different types of grates,
such as fixed beds and travelling grates, and many kinds of biomass fuels, e.g. wood, wood
chips, waste and saw dust. So far, only limited research work has been carried out for
vibrating grates.

Focus within bed modelling has mainly been on the chemical conversion of biomass and not
so much on the mass transport mechanisms. However, for a vibrating grate, the moving
mechanisms are of high importance and do play a significant part for the mixing and
combustion process in the fuel bed. If, for example, the highly frequent occurring emission
peaks could be captured by mathematical modelling, it would be a revolutionary contribution
to the work of preventing such peaks and thereby achieving a more optimal combustion.

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Chapter1: Introduction

1.4 Problem statement

In this work, the mixing and transportation of solid fuel on a vibrating grate are investigated.
The goal is to develop a model, without combustion taking place, describing the transport
process of the fuel. This is done by assuming that the transport of the particles is a diffusive
process, governed by the diffusion coefficient in the equation of momentum. This approach is
similar to that of Yang et al. (2002), used to describe the mixing during combustion of waste
on a travelling grate. The application of this method to a vibrating grate will be evaluated and
discussed in this report.

In order to derive the diffusion coefficient, experimental work is conducted on three different
test grate set-ups. The test rigs all vary in design and way of imposing the vibrations. By
taking pictures of the grate, the motion of the particles can be tracked and the transport
behaviour investigated. The third and final grate set-up is belonging to a 500kW pilot scale
furnace, recently constructed at Aalborg University (AAU). The furnace will be used in
future research work in investigating the combustion process of different types of fuels on a
vibrating grate.

Figure 1.1 500kW pilot scale furnace with vibrating grate at AAU.

The process taking place on a vibrating grate is extremely complex and unpredictable. As an
attempt to increase the control of the process and limit the difficulties in handling straw
particles, wood pellets are used as test particles. Figure 1.2 shows the combustion of wood

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

pellets in a pilot scale test rig. Even if wood pellets differ significantly from straw particles in
terms of properties, the basics and principles of the combustion process on a vibrating grate
can be captured.

Figure 1.2 Combustion of wood pellets on the AAU test rig during vibrations.

1.5 Report structure

In chapter 2 a brief introduction to the combustion of biomass is given. Different types of


biomass are described as well as the most common conversion methods. A state of the art
within bed modelling is given in chapter 3, different model assumptions are summarised and
problems involved in bed modelling identified. Since the focus of this work is on how to
model the mixing of the fuel in the bed, chapter 4 gives an overview of the mixing theory of
solid particles. A description of granular material and some different modelling approaches
are presented and parallels to the situation on a vibrating grate are drawn. The diffusion
concept of this work is described and the diffusion coefficient defined. In chapter 5, the
experimental work conducted to investigate the diffusion coefficient is described. The three
different test rigs are presented, the experimental methods described and the obtained results
shown and analysed. The principles of the bed model are outlined in chapter 6 and the
solution method described. Some different test cases are set up to investigate the influence of
the choice of how to represent the velocity and diffusion in the model. Finally, the main
results and conclusions from both the experimental and modelling work are summarized and
discussed in chapter 7.

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Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

2 Biomass- an overview
This chapter gives an introduction to biomass fuels. Biomass includes all
land- and water based vegetation and is formed by the reaction between
CO2 in the air, water and sunlight via photosynthesis. The
photosynthesis stores the solar energy in the chemical bonds of the
structural components of biomass. The stored chemical energy can be
extracted later either biologically or chemically with CO2 and water as
final products. This makes the biomass CO2 neutral since the released
CO2 is available to produce new biomass. When evaluating the overall
environmental effects of biomass it is also necessary to consider the
energy required for growing, processing and transporting the specific
fuel. The properties and chemical composition of some different types of
biomass fuels are described in this chapter as well as the thermal
conversion process. The most common combustion devices used for
biomass are then presented. Finally, the emissions from biomass
combustion are discussed.

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

2.1 Biomass Properties


There is a wide range of biomass fuel and the composition and properties are varying
depending on species, type of plant tissue, growing stage and growing conditions. Despite the
many differences in composition and properties the energy content of biomass (on ash free
dry basis) is similar for all plant species, lying in the range of 17-21 MJ/kg (McKendry,
2002). The fuel properties influence the rate of combustion as well as the efficiency of the
combustion system. It is important to identify the properties of the fuel and to make sure that
the chosen operational way is suited for that specific fuel. Important physical and chemical
parameters are:

Particle dimensions
Bulk density
Calorific value
Moisture content
Proportions of fixed carbon and volatiles
Ash/residue content
Alkali metal content
Cellulose/lignin ratio

The knowledge of these parameters is needed to be able to adjust the temperature control
system of the furnace and to design the volume and geometry of the furnace to achieve an
efficient combustion. Particle diameters can vary from a few millimetres to about 50 cm and
the size distribution can be homogeneous (e.g. pellets) or inhomogeneous (e.g. wood chips).
The particle dimension and size distribution are important parameters when choosing
appropriate fuel feeding system and combustion technology. The bulk density and calorific
value influence the fuel logistics such as transport and storage as well as the process control
of the fuel feeding system.

The moisture content of the fuel influences the combustion behaviour, the adiabatic
temperature of combustion and the volume of flue gas produced per energy unit. Fuel with a
high moisture content needs a longer residence time to dry before the volatile release and
char combustion takes place, which requires a bigger combustion chamber. Combustion is
only feasible for biomass with a moisture content less than 50% (McKendry, 2002). Biomass
fuel with higher moisture content is better suited to biological conversion processes such as
fermentation.

Moisture, ash and energy volume for coal and some different types of biomass are shown in
Table 2.1 The energy volume is important when considering the transportation method and,
in this case, is related to the energy content of 1m3 of coal. It can be seen that for natural
straw 20 times the volume of coal is required to achieve the same energy output while for
straw briquettes the number has decreased to 3.

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Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

Moisture Ash Energy volume


Fuel
[mass% ,wet basis] [mass%, dry basis ] [m3/m3 coal MJ]

Coal 10 10 1

Wood pellets 5 0.2-0.5 2

Wood chips 50 0.2-0.5 7

Saw dust 50 0.2-0.5 9

Bark 50 1 8

Straw natural <18 5 20

Straw bale <18 5 13

Straw briquettes <18 5 3

Table 2.1 Properties for coal and some different biomass fuels (Thunman et al. 2005a).

2.2 Fuel characterisation

The biomass plant is composed of cellulose, hemi-cellulose, ligning, lipids, proteins, simple
sugars, starches, water, HC, ash and other compounds. Depending on the structural
composition of hemi-cellulose, cellulose and lignin, biomass can be divided into 4 main
classes (Jenkins et al., 1998) :

1. Wood and woody materials.


2. Herbaceous and other annual growth materials.
3. Agricultural wastes and residues.
4. Refuse-derived fuels (RFD) and organic materials.

2.2.1 Wood
Wood contains cellulose, hemi-cellulose, lignin, resins and ash-forming minerals. Wood can
be divided into hard woods and soft woods where hardwood is denser. Hardwood contains
vessels, for water transportation, and fibres, with a supporting role. Softwood, which involves
all kinds of pine trees, has so called longitudinal tracheids to conduct water and support the
structure. Bark differs from hard and soft wood both in structure and composition. The pores
of bark twist and intermix in an irregular pattern which gives a sponge like structure (Borman
et al., 1998). The content of resin and ash in bark is higher than for wood. An important
feature of wood is that it has an anisotropic structure with different properties along and
across the fibres. For example, the thermal conductivity parallel to the fibres is 1.5 to 2.8
times of that across the fibres (Kuo and Hsi, 2005). Wood can be palletised to improve
storage and shipping. It can also be made into charcoal by heating in the absence of air.

2.2.2 Herbaceous and annual growth materials -straw


Examples of herbaceous and annual growth material are various kinds of grasses and straw.
A difference from wood fuels is that they contain much higher amounts of chlorine and
potassium. Straw and grass also have a very low bulk density. Straw fired boilers have had

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

major operational problems because of rapid deposit accumulation and corrosion rates. An
advanced logistic system and proper combustion technology are fundamental requirements
when straw combustion is considered. The lowest levels of slagging fouling and corrosion
have been achieved with pulverised combustion (Veijonen et al., 2003). If straw is left on the
fields during a period before harvesting and thereby washed by rain, the contents of
chlorine and potassium will be lower. Attempts have also been made washing the straw in
50-60C before introducing it into the furnace. The energy loss when washing and drying the
straw is estimated to be about 8% of the heating value (Nikolaisen et al., 1998). The costs of
the washing procedure, however, must be compared to the savings due to a longer life time of
the combustion equipment. The growing climate is important as it influences the moisture
content of the straw. Time of the year of harvesting, and the type of soil where it is growing,
are also important factors to consider for annual fuel crops.

2.2.3 Agricultural wastes and residues


Agriculture wastes comprise crop residues as well as manure. Crop residues are the plant
parts that are left after the harvesting, such like nut husks and olive pits. Since agricultural
wastes and residues differ significantly in structure and content it is important to distinguish
the different types so that an appropriate conversion technique can be chosen. Manure is a
high moisture material and therefore more suited for wet processing techniques such as
fermentation or other biologically conversion methods.

2.2.4 Refused-derived fuels and combustible waste


Burning of waste materials has increased in recent times, in the effort in using more
renewable energy sources. Another drive for burning waste is the lack of land and global
regulations against land filling which used to be the most common waste treatment. Waste
can be burned directly in dedicated boilers or it can processed first and divided into
combustibles and non-combustibles. The processing includes shredding, magnetic separation,
screening and air classification with the purpose of recovering glass and metal and to reduce
the fuel size. Processed fuel is called Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) and can also be compressed
into pellets or briquettes for better storing and shipping or thermally converted to liquid and
gaseous fuels.

2.3 Chemical composition of biomass

Biomass mainly consists of moisture, carbon and volatile matter. The components of different
types of biomass are listed in Table 2.2, and bituminous coal is also included as comparison.
The moisture in solid fuels consists of free water and physically bound water. Green wood
can consist of 45-50% water but the moisture content normally decreases to less than 20 %
after sufficient time of drying (van den Broek, 1995). The moisture content of the fuel should
be as constant as possible to simplify the optimising of the combustion process (minimum
emissions and maximum efficiency). For small scale furnaces or stoves the moisture content
should be 10-30 % for technology, economic and ecologic reasons (Baxter et al., 2002). The
volatile matter is much higher for biomass than for coal and usually varies between 76 and 86
mass% (on dry basis) compared to 5-40 mass% for coal. The volatile gas is mainly composed
of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, water vapour and various hydrocarbons.
What remains of the combustible part of the fuel is fixed carbon. After the fuel has been
completely burned, ash is the remaining inorganic residue. Normally, biomass has lower ash
content than coal. Biomass contains much more oxygen than fossil fuel. Typically 35 to 45
wt% of the dry matter in biomass is oxygen. The amount of hydrogen is similar to what is

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Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

found in coal, approximately 5-7 mass%. Quantities of nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine might
also be found in biomass, usually less than 1 mass%, but occasionally in higher levels
(Jenkins et al., 1998). These compounds are involved in the formation of pollutant emissions
and sulphur and chlorine in certain ash reactions that leads to fouling and slagging in the
furnace. A high amount of chlorine may cause severe corrosion problems at high
temperatures.

Volatile matter
Fixed carbon

Composition

Hydrogen

Nitrogen

Sulphur
Carbon

Oxygen

Clorine
Fuel Ash
% ( on dry basis) % (on dry ash free basis)

Bituminous coal 55 35 10 83 5 10 1 1 0.1

Straw (Dk) 15 81 4 48 6 42 0.6 0.09 0.17

Miscantus 16 80 3 48 6 43 0.4 0.05 0.08

Bagasse 12 86 2 49 6 43 0.16 0.04 0.03

Rice hulls 16 63 20 47 6 44 0.6 0.05 0.12

Almond shells 21 76 3 49 6 41 0.8 0.04 <0.01

Olive pits 16 82 2 53 7 38 0.4 0.05 0.04

Red oak sawdust 13 86 0.3 50 6 44 0.03 0.01 0.01

Forest residuals 14 82 4 50 5 40 1.08 0.11 0.04

Pine sawdust 15 82 3 54 6 40 0.1 0.04 0.02

Table 2.2 Chemical composition for a range of different fuels (Thunman et al., 2005a).

2.4 Thermal conversion

Biomass can be converted into three main products; power/heat generation, transportation
fuels and chemical feedstock. When converting biomass to energy there are two main
technologies, thermo-chemical and bio-chemical/biological processes. Only the thermo-
chemical process is treated in this report. The thermal conversion of biomass can be divided
into 3 different steps; drying, pyrolysis or devolatilisation and char combustion (Figure 2.1).
Each of these steps is described below.

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

WATER
VAPOUR

DR VOLATILES
YIN
G
HEAT
RAW
FUEL
PY
RO
CO, CO2
DRY LY
SI
FUEL S
HEAT

CO CH
MB AR
US
HEAT TIO
N
OXYGEN CHAR
ASH
OXYGEN

Figure 2.1 Thermal conversion of biomass.

1. Drying
The fuel particle is heated up to evaporation temperature, where the moisture in the
fuel is released. This process is highly endothermic, all heat is consumed by the
evaporation and the temperature therefore remains essentially constant during drying.

2. Pyrolysis / devolatilisation depending on the composition of the surrounding


gas
When all moisture is released the devolatilsation or pyrolysis takes place. During this
stage the fuel is decomposed and the volatile gases are released. This is called
devolatilisation if the surrounding air contains oxygen and pyrolysis if oxygen is
absent. For biomass, devolatilisation starts at about 200C. The products ignite and
form a flame around the fuel particles, the flame increases the temperature and so
enhances the devolatilisation process. The flame also consumes all oxygen which
means that there is no oxygen left to entrain deeper into the particle. The char
combustion inside the particle will thereby be prevented. This results in that the
process normally takes place without oxygen and should therefore, more correctly, be
referred to as pyrolysis. The products of the pyrolysis consist of a wide range of
species but in order to simplify the analysis they are often lumped into a smaller
number of groups. These are normally char, gas and tar. Chars are the carbon rich non
volatile components of the wood. The gases consist of lower molecule weight
products which are mainly CO2, CO and water vapour. Tar is a collective name for
the high molecule weight products including a large number of long hydrocarbons.

3. Char combustion / char gasification depending on the composition of the


surrounding gas
When the pyrolysis is completed only char remains as combustible part of the fuel.
The char is highly porous which means that the internal surface area is very large. If
oxygen is present, combustion of the char will take place and the temperature will be
higher than the surrounding value. In the absence of oxygen, char gasification will,
instead, take place which gives a lower temperature than the surrounding temperature.

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Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

2.5 Combustion technologies

Various combustion systems are available for different fuel qualities. Less homogenous and
low quality fuel needs more sophisticated combustion systems. The smaller the combustion
plant, the higher are the demands concerning fuel quality and homogeneity. An idealistic
combustion system would be a system with no excess air and no un-burnt fuel, in the form of
C or CO. The energy needed for ignition should be as low as possible and so should the
formation of NOx and other emissions. There should also be an effective method available to
take care of the ash and un-burnt matter. Finally, there should be a large load area and an
ability to handle fast load changes. Biomass can be burnt in fluidized beds, fixed or travelling
beds, and in suspension firing. The choice of the combustion technique depends on the
properties of the fuel and the effect required by the system (Figure 2.2). The different
methods will be briefly described in the following sections.

Biomass type Combustion system

Volatile fraction?
Fludised bed
straw Moisture content? Particle size?
wood chips
wood
waste willow
olive pits Fuel analyse Grate firing
saw dust
RDF
bark Ash melting point? Ash content?
manure
Suspension firing
Heating value?

Figure 2.2 Illustration of parameters influencing the choice of combustion technology.

2.5.1 Fluidised bed combustion


A fluidised bed consists of a bed of hot inert granular material which is fluidised by air
flowing through nozzles in the bottom plate. The bed material represents about 90-98% of the
fuel-bed mixture and normally consists of sand or silica. Due to the efficient mixing and heat
transfer in the bed the need of excess air is low in order to fulfil complete combustion. To
prevent ash sintering the temperature in the bed is kept low, around 800-900C. Since there is
an intense mixing process involved, fluidised bed systems are well suited for mixtures of
different fuel types. However, there is an upper limitation of the fuel particle size. The low
amount of excess air provides a high combustion efficiency and reduces the flue gas volume
flow. The low bed temperature and good mixing also result in low NOx emissions. The
investments costs are reasonably high which makes fluidised beds best suited for large-scale
applications.

The fluidised bed systems are divided into bubbling fluidised beds, BFB and circulating
fluidised beds, CFB (Figure 2.3). For a CFB the particle size of the bed material is smaller
and the fluidising velocity is larger. The particles will be carried with the flue gas and
re-circulated back to the bottom of the furnace via a hot cyclone.

11
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 2.3 Two examples of fluidised beds; a BFB and a CFB.

2.5.2 Fixed bed combustion grate furnaces


Fixed or moving bed combustion is the most common technology for biomass fuels
(Rnnbck et al., 2000). There are different kinds of fixed bed systems; moving grates,
travelling grates, rotating grates and vibrating grates. Grate furnaces are well suited for the
combustion of biomass with a high moisture content, varying particle sizes and high ash
content. The primary air is divided into sections in order to control the necessary airflow for
the different conversion steps; drying, pyrolysis and combustion. A good staged combustion
is necessary, and achieved by first and secondary combustor chambers. To yield good furnace
efficiency a minimum of excess air is wanted, but sufficient to give a complete combustion.
To achieve this, a good and optimal mixing of the flue gas and oxygen is essential. To protect
the material the grates are often cooled by air or water. Depending on the direction of the fuel
and the flue gas flow, grate combustion can be co-current, counter-current or cross-current
(Figure 2.4). Co-current is the case when the ignition front travels in the same direction as the
fuel, counter-current, when the ignition front travels in opposite direction and cross-current
when the ignition front moves perpendicular towards the fuel.

Figure 2.4 Illustration of the three different combustion modes.

12
Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

Compared to a fluidised bed, the furnace efficiency of a grate furnace is lower and the flue
gas emissions higher. However, the structure is simpler and the investment, operation and
maintenance costs are, in most cases, lower.

2.5.3 Travelling grate and moving grate


A travelling grate mechanically transports the fuel from the inlet to the ash pit during
combustion. The grate is normally built of grate bars forming an endless band, like an
escalator. The speed of the grate is continuously adjusted to achieve a complete burn-out of
the fuel at the end of the grate. The difference between a travelling grate and a moving grate
is that for a travelling grate, the fuel bed does not move relative to the grate, it is just
transported through the combustion chamber by the grate. For a moving grate the fuel bed is
moved over the grate and mixing of the fuel is thereby achieved. The advantages of a
travelling grate are uniform combustion conditions for wood chips and pellets and low dust
emissions, since hardly any movement of the bed occurs. For non-homogenous fuel,
problems might occur in form of uneven fuel distribution due to the lack of mixing. For this
type of fuel a moving grate might be a more suitable choice.

A moving grate normally consists of a combination of fixed and movable grate parts
(Figure 2.5). By alternating between forward and backwards movements of the movable grate
bars the fuel is transported through the combustion chamber. In this way unburned fuel will
mix with burned fuel and the bed surface will be continuously renewed. Furnaces with
moving beds are suitable for a large variety fuel types, a few examples are wet bark, sawdust,
woodchips and waste.

Figure 2.5 Schematic picture of the pilot waste incinerator, TAMARA, containing a moving
grate. (Frey et al., 2003).

13
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

2.5.4 Vibrating grate


A vibrating grate consists of a declined grate, often a tube wall is used for this purpose.
Combustion air is fed from underneath through holes in the grate and the fuel is fed by
screws, spreaders or hydraulic feeders. The grate is vibrated at short periodic intervals. The
purpose of vibrations is to even out the fuel, prevent larger slag particles and transport fuel
and ash along the grate. The grate is often water cooled which prevents sintering and slagging
of the ash. A water cooled grate also improves the control of the primary air flow, since the
entire amount of air is dedicated for the combustion only. The ability of preventing sintering
and slagging is one reason why the technology is useful for fuels with those kind of
problems, such as straw and waste wood.

The disadvantages of a vibrating grate are the high fly ash emissions caused by the vibrations,
higher CO emissions due to the periodic disturbances of the fuel bed and incomplete burn out
of the bottom ash, because of the difficulties in controlling fuel and ash transportation.
Vibrating grates are normally easy and cheap to maintain due to its simple construction and
few movable parts. A vibrating grate combined with a spreader stoker gives a high load per
unit area of the grate since part of the fuel is burnt in suspension. A more detailed description
of the operating conditions of a vibrating grate is found in chapter 6.

2.5.5 Suspension firing


In suspension firing the fuel is decomposed into powder and pneumatically introduced into a
burner. To get a good mixing the air is usually injected tangentially to the fuel so that a
rotational flow is created. Due to the small particle size, the devolatilisation and char
combustion are very fast processes, and thus quick load changes, and an efficient load
control, can be achieved. The system requires fuel with low moisture content and pulverized
particles. When using straw or woodchips some kind of pre-treatment is necessary to meet
these requirements. In suspension firing the biomass is often co-fired with fossil fuel like
coal.

2.6 Emissions

The amount of pollutants emitted from biomass is highly dependent on the combustion
system and the properties of the fuel. The operating conditions and optimisation of the
process also plays an important role, together with additional emission reduction methods
used. The highest benefit when comparing biomass to fossil fuel is the reduction of CO2
emitted when using biomass since it is considered to be CO2 neutral. Though, this is only true
when the CO2 emitted using fossil fuel during harvesting and transportation is not included.
Biomass normally emits less SOx than fossil fuel, due to the low sulphur content. Also NOx
emissions are less for biomass. A disadvantage of biomass is the high amount of emissions
from incomplete combustion compared to fossil fuel. This is often the case for small scale
combustor systems where combustion control systems are not cost- effective. Incomplete
combustion leads to a high emission of particulates, i.e soot, char or condensed tar. Table 2.3
contains a description of the major emissions from biomass combustion.

14
Chapter 2: Biomass- an overview

The emissions of CO2 have a contribution to the greenhouse gases


CO2 and the greenhouse effect. However, biomass is considered to be
CO2 neutral.

NOx formation during biomass combustion processes at


temperatures between 800C and 1100C mainly results from the
fuel based nitrogen (Baxter et al., 2002). The geometry and type of
NOx
furnace as well as the air supply are major influencing variables for
NOx formation. The emissions are lower in fluidized beds due to the
low operational temperature.

Cl vaporises almost completely during combustion forming HCl


and Cl2 and alkali chlorides. When the temperature of the flue gas in
the boiler decreases, the alkali chlorides condense on fly-ash
Cl
particles or on the heat exchanger surfaces. Between 40% and 50 %
of the total Cl input by biomass fuel are bound in the ash (Baxter et
al., 2002)

S forms SO2 and SO3 and alkali sulphates during combustion. The
sulphates can condense on flue ash particles or on tube surfaces
S causing corrosion problems. 40% to 90 % of the total S input by the
biofuel is bound in the ash (Baxter et al., 2002) while the remaining
part is emitted with the flue gas as SO2 and to a minor extent SO3.

Ca and Mg normally increase the melting behaviour of ashes while


K decreases it (Baxter et al., 2002). Si in combination with K can
lead to the formation of low melting silicates in fly ash particles.
The minerals cause ash sintering and ash melting on the grate or in
the bed of BFB and CFB plants and flue ash slagging on furnace
Si, Ca, Mg, K and Na
walls or heat exchanger surfaces. K, S and Na react with Cl forming
alkali chlorides that condense on the heat exchanger and react with
flue gas by forming sulphates and chlorine. Chlorine has been
shown to have a catalytic function for oxidation of tube material
even at low temperatures (Baxter et al., 2002).

The level of heavy metals in a fuel is important to consider when


Heavy metals
deciding how to utilise the ash. Straw, cereals and grass ashes
(Cd and Zn)
contain lower amounts of heavy metals than wood and bark ash.

Table 2.3 Description of major emissions from biomass combustion.

15
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

16
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

3 Bed models- state of the art

CFD is a simulation tool that is increasing in popularity when designing


furnaces and optimising the operating conditions. In order to perform
CFD calculations of the furnace a reliable bed model is necessary to
provide inlet conditions. It is important to understand what is happening
in the bed on the grate in order to be able to control the process at an
early stage. The process in the bed has a great effect on the over-bed
combustion in the furnace. For example up to 90% reduction in NOx
emissions from a burning bed of solid waste can be achieved by
optimizing the combustion process in the bed (Zakaria et al., 2000). All
solid fuels have in common that the combustion process is very
complicated and difficult to model. This is due to seemingly chaotic
particle motion, complex and numerous chemical reactions and the fact
that the process involves multiple phases. This chapter will give an
overview of the state-of-the-art within bed modelling.

Emission
Optimisation
control

Process Design
CFD
Control

Fuel
Bed Particle
modeling modeling
behaviour

17
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

3.1 Kinetics

The kinetics of biomass combustion depends on many different factors, e.g. fuel size, fuel
composition, surroundings, heat transfer rate etc. According to Di Blasi (1993) the kinetics
of biomass conversion can be classified into three groups:

1) One-step global models


A one-step reaction is used based on experimental data of the rate of mass loss during
decomposition. These models are very simplified kinetic schemes of the degradation of solid
fuel:

SOLID
k
VOLATILES + CHAR (3.1)

The reaction rate, k , is proportional to mass residue or mass loss and the temperature
dependence is of Arrhenius type. An alternative of the reaction scheme above is one where
the volatile matter is separated into its components:

SOLID
k
a GASES + b TARS + c CHAR (3.2)

Where a, b and c are the yield coefficients.

2) One-stage, multi-reaction models


Reaction products distributions are correlated by one-stage simplified kinetic models made of
several reactions. These models neglect the secondary reactions and propose that the solid
fuel decomposes directly into each reaction product i, except tar, by a single reaction:

SOLID
ki
PRODUCT i (3.3)

3)Two-stage, semi-global models


The kinetic mechanisms of the solid degradation consist of both primary and secondary
reactions and use estimations of kinetic data. There are a large amount of proposed reaction
schemes but one example is (Di Blasi, 1993):

SOLID
k1
INTERMEDIATE (3.4)
INTERMEDIATE
k2
GASES +TARS (3.5)
INTERMEDIATE
k3
CHAR (3.6)

18
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

3.2 Modelling of a single particle

A large amount of research work, both experimental- and modelling, has been carried out
within the combustion of a single particle. The combustion process of a single particle
involves many complex sub-processes such as species diffusion, convective transport inside
particle, water evaporation and re-condensation, secondary pyrolysis reactions inside the
pores, shrinkage and swelling, pore structure etc. To mathematically describe the various
processes, assumptions and simplifications are inevitable (Alves and Figueiredo, 1989).
Combustion of a single particle is generally divided into two different regimes, a thermally
thin and a thermally thick regime. Which one of the regimes to use can be determined by the
thermal Biot number, Bit , which relates the internal and external heat transfer rates:

rcar hc ,eff
Bit = (3.7)
kcs

Where rcar [m] is a characteristic length, hc ,eff [W/ m2 K] the effective heat transfer and kcs
[W/m K] is the thermal conductivity of the particle. In a thermally thin particle ( Bit <<1) the
resistance to heat transfer within the particle is small compared to the external heat transfer.
The whole particle will adopt the same temperature and drying and pyrolysis are occurring in
series. In a thermally thick particle, the Biot number is large ( Bit >>1) which means that the
heat transfer to the surface of the particle is faster than the heat flow into the particle. In this
case there will be a temperature gradient across the particle and the drying and pyrolysis will
take place simultaneously (Figure 3.1).

Figure 3.1 Illustration of the conversion of a thermally thin particle and thermally thick
particle

19
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Bryden et al. (2002) investigated the pyrolysis of a thermally thick particle and suggested that
instead of two regimes there should be three separate pyrolysis regimes based on the particle
Biot number:

1) Thermally thin regime (Bi<0.2)


2) Thermally thick regime (0.2<Bi>10)
3) Thermal wave regimes (Bi>10)

In the thermally thin regime the temperature is constant in the particle, and both drying and
pyrolysis occurs in series. In the thermally thick regime, temperature gradients exist but the
reaction rate is slow compared to the heat transfer rate and drying and pyrolysis still occurs in
series. For thermal wave regime, drying and pyrolysis regions travel through the particle like
a wave (unreacted wood, pyrolysis zone and char exist simultaneously).

The model of Bryden et al. (2002) was extended by Hagge and Bryden (2002) to include
shrinkage of the particle and later also to include both shrinkage and moisture (Bryden and
Hagge, 2003). It was found that shrinkage had a negligible effect on the pyrolysis process in
the thermally thin regime. In the thermally thick regime shrinkage was shown to reduce the
pyrolysis time by 5-30 %, but had a limited impact on the product yield. In the thermal wave
regime shrinkage and moisture effected both the pyrolysis time and the pyrolysis products.

Since many applications of biomass combustion involve fuels of larger sizes and thus belong
to the thermal wave pyrolysis regime, shrinkage and moisture are two important parameters
to consider. A higher moisture content increases the mass flow out of the particle which, in
turn, lowers the temperature of the char and reduces the rate of the secondary reactions. The
inward movement of the drying and pyrolysis fronts are thereby slowed down. Shrinkage
reduces the insulating effect of the char which increases the heat transfer to the drying and
pyrolysis zones which results in an increased pyrolysis rate. Thus, higher moisture content
increases the pyrolysis time while more shrinkage decreases the time. Increasing moisture
and shrinkage work to increase tar yield and decrease the formation of light hydrocarbons.
However, shrinkage does not necessarily occur for all types of fuel. Curtis and Miller (1988)
reported that during conversion of cellulose no shrinkage was observed, instead it proceeded
by an increased porosity of the material.

Different shapes of particles were investigated by Thunman et al. (2002) by a one


dimensional model for a single wood particle. The model is based on the method of
Saastamoinen and Richard (1996) but also includes drying and shrinking of the particle. The
results agreed well with experimental measurements carried out in a laboratory scaled
fluidised bed, except for devolatilisation time which was slightly overestimated. One reason
for this can be that the particles during combustion crack or fall apart which increases the
area for heat transfer from surroundings and lower the thermal distance inside the particle.

Janse et al. (2000) developed a one-dimensional model of flash pyrolysis of wood with the
aim of investigating the effects of heat transfer limitation by out-flowing vapours and intra-
particle tar cracking. Incorporation of a pyrolysis-wind effect was shown to increase the
conversion time of a particle by up to 40%. The knowledge of the combustion process of a
single particle is of great importance when studying the behaviour in a bed, consisting of a
large number of particles.

20
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

3.3 Modelling of fixed and moving beds

As described in the previous chapter, the most common combustion device for biomass is
some kind of grate with a fuel bed on top. The bed consists of a large or small number of
particles (depending on particle size) packed in an irregular way. Air is introduced from
underneath and travels together with the pyrolysis products up through the bed (Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2 Illustration of the coupling of gas and solid phases in a packed bed

When modeling the combustion process in a fuel bed it is too computationally heavy to
model each particle separately. A method needs to be adapted that, in an accurate way,
describes the most important features without costing too much in computational time. This is
a challenging task that has received much attention in recent times. The next section serves to
give an overview of the research work carried out in the bed modeling area. But before that, a
short description of two important phenomena within a bed is given; ignition front
propagation and primary air flow.

3.3.1 Ignition front


Knowledge of the ignition front is important for optimizing the gas-phase above the bed to
minimize the emissions. It is also important to know about the factors affecting the speed of
the ignition front since this velocity often determines the heat output from the grate area
(Saastamoinen et al., 2000). Factors that affect the velocity of the ignition front are: flow rate
of the air to the fuel bed, moisture content of the fuel, fuel composition, particle density,
particle size and shape, and distributions of size and shapes (Horttanainen et al., 2002). For
ordinary packed bed combustion, ignition starts at the bed top layer which has been heated up
from over-bed flame and hot walls by radiation. When the bed is ignited the ignition front
travels downwards with a speed that depends on fuel type and operating conditions.

21
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Experimental work by Thunman and Leckner (2001) and numerical predictions by Kr


(2005) present the existence of two different combustion modes; one with a reaction front
moving upward and one when it moves downward (Figure 3.3). At relatively low air mass
fluxes and temperatures, a devolatilisation front is first moving downwards in the bed
followed by an upward moving char reaction front. At higher air mass fluxes and
temperatures, the lower part of the bed experiences more heating and the devolatilisation and
char oxidation initiate on the grate and move upwards. The velocity of the devolatilisation
front in the second mode is faster because the hot products from volatiles combustion and
possible char oxidation heat up the upper part of the fuel bed.

ignition
drying devolatilisation Char combustion
drying / devolatilisation Char combustion

fuel
Char + ash
Char + ash Dry
fuel fuel fuel
fuel
ash
ash

primary air primary air


ignition
time time

Figure 3.3 Picture of the ignition front traveling downwards (left) and upwards (right).

3.3.2 Primary air flow


Experimental work has shown that the combustion process can be divided into three different
regimes depending on the available amount of oxygen (Rnnbck et al., 2000)

1) Sub-stoichiometric combustion incomplete consumption of oxygen


This regime is found at low primary airflow and is characterised by an accumulating layer of
unconverted fuel downstream of the ignition front. The consumption of oxygen is incomplete
due to slow kinetics or insufficient mixing of the combustible gases and primary air. The
ignition rate and the ignition front temperature are strongly influenced by the primary airflow.

2) Sub-stiochiometric combustion complete consumption of oxygen


In this regime, the consumption of oxygen is complete. This regime occurs at higher air flow
rates and the influence of primary airflow on ignition rate and ignition front temperature is
not so pronounced. Maximum ignition rate and front temperatures are found in this regime.

3) Over-stoichiometric regime
The consumption of oxygen is complete and excess air leaves the fuel bed. The excess air has
a cooling down effect on the bed. With increasing airflow the ignition rate slows down and
the ignition front temperature decreases.

Similar combustion regimes were identified by Gort (1995) with the exception that no excess
air was found in the first regime. Shin and Choi (2000) found three combustion modes
depending on the air supply rate. When the rate is low the reaction rates are controlled by the
oxygen supply (oxygen-limited combustion). When the air supply increases so does the flame

22
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

propagation but is limited by the reaction rate of the fuel (reaction-limited combustion). For a
further increase of the air supply the excess air cools the bed and quenches the flame
(Extinction by convection). Experimental work showed that larger particles allow a larger air
flow before flame extinction. This is due to the smaller surface area per unit mass which
decreases the cooling effect. Fatehi and Kaviany (1994) identified two combustion modes
and called them an oxygen-limited and a fuel-limited mode. The oxygen-limited mode
corresponds to the above described sub-stoichiometric regimes and the fuel-limited one to the
over-stoichiometric regime.

3.4 Bed models

In grate furnaces there are often instability problems of the combustion process in the fuel
bed. Some frequently occurring problems are local burnouts in the fuel bed, i.e areas of
intensified combustion, and channelling, where primary air flow by-passes through the bed
without reacting with the fuel. Hermansson et al. (2006) have made an inventory of the
disturbances taking place in ten different grate furnaces of sizes from 8 MWth to 32 MWth.
The inventory was carried out by interviewing the personnel responsible for the operation of
the furnaces and by recording the fuel bed with a video camera. The results showed that all
furnaces, except one, experienced combustion disturbances. The disturbances consisted of
wall-bounded channelling, burnouts inside the bed, skewed flame front due to uneven bed
surfaces and material break-down of the grate rods. The different phenomena are illustrated
in Figure 3.4.

The combustion disturbances motivate the need of developing models in order to increase the
understanding of the combustion process and preventing these types of problems. The
pictures shown in Figure 3.4 also illustrate the complexity of the burning of biomass and
thereby the difficulties in the modelling work. In order to describe the combustion of biomass
in a bed, approximations of the process are necessary. Gerner (2003) has identified five
different model levels:

1. Zero-dimensional model
A model where the heat release and the released species are assumed by integral
assumption. The biomass conversion is uniform along the grate length and width.

2. One-dimensional model
Heat release and species concentrations profiles are calculated over the length of the
grate. The conversion across the grate is assumed to be uniform. To get the profile at the
top of the bed, overall mass and energy balances are solved.

3. One-dimensional transient model


In addition to the model described above, the burnout progress in the vertical direction is
also included

4. Two-dimensional model
The conversion process is modelled both across and along the grate.

5. Three-dimensional model
A fully three-dimensional model solves the conversion process in all three directions.

23
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

a b

c d
Figure 3.4 Pictures taken of the fuel bed at reciprocating grates, illustrating different
combustion disturbances; a) and b) local burnouts inside the bed, c) wall bounded
channelling, d)uneven bed surface (Hermansson et al., 2006).

Scharler and Obernberger (2000) employed an empirically derived bed model, where mass
fluxes and conversion rates were taken from experimental data and literature. The bed model
was used as inlet conditions to a CFD calculation of the combustor chamber of a travelling
grate furnace. A similar approach was applied by Frey et al. (2003) for the CFD modelling of
the combustion process of municipal solid waste in a grate furnace. They used measurements
from a pilot plant to describe the conversion process, including drying and carbon burnout.

Huttunen et al. (2004) simplifies the combustion process by dividing the bed into three
different zones; drying zone, drying and pyrolysis zone and char combustion and gasification
zone. The start of the pyrolysis zone is set to the position where the bed temperature reaches
the ignition flame temperature. The length of the pyrolysis zone is determined by the ratio of
the grate velocity and the ignition velocity, based on experimental data. The bed model was
interactively combined with a CFD model to model a sloping grate furnace. The model was
shown to be computationally fast and therefore well suited to be used for practical cases.

A one-dimensional transient bed model coupled with a three-dimensional CFD furnace model
was developed by Santamaria et al. (2002). To improve the bed model and thereby the CFD
calculations they conclude that measurements directly in the bed are necessary in the future.

24
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

Like for a single particle, the modelling work can be simplified by assuming thermally thin
particles. However, for a packed bed the heating conditions are different from the case of a
single particle since the radiation from the ignition flame can only penetrate the bed through
voids in between the particles. Yang et al. (2005a) stated that the definition of the Biot
number for a single particle needs to be modified and should be proportional to the local bed
voidage. They also found that particles in a packed bed can be treated as thermally thin for a
size less than 30mm. If thermally thin particles can be assumed, the temperature inside the
particles is uniform and the whole bed can be assumed as a continuous porous medium with
two phases, one solid and one gas phase.

Bruch et al. (2003) developed a bed model describing the conversion of wood under fixed
bed conditions. The bed consists of a finite number of particles of various sizes, the
conversion of each particle is described by a one-dimensional transient model. Results
showed that a description of the heat and mass transfer within each solid particle was not
necessary for the conversion of char only. However, for a model that can be applied to the
whole conversion process, transport processes within the particle cannot be neglected.

For many applications though, it is not possible to treat the particles as thermally thin and a
more detailed model is necessary. Thunman and Leckner (2003) use a model for the
conversion of a thermally thick single particle (Thunman et al., 2002) to develop a bed model
that can be applied to batch-fired combustors, continuously operating co-current or counter-
current combustors and moving grates. For the case of a moving grate the model describes
the combustion of a fuel batch transported along the grate, where time is translated into a
distance along the grate. The bed consists of equally sized thermally thick particles of various
shapes. The case of fuel batch combustion was compared to measurements collected from the
literature with satisfactory agreement on the rate of propagation and thickness of the
conversion front. The bed model has been used later to investigate the influence of density
and particle size on the combustion of a packed bed (Thunman and Leckner, 2005b).
Experiments and modelling showed that the particle size has a significant influence on the
conversion process. In a bed with large particles, there was a clear temperature difference
between the gas and the solid surface, and the conversion processes for drying,
devolatilisation and char combustion overlapped. For small particles the gas temperature and
particle surface temperature were almost the same and the conversion processes sequential.
This agrees with the discussion above about the possible simplification of the bed modelling
by treating the bed as a porous continuous media for small particles. The model also showed
that the density of the fuel does not have a significant effect on the conversion rate if the
conversion rate is related to the mass loss per unit time and cross sectional area of the bed.
This means that experiences from one fuel density can be used directly for similar fuels but
with different densities.

Shin and Choi (2000) made the assumption that the heat and mass transfer in the direction of
movement of the bed can be ignored since the gradients of temperatures and concentration of
chemical species in this direction are negligible compared to those in the direction of the gas
flow. It resulted in a one-dimensional transient model, often referred to as a walking column
model, where the evaporation and combustion zones travels from the top of the bed to the
bottom until only ash remains.

Kr (2004) also used a walking column approach (Figure 3.5) when developing a bed model
to be used as boundary conditions to CFD calculations of a 33MW straw-fired boiler with a
vibrating grate. The bed model considers the fuel layer as a number of 3D volumes. Each of

25
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

the volumes is divided into horizontal slabs. Gas and fuel properties are represented at a
discrete node point located at the centre of each slab. The fuel particles are considered to be
thermally thin which has been found to be a fairly good approximation for straw particles. To
verify the furnace simulations full scale measurements were carried out on Masned, a
Danish heat and power plant. The temperatures were in good agreement with measurements
except from close to the bed where the calculated value was much higher. This can be partly
explained by the fact that the measured temperatures at this position varied several hundreds
degrees depending on the fuel load on the grate. Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels agreed
between experimental and calculated results. The carbon monoxide and volatiles
concentrations exhibited a large standard deviation in the measurements. This was mainly
due to combustion fluctuations introduced by the grate vibrations which obviously cannot be
captured by the steady state bed model. Later, the bed model was investigated further by
comparing model predictions with experimental data (Kr, 2005). Two different combustion
modes were identified; one with a devolatilisation front moving downwards followed by an
upward moving char oxidation front, the second with both devolatilisation and char oxidation
initiating on the grate and moving upwards.

Figure 3.5 Schematic picture of the walking column principle (Kr, 2005).

More work on combustion of straw has been made by van der Lans et al (2000) who
developed a simplified homogenous model in a cross-current bed. The model is in two
dimensions and predicts the ignition front temperature and front propagation speed. The
travelling grate was considered as a fixed bed and the grate velocity was used to simulate the
motion lengthwise in the bed by the expression:

x = us t (3.8)

26
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

Where x [m] is the position on the grate and u s [m/s] is the bed transport velocity. This
simplification is valid when the heat transport by conduction in the horizontal direction is
much smaller than the heat flux by the transport of the bed itself. This can be expressed by
the Peclet number, Pe. Heat transport by convection can be neglected for Pe>>1. For straw
combustion on a travelling grate the Pe number was found to be of the order of 104 for heat
transportation in the horizontal direction. By using this assumption the two-dimensional
steady-state bed model was transformed into a transient one-dimensional model. To validate
the model, experimental work with a laboratory fixed bed combustor, was carried out. The
fuel was ignited from the top and the reaction front moved downward in the bed. After the
ignition front reached the grate a burnout front could be detected moving in the opposite
direction, from the grate upwards. The bed maintained its original structure throughout the
burning process. The results from the model were in fairly good agreement with the
experimental results but with an over predicted ignition rate and reaction front temperature.

The modelling work of van der Lans et al. has later been improved and extended from being a
homogenous model to be a heterogeneous model by Zhou et al. (2005). The model provided
detailed structure of the ignition flame front, gas species concentrations at the bed surface,
ignition flame front rate and temperature. The modelling results showed that the bed is in a
fuel rich condition, since a higher air flow gives a higher bed temperature (more oxygen
provided. The packing conditions had a significant impact on the combustion behaviour in
the fixed bed. A variation of 15% porosity resulted in variations of 10% of the ignition flame
front rate and 1.5% of the bed temperature. Simulations also showed that the effect of straw
heat capacity on the ignition flame front rate is significant. A variation of 25% of the heat
capacity results in a variation of about 10% of the ignition flame front rate and temperature
less than 2%. Simulations showed that the effects of the mass and heat transfer coefficients
on the ignition flame front rate are weak.

Waste is a complicated biomass fuel due to a large variation in particle size and chemical
composition. To be able to numerically model the combustion process in the bed would be of
great help in understanding the process and thereby designing and optimising the incinerating
equipment. Yang et al. (2002) have been working on modelling of waste incineration on a
moving grate which has resulted in a graphically interactive computer program, The Fluid
Dynamic Incinerator Code (FLIC). The model is in two dimensions and the method based on
the governing equations for packed beds proposed by Peters (2003). The bed and the
freeboard area above are divided into many small volumes, the transport equations
concerning the flow, heat transfer and combustion of the solid and gas phases are then
discretised over these volumes, and solved iteratively over the whole computation domain.
During measurements on a test scale cylindrical combustion chamber large fluctuations in
species concentration were observed as a result of channelling phenomenon in the bed. The
numerical simulations, without considering the channelling effects, showed good agreement
regarding mass loss but significant discrepancy for temperature and gas composition profiles.
Mixing of the fuel particles is taken into account by a diffusion coefficient in the
conservation equation for the solid-phase species (Yang et al., 2005b). The horizontal particle
velocity is given a predetermined value and the vertical velocity calculated through the
continuity equation. The diffusion coefficients are based on experimental work carried out on
scaled test rigs (Lim et al, 2001). The modelling work by Yang et al. has later been followed
by a series of theoretical studies on the effect of fuel moisture, devolatilisation rate and
primary air velocity (Yang et al., 2003a, Yang et al. 2003b, Yang et al. 2004). Measurements
inside a full-scale incinerator have been carried out by an in-house instrument that is fed onto
the grate together with the waste and recording temperature, gas composition and bed motion

27
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

(Yang et al. 2005c). It could be seen that bed fluctuations in temperature and O2 were related
to the movement of the grate indicating the importance of an accurate model for mixing of
the fuel.

Finally, an illustrative example of the usage of bed modelling is the work of Bryden and
Ragland (1996). A one-dimensional steady-state bed model was developed with the purpose
of providing information about the combustion process for the design of a new type of
combustor. The idea was to grow hard wood trees, such as hybrid poplars, and then harvest
the whole trees and introducing them into a deep bed, top feed updraft combustor. The model
results showed a great flexibility of parameters that can be altered in order to achieve the
desired power output. The flexibility was of significant importance in the design work and
planned operation.

Table 3.1 and 3.2 summarise the different model approaches described in this chapter.

28
Chapter3: Bed models- state of the art

29
Table 3.1 Research work carried out within modelling of biomass. (Based on Yin, 2007).
Combustion
Researchers Fuel
Equipment
Validation Dimension Transportation Purpose of work
To develop a bed model for
Shin & Choi 1D
MSW Moving Grate 1D fixed lab scale Walking column understanding combustion process of
(2000) (transient)
MSW in an incinerator
To develop a general model covering the
entire conversion process to be used for
Bruch et al. 1D Finite number of
Wood Fixed bed Single particle determine rate limiting conditions and
(2002) (transient) spherical particles
potentials for optimisation in packed-bed
combustion.
BC to CFD calculations of combustion
Kr Full scale 1D chamber to probe the reasons for high
Straw Vibrating grate Walking column
(2004) measurements (transient) emissions and relatively high amount of
unburnt carbon in fly ash.
To develop and validate a bed model to
Kr 1D
Straw Vibrating grate Batch exp. Walking column increase the understanding of combustion
(2005) (transient)
process in the bed.
To develop a model for evaluating the
Top feed
Bryden et al. Wood 1D anticipated performance characteristics of
updraft fixed Field test results -
(2002) (whole tree) (steady-state) a deep fixed bed combustor utilizing
bed
whole trees as fuel.
To develop a bed mode l for straw
Van der Lans
Cross-current Lab scale fixed 2D combustion as part of a tool for
et al. Straw -
moving bed bed reactor (steady- state) optimizing operating conditions and
(2000)
design parameters of real scale furnaces.
Test rig, with
Diffusion To develop a model for the solid and
Yang et al. cylindrical 2D
MSW Moving bed coefficient derived gaseous phases in a moving bed in a solid
(2002) combustion (transient)
from experiments waste incineration furnace.
chamber
Table3. 2 Research work carried out within modelling of biomass. (Based on Yin, 2007).
Combustion
Researchers Fuel
Equipment
Validation Dimension Transportation Purpose of work
Thunman & 1D Time translated to a To develop a general bed model for
Any solid Moving
Leckner From literature (transient) distance along the conversion of thermally thick particles in
fuel grate/batch fired
(2003) grate co-current or counter-current combustion.
Huttunen et
1D Defined conversion To provide boundary conditions to a CFD
al. Wood Sloping grate Batch exp.
(steady-state) zones flow model.
(2004)
To provide boundary conditions to a CFD
Scharler et Pilot scale
model for investigating how to optimize
al. Not defined Traveling grate traveling grate 0D -
furnace geometry and secondary air
(2000) furnace
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

nozzles.
Model can be
To develop a model for prediction of gas
transformed to a
Zhou et al. Cross-current Lab scale fixed 1D species concentration at bed surface,
Straw 2D steady moving
(2005) moving bed bed reactor (transient) ignition flame front rate and temperature
bedl by using:
in a straw-fired fixed bed.
X = us*t
Horizontal
Santamaria 240kW test plant To develop a bed model that can be
1D movement
et al. Wood chips Traveling grate with horizontally coupled to an in-house CFD code applied
(transient) represented by the
(2002) moving grate to biomass grate furnaces.
residence time.

30
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

4 Mixing theory of particles


This chapter will give insight to particle mixing; the mechanisms
involved as well as different approaches to simulating the mixing
process. Firstly some basic fundamentals of gas kinematics are
presented. The modelling of particle mixing is often based on these
theories and similarities and discrepancies between the two phenomena
are quantified and discussed. An important research area within particle
mixing is the theory of granular material. Granular material is widely
used in various industrial applications and the mixing is often induced
by vibration. The effects of vibration of granular material are described
and parallels drawn to the process taking place on a vibrating grate.
Finally, the governing mixing mechanisms on a vibrating grate will be
discussed and the diffusion concept for this project presented.

FEEDING

FUEL

VIBRATION ASH PIT

31
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

4.1 Gas kinetic theory

The gas kinetic theory yields transport coefficients from the fundamental properties of the gas
molecules. A gas contains many molecule particles moving in different directions and at
different speeds. Collisions between the particles change their speed and direction. The
particles are too small to be seen by eye but obey the classical laws of matter. The motion of
the molecules is described by probability functions and not by their individual paths. The
kinetic theory of gases is based on three fundamental approximations, which are:

1. Molecular hypothesis
The molecular hypothesis assumes that matter is composed of small discrete units; molecules.
All molecules of a given substance are alike, and the states of matter differ essentially in the
arrangement and state of motion of the molecules. Gases differ from solids and liquids by
completely filling any container in which they are placed, by rapidly diffusing into one
another and by having very low densities. The molecules in a gas are widely separated from
one another and they move around freely throughout the entire space occupied by the gas.
There is no friction involved in molecular interactions.

2. Classical conservation laws can be applied


Relativistic corrections, quantum mechanics and non-ideal gas effects are usually not
considered in the classical kinetic theory of gases.

3. Application of statistical methods


Gas kinetic theory involves the description of a very large number of individual molecules by
statistical methods. The number of molecules is far too big to consider the dynamics of each
single molecule. It is only necessary to know so much about the molecular motion as is
necessary to understand and predict the observable, macroscopic properties of the gas.

4.2 Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution function

It is possible to develop connections between the motion of microscopic molecules and the
observable macroscopic properties with help of Maxwell-Boltzmannss distribution function.
The function is a probability distribution and is often referred to as the molecular speed in a
gas but, it can also refer to distribution of other properties, such as velocities and momentum
of the molecules. The function was derived in 1859 and is only valid for gases in
thermodynamic equilibrium. The Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution can be derived using
statistical mechanics with the following assumptions:

The gas is composed of an indefinite number of small, hard and perfectly elastic
spheres acting on one another only during impact. When two spheres collide,
their direction after the collision is distributed with equal probability over all
angles.

At any spatial location the distribution of molecular velocities is independent of


time.

After a number of collisions the orthogonal components of the molecular


velocities are statistically independent.

32
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

The distribution function is isotropic, i.e. there is no preferred direction and the
distribution function is independent of the orientation of the coordinate system.

4.3 Brownian motion

Any of various physical phenomena in which some quantity is constantly undergoing small
random fluctuations is called Brownian motion. If a number of particles are present in a given
medium the particles will, over a period of time, spread evenly throughout the medium. A
higher temperature leads to a more rapid Brownian motion. Diffusion is a macroscopic
manifestation of Brownian motion on the microscopic level. In next section the diffusion
theory are described and the equations involved presented.

4.4 Diffusion

Mass transfer by diffusion refers to movement of molecular species relatively to another.


Diffusion can result from pressure gradients (pressure diffusion), temperature gradients
(thermal diffusion), external force fields (forced diffusion) and concentration gradients. The
primary effect is diffusion caused by concentration gradients, also called ordinary diffusion.
Ordinary diffusion is described by Ficks law:

C
J =D (4.1)
x

Where J is the diffusion flux, D the diffusion coefficient, C is the concentration and x is
the distance.

4.4.1 Transport equation


To describe diffusion numerically, the transport equation is applied. If ml is the mass fraction
of a chemical species the conservation of ml is expressed as:

( ml )
+ div ( uml + J l ) = Rl
t (4.2)
where:
( ml )
is the rate of change of the mass of the chemical species per unit
t
volume

uml is the convection flux of species, flux carried by the general flow field

J l is the diffusion flux, normally caused by the gradients of ml

33
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Rl is the rate of generation of the chemical species per unit volume. The
generation is caused by chemical reactions.

If the diffusion flux is expressed through Ficks law of diffusion, it can be expressed by Eq.
(4.1.) The diffusion coefficient will generally be a function of pressure, temperature, and
chemical composition. Liquid and solid diffusivities are strongly concentration dependent
and generally increase with temperature.

The equation of diffusion is on the same form as the equation of conduction of heat: it
indicates a progress or spreading out of the gas, similar to the progress and spreading of heat
in a problem of conduction. The larger the diffusion coefficient is, the more rapidly this
progress takes place. The diffusion coefficient is largest when the free paths are longest, and
vice versa. Long free paths mean rapid diffusion, as should be expected.

4.5 Particle mixing

Particle mixing is widely used in industry. Whenever particulate matter is processed there is
normally some kind of mixing involved. The mixing process is greatly influenced by the flow
characteristics of the particles to be mixed. The flow characteristics are, in turn, a result of the
type of particles and the way the mixing is induced. The four major types of mixing
equipment are tumbler, hopper (gravity driven), convective and fluidized mixers.

Mixtures of particles can be divided into two different groups: free-flowing particles and
cohesive mixtures (Fan and Chen, 1990). A free-flowing mixture will generally permit the
individual particles to move independently, whilst particles in a cohesive mixture move in
clusters of particles as a result of present inter-particulate bonding mechanisms. In free-
moving mixtures the mixing process is statistical or stochastic and the rules of probability
apply. Barker and Metha (1993) have shown that the change between independent particle
motion and collective motions takes place in the regime where the voidage between the
particles are of approximately the same size as the particles.

For a collection of identical particles a completely random mixture can be obtained. If the
particles are non-identical only a partial random mixture will be obtained due to incomplete
mixing or segregation of the particles. This leads to an inhomogeneous distribution of the
individual particles in the mixture. The homogeneity of a mixture is normally indicated by a
mixing index.

Particle motion can either be described by an Eulerian or Langrangian approach. The


Lagrangian approach considers each single particle and its interaction with surrounding
particles. This requires detailed information about the particle properties and composition.
The Eulerian approach treats the particles as a single group which reduces the required
information and simplifies the calculations.

4.6 Granular flow

Granular materials are complex systems of a large number of particles of various size, shape
and material. The motion of each particle is defined by classical Newtonian mechanisms and

34
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

contact mechanisms. Granular materials may be deformed as solid bodies, they may be
flowable as liquids or as compressible as gases. Granular flow has a diverse range of
industrial applications, including for example fluidised beds, slurry pipelines, mining and
milling operations, ploughing, abrasive water jet machining, food processing, debris flows,
avalanches, landslides and sediment transport. To illustrate how widespread the applications
are it can be mentioned that 10% of the worlds total energy consumption is used on handling
granular matter (Zamankhan, 2004).

A granular material will behave as a solid as long as the forces on the bulk material are
supported by the contact forces. When the force tangential to the particle at the point of
contact exceeds a certain fraction of the normal stress a bond will break. When the particle-
particle bonds are broken the particles are free to move independently (Figure 4.1).

Ft = Ftangential
Ff= Ffriction

Ff

Ff Ft
Ft

Ft < Ff Ft > Ff

Figure 4.1 Illustration of forces acting on the particles. If the tangential force is larger than
the friction force of a particle the particle bonds will break.

Due to the high particle concentration in granular material the flow properties are affected by
the direct particle-particle interaction. There are different types of granular flow depending
on the amount of time that the particles are in contact. For slow flows the particles are in
contact most of the time. For these type of flows the random motions of individual particles
play little role, instead the particles form larger structures, so called forced chains, that
dominate the rheology. In rapid granular flows, the solid particles become fluidised by
sufficiently strong forcing, e.g. by vibration shear. The inertia associated with the relative
motions of the particles becomes significant and the particles may be assumed to interact by
instantaneous collisions rather than by long term frictional sliding at particle contact points.
The particles induce random instantaneous particle velocities and the nearly instantaneous
collisions of the particles resemble what happens in a molecular gas. For this reason the
fluidised phase of particles is sometimes referred to as granular gas. The mean square
magnitude of the random motions of granular flow is commonly referred to as the granular
temperature which is defined as the specific fluctuation of kinetic energy of particles. The
granular temperature is produced by two different mechanisms; a collisional mechanism and
a streaming mechanism (Figure 4.2). The collisional mechanism means that any collision

35
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

between particles will act to randomize the impact velocity, thus converting the mean motion
of the flow into granular temperature. The streaming mechanism is a consequence from the
motion of a particle relative to the velocity gradient. A particle with a random motion that has
a component moving parallel to the velocity gradient will move from a region with high
velocity flow to a lower velocity flow region. The difference between the mean velocity flow
at its original and current positions will appear as granular temperature. The streaming
mechanism dominates at small particle concentrations while the collisional mechanism
dominates at large particle concentrations. An increase of the granular temperature reflects an
increase in the random motion of the individual particles in the flow. The granular
temperature in granular material plays the same role as the thermodynamic temperature in a
molecular gas (Tai and Hsiau, 2004).

Collisional mechansim Streaming mechanism

Figure 4.2 chematically illustration of the collisional and streaming mechanisms


respectively. (picture adapted from Campbell, 2006).

Many different kinds of granular flows have been studied, for example shear flows (Bocquet
et al., 2001, Howell and Behringer, 1999), surface waves (Metcalf et al., 1997) and jets
(Thoroddsen and Shen, 2001). It appears that vibrated flows, in particular vertical vibrated
granular beds are the most studied system at present (Goldhirsch, 2003). When it comes to
computer simulation of granular material, the behaviour of the bulk material is not well
understood. However, the individual particle interactions-surface friction and particle
collisions-are easily described by simple analytical expressions. Simulations can be an
efficient tool to gain some insight into the microstructural (particle-level) behaviour of
granular systems. This behaviour might be difficult to investigate experimentally while for a
computer simulation the information is easier to access. Some well covered reviews of
granular material have been written by Campbell (1990, 2006) and Jaeger and Nagel (1992).
In the next section a summary of different simulation approaches is presented.

4.7 Simulation of granular material

According to Hogue and Newland (1994) simulation of granular material can be classified by
two approaches:

Continuum mechanics methods (CMM) or macroscopic modelling.


Discrete (or distinct) element methods (DEM) or microscopic (particle-level)
modelling.

36
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

4.7.1 Continuum mechanics approach


The method assumes the granular material to behave as a fluid and it is possible to use
equations of continuum mechanics as a basis for the creation of mathematical models. But
due to the great complexity of granular motion and a large variation of particle shapes and
properties suitable mathematical models are still lacking (Diugys and Peters, 2001). More or
less suitable models only exist for spherical particles. Most of the CMM models use the
Eulerian approach for the granular material behaviour. One approach of Continuum
mechanics is to use the theory from a kinetic gas which will be described in section 4.7.5.

4.7.2 Discrete element approach


The DEM is fully based on the Langrangian approach to the simulation of motion of granular
material on the microscopic level of particles. This means that the DEM can be used to
simulate quantities that are difficult to obtain by experiments and it can also be used to
improve CMM methods. DEM is also applicable to simulation of molecular dynamics (DM).
The models are conceptually simpler than the CMM methods but very demanding in
computer capacity.

Depending on how the particle displacement is calculated there are three different classes of
DEM; statistical mechanics models, classical Newtonian dynamics models and hybrid
models. Statistical mechanics models use stochastic components in the particle
displacements, for example the Monte Carlo method (Perram et al., 1984, Camp and Allen,
1996), the cellular automata method (Baxter and Behringer, 1990) or the random walk
method (Caram and Hong, 1991). The statistical approach is computationally simple since
there is no need for force calculation and integration routines but the methods are not very
flexible. There is not much control over the different parameters, the particles must be
modelled as hard spheres and if vibrations are present, they need to be harmonic. Classical
Newtonian dynamics models use the equations of particle dynamics for each particle. It is
necessary to keep track of all the forces and moments acting on each particle at every time
step and to integrate the equation of motion to obtain the new state of the system at the end of
each time step. This makes the calculations heavy and the large computational resources
required seem to prevent the method to be used as a design tool or in industrial applications
(Hogue and Newland, 1994). Hybrid models combine ideas of statistical mechanics and
classical Newtonian dynamics models. The motion of particles is simulated by an event
driven method using pseudo-random coefficients of restitution for energy dissipation. An
example of hybrid models is the contact model by Hogue and Newland (1994). The classical
Newtonian models can be divided into two different classes; Event Driven Methods (EDM)
and Time Driven methods (TDM).

4.7.3 Event Driven Method hard sphere method


The EDM is sometimes referred to as the hard sphere method. The state of the particles is
only updated at the time of the events, i.e. collisions of the particles. The path of the particles
is calculated by the equations of momentum, angular momentum and energy. Energy
dissipation of collisions is described by the coefficient of restitution. The coefficient of
restitution is usually calculated by comparing pre-collisional and post-collisional velocities of
each pair of colliding particles. A value of unity means a perfectly elastic collision, whereas a
value of zero a perfectly inelastic collision. The micro mechanism of the collisions is not
considered and it is assumed that no particle deformation has taken place, i.e. the distance
between the particle centre of mass and the contact point remains constant (Figure 4.3). The
method is well suited when the particles collide asynchronously and time between the events

37
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

is smaller than the real time of collisions between real particles would be. However, it has
been shown that the high shear rates that are required to achieve such flow conditions are
unusual (Campbell, 2002). The particle-particle interactions in granular flows are often more
complicated than that which leads to a more complex flow pattern.

V1
1 1
V10 1

V20 2 2
2 V2

Before Collision After

Figure 4.3 Illustration of the hard sphere method.

4.7.4 Time Driven Method - Soft particle method


When the time between collisions is larger than the time of free paths of particles, a Time
Driven Method (TDM) is better suited (Diugys and Peters, 2001). This model updates the
particle dynamics after a fixed time step, smaller than the smallest time of impacts. The state
of the particle is obtained by time integration of the three-dimensional dynamics equations
derived from the classical Newtonian mechanics approach based on Newtons second law for
translation and rotation of each particle. It is necessary to keep track of all forces and
momentum acting on each particle. Disturbances resulting from particle collisions propagate
to neighbouring particles only. The particles are treated as elastic bodies which may overlap
each other. Contact forces depend on the geometry of the overlap, material properties and
dynamics of the particles. Since particle deformation is taken into account the TDM is
sometimes referred to as the Soft Particle Method. The model can also be described as a
spring and dashpot system (Figure 4.4). During contact and deformation between two
particles the normal motion is governed by a spring and a dashpot and the tangential motion
governed by a spring and a Coulomb friction coefficient.

Particle A
mp

Normal spring
constant, K normal dashpot,
C

Tangential spring,
Coulomb K
friction,

mp
Particle B

Figure 4.4 The TDM seen as a spring and dash pot system. (Picture adapted from Campbell,
2002.)

38
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

4.7.5 Kinetic theory approach


A popular approach when simulating granular material is to apply theory from the kinetic
theory and look at granular flow as a diffusive process. Hisau and Hunt (1992), Natarajan et
al. (1995) and Zik and Stavans (1991) all found that the concentration could be fitted to the
results of a diffusion equation and concluded that granular mixing is a diffusion process.
When a system is seen as diffusive, the particle displacements can be related to the
coefficient of self-diffusion D , by the kinematic expression (Natarajan et al., 1995):

lim R 2 = 2 Dt (4.3)
t

where R is the diffusive displacement and t is the time. In the case of anisotropic flow it is
more appropriate to define a diffusion coefficient tensor Dij as:

lim xi x j = 2 Dij t (4.4)


t

where xi is the diffusive displacement in direction i .

An analytical expression for the self-diffusion coefficient, D, has been developed by Hsiau
and Hunt (1992) :

d ( )
1/ 2

D= (4.5)
8 (1 + e p ) g 0 ( )

where d is the particle diameter, e p is the coefficient of restitution, is the solid fraction
and g 0 ( ) is the radial distribution function evaluated when the particles are in contact. The
distribution function is introduced in dense particle flows to account for the increase in the
particle collisions and to account for the finite size of the particles. is the granular
temperature defined as one-third of the ensemble average of the sum of the squares of the
three fluctuating velocity components, u , v and w :

u '2 + v '2 + w '2


= (4.6)
3

The equation indicates that diffusion increases with an increase in granular temperature and
with the diameter of the particles. Consequently, an increase of the solid fraction leads to a
decrease in the diffusion. Experiments carried out by Campbell (1989) showed that the
granular temperature is anisotropically distributed and therefore a tensor of diffusion
coefficients is required to properly model the diffusion process. Further studies by Campbell
(1997) describes the measurements of an anisotropic diffusion tensor in a computer
simulation of simple shear flow of a granular material composed of uniform sized spheres.
Two methods were applied to determine the components of the diffusion tensor for the
calculations. The first one tracked the movement of the particles relative to their initial
position and the second borrowed techniques from turbulent diffusion which relates the

39
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

diffusivities to correlations of the random particle velocities. The results showed that the two
methods agreed within a few percent. The diffusion coefficients dropped dramatically with an
increasing concentration, reflecting the effect of the decreased range of free motion. The
results also showed that the diffusivity is generally a decreasing function of the coefficient of
restitution which agrees with Eq. (4.5).

Natarajan et al. (1995) conducted experimental work of the flow of granular material in a
vertical channel. The results showed that the diffusion coefficient increased with shear rate
and fluctuation velocity. It was also shown that the diffusion coefficient was anisotropic with
the values in the stream-wise direction being an order of magnitude higher.

Even though several research studies use the kinetic theory approach with satisfactory results
there are some disparities between granular gas and molecular gas that are important to
mention. There is an obvious disparity of sizes between macroscopic grains (1m or larger)
and molecules, but this only means that granular gases are a macroscopic manifestation of
classical gases. The same equations of motions are obeyed but on a larger scale. However, an
important difference between the two kinds of gases is that grain collisions are typically
inelastic due to their macroscopic dimensions. This causes major complications when
studying and modelling the behaviour of granular material. The inelastic collisions lead to
energy losses which have to be replaced in order to maintain the kinetic energy with the
consequence that granular gases must be in non-equilibrium state. Hence, in contrast to a
molecular gas that, in the absence of gravity, appears in molecular equilibrium a granular gas
cannot be found in a homogeneous state. This is due to the formation of dense clusters caused
by statistical fluctuations, instabilities or external forces (Goldhirsh et al., 2005). Another
important difference is the lack of scale separation within granular flow. For granular gases
the typical microscopic time scale, i.e. the mean free time, is of the same order as the
macroscopic time scales such as the shear rate. The different methods of modelling granular
flow are summarized in Figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5 Overview of the different methods of modelling granular flow.

40
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

4.8 Vibration of granular material

There are different ways of inducing mixing of granular material and one method commonly
used is vibration. Vertical vibration of granular material has been studied by several
investigators, both for fine powders (Yanagida et al., 2002) and for larger particles, typically
greater than 0.1mm in diameter (Melby et al., 2005, Yang and Hsiau, 2001). For fine powders
the interstitial fluid plays an important role which is not the case for larger particles, where
the interstitial effects are small (Brennen et al., 1996). Some important variables that will
influence the state of a vibrating particle bed are the amplitude, A , and the frequency of
vibration, f , the particle properties such as the particle diameter, d , and the initial bed
height, h0 . These variables can be combined into two important and frequently used
parameters when studying vibration of granular material; the dimensionless amplitude,
Af 2 / g and the numbers of layers in the bed, h0 / d .

For shallow particle beds ( h0 / d < 4 ) there are 3 different states of the bed depending on the
depth (Thomas et al., 1989). There is the Newtonian-I state where the particles bounce
around very randomly and no changes in vertical concentration of particles occur during one
cycle. Secondly, there is the Newtonian-II state where a dense layer of particles
accumulates on the vibrating surface whilst the rest of the particles bounce around randomly.
Finally, there is the coherent- expanded state or deep bed state where particles move as a
coherent mass but remain fairly compact during the cycle.

For the deep bed regimes (more than 6 particles) other types of behaviour patterns occur such
as heaps, surface waves and arches (Figure 4.6). The three different patterns during the deep
bed state were described and investigated experimentally by Wassgren et al. (1996). A bed of
small glass beads (more than 6 layers) were placed on top of a shaker and subjected to
sinusoidal vertical vibrations. Dimensionless acceleration amplitudes between zero and eight
were used and the particle motions were registered by a stroboscope. The transition into a
deep bed phenomena was found to be dependent on the particle bed depth and type of
material. Transitions from one phenomenon to another, were found to depend upon the
acceleration amplitude and the number of particle layers.

Figure 4.6 Different patterns of behaviour during vibration of granular material.

Another phenomenon that can occur during vibration of granular material is the forming of
convection rolls (Figure 4.7). Convection rolls form when particles move to the bottom of the
bed along the walls and return to the top from the central bed. The phenomena is explained
by the shear force along the side walls, which is larger for the upward phase during a

41
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

vibration cycle, when the granular bed is in a more densely packed form. During the
downward phase the shear force plays the role of a drag force on the particles and the
particles can move faster. This mechanism induces a net downward movement of particles
along the side walls which thus causes the convection rolls.

Tai and Hsiau (2004) used an image processing technique to investigate the transport
properties of convection rolls in a two-dimensional vibrating granular bed. The results
showed that the fluctuation velocities, granular temperatures and self-diffusion coefficients
were anisotropic, with the greater components in the vertical direction. It was also shown that
the convection flow rate, granular temperatures and self-diffusion coefficients increased with
vibration acceleration and vibration velocity.

Further investigation of convection rolls were conducted by Herrmann (1993) who used
Molecular Dynamics to simulate vibrated granular material. The results showed two types of
convection rolls. One where the walls were following the vibration movement of the bottom
plate, particles moved downward along the walls and upward in the centre in accordance to
what is described above. The second where the walls were fixed and the dissipation
coefficient set to zero, the particle movement along the walls was upward. Results by Knight
et al. (1993) showed that convection rolls are driven by frictional interactions between the
particles and the walls of the container. Smooth and slippery walls of the container resulted in
no convection rolls, whilst for roughened walls the particles at the walls moved downward
and particles in the centre moved upwards.

Figure 4.7 Illustration of the appearance of convection rolls.

Barker and Mehta (1993) found that the relaxation of powder during vibration is a
combination of independent-particle and collective excitations. They suggest that the balance
between independent particle and collective relaxation, for a given vibration intensity, is only
weakly affected by details of particulate shape and texture or of the nature of the driving
force. The disordered, non-sequential, close packings of powders are of much more
importance for the process. Their findings were supported by computer simulations using a
hybrid method with an algorithm using Monte Carlo dynamics and non-sequential random
close packing. The powder was modelled as a collection of frictionless, monodisperse hard
spheres. The results supported the existence of two relaxations mechanisms for vibrated

42
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

powders, a slower one that involved collective particle motions and a faster one that involved
the motions of individual particles.

Brennen et al. (1996) investigated the behaviour of a bed of granular material of large
particles (2.85 mm diameter) subjected to vertical vibration. The important parameters were
found to be: vibration frequency, vibration amplitude, particle diameter and bed height at rest
as well as material properties such as coefficient of restitution for collisions between the
individual particles and the base plate. In the range of frequencies explored (5-100 Hz) the
mixing was relatively independent of the frequency but strongly dependent on the
acceleration level and on the bed height.

A simplification in computer simulations is that the particle reorganisation, caused by


shaking, are only subject to geometrical constraints. However, for real powders the
circumstances are more complicated, where forces, like cohesive forces and particle
fragmentations, also contribute to the structural collapse during vibration. In the dynamic
regime, where the particles move independently, the particles lose information concerning
their relative positions. This loss of information induced by the shaking can be considered as
a diffusive process (Barker and Metha, 1993). The positions of a particle, measured at the
same phase point of consecutive shake cycles, will be slightly displaced, and it can be seen
that a sequence of the finite displacements forms a three-dimensional random walk that
represents the diffusive motion of particle due to shaking. The diffusive motion of a particle,
in the direction of shaking, will always be greater than that in the other two orthogonal
directions. To explain the reason for the diffusive motions is not straight forward. During
each shaking cycle the particles are affected by a direct fluctuating force that arises from
effective collisions between pairs of moving particles. However, the particles are also
subjected to motions like rolling and falling, which results in other fluctuating forces. Thus,
the random displacements of the particles are a result from a combination of different
fluctuating processes depending on the vibration intensity.

More investigation of self-diffusive behaviour in a vibrated bed was conducted by Yang and
Hsiau (2001). Experimental and simulation methods were used to examine the effect of
control parameters like dimensionless acceleration, vibration amplitude, vibration frequency,
restitution coefficient and solid fraction on the diffusion coefficient. Experiments were
carried out with glass beads (3mm diameter) placed in a vertical shaker. A camera captured
the motion and auto correlation was used to analyse the particle movements. The behaviour
was simulated by a Discrete Element Method (DEM). The fluctuation velocity and granular
temperature were shown to be highly anisotropic, with a greater component in the vertical
direction. The higher fluctuation velocities resulted in greater granular temperature and hence
greater diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficients increased with the dimensionless
acceleration amplitude. It was also strongly dependent on vibration bed velocity and very
sensitive to the solid fraction.

Hunt et al. (1994) carried out experiments to investigate how the mixing process depends on
the vibration acceleration, frequency and bed height. A vertical shaker was used and the
vibrated particles were red and blue spherical balls with a diameter of 3 mm placed in two
different equally thick layers. The results showed that the expansion of the bed increased
significantly beyond a critical frequency (10 Hz) and that the expansion did not depend on
the amplitude of the vibrations. The solid fraction in the bed decreased with distance from the
base plate. A mixing time was defined as the time it took for the particles from the layer
underneath to move up to the upper layer so that an equal concentration of both colours were

43
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

represented in this layer. The mixing times decreased significantly when the bed reached an
expanded state and a deeper bed resulted in a longer mixing time. Mixing time was also
calculated theoretically with the diffusion equation and a theoretically calculated diffusion
coefficient based on Eq. (4.5). The calculated values over predicted the experimental results
which implies that the diffusion coefficient was under-estimated.

4.9 Mixing in bed models

As mentioned previously the mixing process in bed models has not achieved much attention.
The bed models are often treated under fixed bed conditions (e.g. van der Lans et al., 2000)
or as a serial cascade of continuous stirred reactors (Beckmann and Scholtz, 1995). In the
latter case, a mathematical model with the assumption that one of the stirred reactor elements
moves along the length of the grate was developed. The mixing of the solid material due to
the grate movement is expressed by integral expressions of temperature and oxygen
concentration. Peters and Diugys (2002) have used a DEM method to simulate the transport
of fuel particles in combustion devices such as in rotary kilns or on travelling grates. A TDM
is used and the dynamics of each particle are determined by the forces and torques acting on a
particle. The bed is regarded as a finite number of particles with a given shape and visco-
elastic material properties.

Another approach, based on the kinetic theory, has been made by Lim et al (2001). They
made experimental work with the purpose of characterizing and quantifying the mixing of
waste on a travelling grate, so that the mixing process could be incorporated into a numerical
bed model. Series of systematic particle tracking experiments were performed on scaled
models of the three most commonly used industrial grates; the Deutsche Babcock Roller
grate, the Martin Reverse Acting grate and the ABB Widmer and Ernst Motion Overthrust
grate. The experiments showed that the tracers travel progressively down the grate with the
rolling motion. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the movement of the solid
material on the grate based on the probability for a solid tracer to swap position with the
adjacent tracer. The process is essentially a random walk procedure and the numerical
procedure is analogous to a discrete stochastic model called the Markov chain. Standard
deviation, s (t ) , and mean values of the particle motion were calculated as function of time.
The diffusion coefficient was then defined as:

s(t ) 2
D= (4.7)
2t

The mixing was included in a two-dimensional bed model for waste incineration, FLIC
(Yang et al., 2002). Only the transverse (y) direction was studied and those calculations
agreed well with the experimental results. The values of the diffusion coefficient varied
between 0.03cm2/min and 3.60cm2/min. The experiments were later complemented with full
scale tests for calculating the diffusion coefficients (Yang et al., 2005c). Tracer particles were
introduced together with the waste into the incinerator. The exiting sequence and distribution
across the grate were monitored through a sight glass at the end of the grate. Axial mixing
was based on the particles residence time on the grate. Mean and standard deviation of the
residence time were calculated and used to derive the diffusion coefficient. The axial
diffusion coefficient D x , was found to vary between 27cm2/min and 109cm2/min. The
vertical diffusion coefficient was assumed to be the same as the axial, since the combustion

44
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

time scale for those direction is roughly the same. The full-scale tests gave a higher range of
the diffusion coefficient, one reason might be that they were affected by the feeder parts
before the combustion chamber and thereby also included the contribution from that
mechanical movement.

4.10 Mixing process on a vibrating grate

There is a discrepancy in particle size and properties between granular material and solid
fuel, such as straw, which will result in differences within packing and response to the
vibrations. However, despite these discrepancies there should be many similarities within the
mixing process. Some of the most important conclusions from the work within vibrating
granular material are:

Mixing can be seen as a diffusive process.

Lower mixing time for an expanded bed since the particles have greater mobility.

Higher diffusion in the direction of vibrations.

Mixing level depends on thickness of particle layer.

Mixing level depends on dimensionless amplitude.

The experiences from granular flow are taken into consideration when discussing the mixing
process of solid fuel on a vibrating grate. There are many factors influencing the mixing of
the fuel on the grate, such as the intensity and level of vibration as well as the size and
properties of the fuel. The first criteria for the mixing of the particles on the grate to occur is
that the particles become airborne. A void in-between the particles is essential for the
particles to swap positions with each other. Once the particles are airborne they will collide
and slide towards each other, resulting in energy losses and changed particle trajectories.

When the particles are at rest the only force acting on the particles is the gravity force. But as
soon as the particles are set into motion friction forces between the particles and forces
resulting from the grate movement will occur. The different forces acting on the particles are
illustrated in Figure 4.8. The upward force from the grate must be strong enough to overcome
the frictional forces in order to make the particles airborne.

The degree of vibration motion depends on the amplitude and frequency given to the grate,
which means that these two parameters are of importance for the mixing process. The
intensity of the vibrations are determined by the frequency. When the frequency rises, the
number of impulses rises consequently, and thereby the possibility for the particles to shift
place. For a low frequency the particles will have time to come to rest on the grate between
the impulse strikes, whilst for a higher frequency the particles will be constantly in motion.
For the latter case the grate movement will not necessarily be in phase with the particle
motion which will also have an effect on the mixing process. Once a particle is airborne the
magnitude of the amplitude will affect the length of the free-fall by the particle. The larger
the amplitude the larger will the free-fall be.

45
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 4.8 Picture of the forces acting on the particles in a packed bed.

The discussion above is based on one particle layer on the grate, but this is rarely the case.
The number of particle layers, i.e. the bed height, will also influence the mixing process. A
thicker particle layer will reduce the mixing due to energy losses between the particles.
Looking at the particles as a spring and dash-pot system, then energy will be lost every time
the particles are compressed or decompressed depending on the movement from the grate.
The thicker the layer of particles on the grate, the more energy will be lost and thereby a
lower height is reached by the particle in the top layer. The particle properties, such as size,
shape and material, will also influence how the particles mix. Small and uniform particles
will act more like granular material, whilst larger inhomogeneous particles will behave less
predictably. A large variation of particles of different sizes will also influence the overall
behaviour of the bed. The smaller particles will move more freely than the large ones and
most likely size segregation will occur. The shape of the particles has an important impact of
the way the particles interact with each other. Larger particles give larger surface areas and
thereby higher friction losses between the particles. To summarise; the following factors are
of importance when studying the mixing of solid fuel:

Amplitude of grate movement.

Frequency of grate movement.

Particle type.

Size distribution of particles.

Thickness of particle layer.

4.11 Diffusion concept of this project

When modelling the mixing process of fuel on a vibrating grate there are several factors that
may influence the transportation of the solid particles; feeding system, grate construction,
vibrations, particle properties and the combustion process. The feeding system will affect the

46
Chapter 4: Mixing theory of particles

initial velocity of the fuel and the amount of fuel on the grate which will determine the initial
bed height. The properties of the fuel such as size, shape and bulk density will affect the
particle-particle interactions and the interactions particle-grate. Also, the combustion process
will affect the mixing process. During combustion the particles are going to change size and
properties in the transition from raw fuel to ash. But the main reason for mixing will be the
effect of the vibration of the grate. The level of vibration and the vibration sequences are
most likely to play a key role in the mixing process.

When looking at fuel transportation, there will be a mean movement of the fuel along the
grate towards the ash pit. This can be seen as a convective transport, represented by the
convective term in the transport equation. But, the vibrations will also give rise to a random
mixing of the fuel on the grate. This random mixing can be compared to the diffusion process
taking place in a molecular gas. If dividing a small section of the grate into two sides (A and
B) and studying the transportation of particles of two different colours (e.g. black and white)
across the interface some theoretical discussions can be made. Assuming an initial
concentration difference of the particles in respective section, let us say that the concentration
of black particles is twice as high on side A compared to side B (Figure 4.9), then the
probability that a black particle will move from side A to B will be twice as high as the
probability that a black particle will move from side B to A. Thus the probability of what
particle that will move to the other side will depend on the concentration difference.

Figure 4.9 Illustration of the diffusion idea of this project.

As long as there exists a high concentration and low concentration region there will be a
concentration gradient between the regions and the net flux will be from the high
concentration region to the low concentration region. In this respect the process can be
compared to a molecular gas and modelled by using the transport equation. Even if the
driving mechanisms of the mixing are different for the two cases, the consequences will be
similar. However, the diffusion coefficient for a vibrating grate will differ significantly from
the one for a molecular gas. The value will most likely depend on the vibrations of the grate
and also by the other parameters discussed previously. How a theoretical value of the
diffusion coefficient should be derived is not straight-forward. One alternative is to
experimentally derive the diffusion coefficient for a specific case.

47
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

In the next chapter, experimental work with the purpose of examining the diffusion
coefficient for different grate constructions is presented. The particle trajectories are tracked
so that the mixing process can be quantified. The diffusion coefficient is used in the above
mentioned transport equation to numerically model the mixing of the fuel on the grate. The
mean velocity on the grate is used as convective term. The magnitude of the velocity depends
on the feeding velocity and the angle of the grate. A more tilted grate gives a higher
horizontal velocity. The diffusion coefficient is calculated with help from the standard
deviation of the particle velocities, i.e. the deviation from the mean velocity represents the
random mixing. Similar to Eq. (4.5) the expression for the diffusion coefficient D , in this
model looks like:

s2
D= (4.8)
2t

where s is the standard deviation of the particles trajectories during the time t . When
developing mathematical models there is often a compromise involved between the
modelling assumptions and the reality. If no vibration would take place the fuel bed would
remain at rest and the combustion would take place under fixed bed assumptions. However,
in order to obtain an efficient continuous combustion, the mixing of the fuel is essential and
in order to develop an accurate bed model the understanding of the mixing process is of great
importance.

48
Chapter 5: Experimental work

5 Experimental work
In order to investigate the motion of the fuel on a vibrating grate,
experimental work on three different test rigs has been carried out. The
test rigs differ in construction and manner of imposing the vibrations.
Pictures of the particle motion were taken by a camera placed above the
grate. The data treatment to derive the diffusion coefficient is carried out
by LabView software for the first test rig while a PIV method is used for
the other two. This chapter describes the different test rig designs, the
experimental methods and presents the results obtained. The results are
compared to similar work in literature. Finally, experience from a real
scale, industrial vibrating grate is presented and suggestions for future
work proposed.

49
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

5.1 Rig constructions / vibrating grate systems


Three different test rig designs were used during the experimental work. The rig designs
differed in the way of inducing the vibrations as well as in size and robustness of the grate.
To make further reading easier the rigs are referred to as grate A, grate B and grate C in
accordance with Figure 5.1. In the figure are also shown the points through where the
vibrations are induced on the grates.

Grate A Grate B Grate C


pneumatically amplitude wheel amplitude wheel and
driven ramrod

Feeding Feeding

350 mm

1200 mm 1200 mm

525 mm

Points through where


vibration is induced
800 mm 800 mm

Figure 5.1. Illustration of the three different test rigs that have been used for the
experimental work.

5.1.1 Grate A pneumatically driven vibrations


The first type of test rig used had a pneumatic controlled vibration system. The rig consisted
of an enclosed box of the size 525350 mm with a 4mm thin aluminium plate as grate
(Figure 5.2). In each corner of the grate a pneumatic piston was connected, controlled by a
signal generator to set the grate into vibration.

50
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Pneumatic
pistions

Elictrically
activated valves

Figure 5.2. Picture of grate A. The vibrations are induced pneumatically.

An accelerometer was used to study the movement of the grate and it could be seen that an
oscillating acceleration of the grate occurs during the time between impulse strikes (Figure
5.3). This was a result of poor damping when the grate reaches the top level. It was also
observed, during the experiments, that the grate was not stiff enough, it was more rigid in the
corners than in the centre part.

Figure 5.3 Picture of test rig number one and a plot of the grate movement measured by an
accelerometer at a frequency of 6Hz.

51
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

5.1.2 Grate B vibrations induced by amplitude wheel


To achieve a more harmonic motion of the grate the use of amplitude wheels was introduced
for grate B (Jensen, 2004). An amplitude wheel has a driving shaft displaced from the centre
of the wheel that makes the acceleration to follow a sinus curve (Figure 5.4). The distance
between the driving shaft and the centre determines the magnitude of the amplitude of the
motion.

Figure 5.4. Figure of amplitude wheel, the distance between the driving shaft centre and the
wheel centre is the amplitude of the vibrating motion.

The amplitude wheels were attached under the grate plate and driven by a 22kW motor by a
belt drive (Figure 5.5). The results from an accelerator placed in the middle of the grate
showed that the movement followed a sinusoidal curve quite well (Figure 5.6). The
dimension of the grate was 1200800 mm and a feeding box was placed at one end of the
grate from where the fuel was fed continuously with help of gravity.

Figure 5.5. A sketch of grate B where the vibration is induced by amplitude wheels.

52
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Figure 5.6 The motion of the grate is illustrated with help of the result from measurements
with an accelerometer at a frequency of 13.43Hz and amplitude of 6mm.

5.1.3 Grate C - pivoting grate


One problem with grate B turned out to be that the results were highly dependent on the
design of the grate and the cross reinforcement bars influenced the transportation of the fuel.
To avoid this problem a new series of experiments were carried out on a rig with a third grate
construction. This time the grate for an existing 500 kW pilot scale furnace was used. The
grate consisted of a panel wall of water cooled tubes (no water was flowing through the tube
during the experiments), which was a much more rigid system than the previous grate
constructions. One end of the grate was connected to a ramrod that is set in motion by a
22kW motor via an amplitude wheel (Figure 5.7). A spring was placed along the side of the
rod to damp the downward motion. The other end of the grate was pivoting on a fixed rail, so,
only one end of the grate was vibrating.

53
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 5.7. A sketch of grate C.

An accelerometer was placed along the centre line of the grate near the vibrating end. The
results showed that the movement was sinusoidal in the upward movement but the spring
system caused a damping effect on the downward movement that prevented the overall
movement following a sine curve (Figure 5.8).

40

30

20
Acceleration [m/s^2]

10

0
-0.05 0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
-10

-20

-30

-40
Time [s]

Figure 5.8. The motion of grate C measured by an accelerometer.

54
Chapter 5: Experimental work

During the first test runs with grate C the grate vibrations were smooth and harmonic, and the
particles vibrated and transported evenly over the entire bed area. Unfortunately, this was
only a temporary condition. When the measurements started, after just a few test runs, the
vibration motion was not as harmonic any more (see result section). When dismantling the
ram rod and the bearing house it turned out that the connection between the ramrod and
amplitude wheel was totally worn down (Figure 5.9). Apparently there had been such a
strong force acting on the ramrod that the construction was not rigid enough to withstand the
loads applied. Based on this experience another solution for the vibration mechanisms was
recommended.

Figure 5.9. The worn out ram rod plate for grate C is shown to the right. To the left the
bearing house is shown where the wear from the ram rod is visible by two lines.

5.2 Particle types

Some different types of particles were used during the experiments; wood beads and drinking
straws were used on test rig A while wood pellets were used on rigs B and C. Table 5.1
shows the different particles and presents their properties, the properties of straw pellets are
shown in comparison. The reason for using two different particle types on grate A was to
investigate the effect on the diffusion of the particle shape and properties. The results showed
that the particle type is of significant importance when determining the diffusion coefficient.
However, the low weight of the drinking straws together with an electrostatic build-up made
them not suitable as particles for further experiments. Instead, a more realistic type of
particles was chosen; wood pellets. Wood pellets are more easy and practical to handle than
straw pellets due to the more compact structure. Straw pellets are more porous and tend to
crunch during vibration which makes them unsuitable. It might seem surprising that ordinary
straw was not used during the experiments, but this is explained by its unstructured nature.
The aim of the experimental work was to investigate the mechanisms of particle movement
during vibration rather than investigating the effects of a specific fuel. This is why uniform,
robust particles were preferred in order to achieve reliable and consistent results.

55
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Table 5.1 Properties of the various particles used during the experimental work.

5.3 Data treatment

The data treatment methods varied for the different experimental setups. But all had in
common that the particle motion was captured by a camera placed above the grate. The
camera was set to take series of images of the grate with a high frequency. The pictures were
then stored and post-processed in order to find the particle movement. The pictures from the
grate A were processed with help of a LabView program while a PIV (Particle Image
Velocimetry) software program was used for the other two grates.

LabView is a software program that allows the user to grab a series of images and then
analyzing the images and determine the percentage of black respective white particles in each
image. By calculating the changing rate of the percentage of respective colour in each image
the diffusion coefficient could be derived. This calculation method requires that the diffusion
occurs at an equal rate in all directions. According to the theory described in chapter 4, this
assumption might not always be correct. The program also requires particles in two different
colours so that sharp contrasts can be achieved. This is rather impractical when performing
experiments with continuous feeding which is the case for grate B and C.

To improve the image processing a PIV method was chosen for these grates. Instead of
observing the rate of change of the percentage of black particles in a certain image area the
observation and calculations were made on particle level by tracking individual particle
trajectories. Another advantage using the PIV method is that it allows anisotropic diffusion
coefficients. The work procedure for the PIV program is shown in Figure 5.10. First the
images were processed and filtered to get as sharp a contrast as possible in order to improve
the PIV analysis. The images were also divided into a large number of small regions, so
called interrogation areas. For each interrogation area cross correlation was carried out from

56
Chapter 5: Experimental work

succeeding image pairs in time resulting in vector plots representing the movements of the
particles. All vector plots from one picture series were collected in a statistical file where
mean values and standard deviations of the velocities of each interrogation area were
calculated. The diffusion coefficient was defined and calculated as square of the standard
deviation of velocity divided to the time elapsed in between each taken image (Eq 4.8). A
more detailed description of the PIV method can be found in Appendix A.

Camera

Grate

Image processing

t t t

Cross correlation

Statistics

s2
D=
2t

Figure 5.10 Picture of the PIV analysis performed to calculate the diffusion coefficient

5.4 Experiments on grate A


This section summarizes the experimental work carried out on the first, pneumatically driven
grate. For further details the reader is referred to the work by Berry and Jensen, 2003. The
aim of the experiment was to investigate what the diffusion of the particles on the grate
looked like for different amplitudes and frequencies. Frequencies of 2, 4 and 6 Hz were tested
and amplitudes of 1, 2.5 and 4mm.Two different types of particles were tested; 5cm long
pieces of drinking straw and wood beads with a diameter of 1cm, particle properties are
shown in Table 5.1. A digital camera was placed above the grate to capture the motion of the
particles. The grate was filled with white particles and in the centre a 10 x 10 cm square of
black particles was placed (Figure 5.11). The test set-up is summarised inTable 5.2.

57
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 5.11 Picture of the test set-up for grate number one. The red arrows indicate the
vibration movement. (Berry and Jensen, 2004)

Wood beads, Diameter:10mm,


Particles Drinking straw, Diameter
5mm, length 50mm
Camera FireWire DFK 31F03

Image frequency 15 Frames/s

Tested frequencies 2 Hz, 4 Hz, 6 Hz

Tested amplitudes 1mm, 2.5mm, 4mm

Table 5.2. Testing parameters during experiments on grate A.

The software program LabView was used to track the movements of the black particles. The
image of the grate was divided into a series of rectangular regions, so called quantified
areas. The size of each area was chosen to10x10 pixels which approximately equals half a
spherical particle. The image was threshold in order to obtain the information about how
many of the particles in an image that are black. This was done by converting all pixels with
a grey scale of a certain range to one and the pixels outside that range to zero. The image was
then smoothened by filtering (Figure 5.12). A built-in Labview function was used to
determine the percentage of each image area that is black. The diffusion coefficients were
determined by a least squares curve fit of the changing area filled with black particles, with
respect to time. An assumption required for the calculations, was that diffusion occurs at an
equal rate in all directions.

58
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Figure 5.12 Summary of image processing sequence (a) application of quantified areas.
(b) Image after thresholding, small red dots representing black areas caused by shadows (c)
Image after filtering and morphology techniques, most shadow areas have been removed.
(Berry and Jensen, 2004)

5.5 Experiments on grate B

The particles used on test rig B consisted of wood pellets with a diameter of 8 mm and a
length varying from 20-40mm. The particles were continuously fed on the grate by a
gravitational feeding system. The feeding thickness was about 70 mm and the bed thickness
then decreased towards the end of the grate, being only one particle thick at the outlet. A
digital camera of the type Sony XC-HR50 was placed above the grate in order to capture the
movement of the particles. Pictures were taken with a frame rate of 20 frames/s and a series
of 2500 pictures were taken for each test case. The pictures were later imported into a PIV
program and the data treatment explained in 5.3 was applied. Experience from granular
material shows that the diffusion coefficient is anisotropic and should therefore, in two
dimensions, be separated into x and y components; Dx and Dy. The tests were carried out by
varying the amplitude and frequency, frequencies ranging from 11 Hz to 20 Hz and
amplitudes ranging from 2 mm to 6 mm were used. Table 5.3 summarises the testing
parameters during the experiment.

Wood pellets, Diameter:8mm,


Particles
Length: 30mm
Camera Sony XC-HR50

Image frequency 20 Frames/s

Tested frequencies 11Hz 20 Hz

Tested amplitudes 2mm 6mm

Table 5.3 Testing parameters during experiments on grate B.

59
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

5.6 Experiments on grate C

For the experiments on grate C, wood pellets with a diameter of 8 mm were used as particles.
Some of the particles (around one fifth) were painted black to simplify the post processing
with PIV by making the contrast larger between the particles. A CCD camera was placed
above the rig in order to register the movement of the particles. A range of different
frequencies was tested; 11Hz, 12Hz, 12.5Hz, 13Hz, 14Hz, 15Hz and 16Hz. The amplitude
was constant during all experiments with a value of 6mm. Different experimental set-ups
regarding the feeding of the particles were tested. Firstly a gravity driven feeding box was
placed at the inlet of the grate and the grate was filled with particles before the vibrations
started and recordings of the pictures were initiated. Secondly, the same procedure was
repeated but now for an initially empty grate. Experiments were also carried out without use
of the feeding box, the grate was instead filled with particles at the start of the vibrations. The
construction with a panel wall as grate gives an uneven grate surface. In order to avoid the
effect of the grate surface structure a plane wooden plate was placed on top of the grate and
experiments were run without feeding and with an initially filled grate. Finally, to illustrate
the mixing across the grate, a string of black particles were introduced in the centre of the
grate. Pictures were then taken every 5 seconds to record the movement of the particles. A
table of the different test configurations is shown below.

Frequency 11Hz 12Hz 12.5Hz 13Hz 14Hz 15Hz 16Hz


Feeding box, filled
X x x x x x x
grate when starting

Feeding box, empty


x x x x x x
grate when starting

No feeding x

Plate placed above


x x x x
grate, no feeding

Table 5.4 Test matrix for the experiments on grate number three

A number of series of each 50 pictures with a frame rate of 30 frames/s were taken during the
vibrations. During post processing the colour of each picture was inverted, 150 units
subtracted from the intensity and the intensity finally multiplied by 2, all to give as clear
contrasts as possible in order to improve the PIV treatment (Figure 5.13). As the figure
shows, the subtraction of the intensity leads to a darker picture while the multiplication
intensifies the contrasts. The level of the picture manipulation was determined for one case
and when a desired final picture with satisfied contrasts had been obtained the same level of
manipulation was carried out for all series of pictures.

60
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Invert colours

Substract 150

Multiply by 2

Figure 5.13 Illustration of the image post processing made to make as sharp contrasts as
possible to improve the PIV analysis.

Data treatment as described in 5.3 was applied to the image series. Cross correlation was
carried out resulting in 25 vector plots of the particles movements. The vector plots were
finally collected into one file of statistics that was used for calculating the diffusion
coefficients. Table 5.5 shows the testing parameters used during the experiments.

Wood pellets, Diameter:8mm,


Particles
Length: 30mm
Camera Sony XC-HR50
Image
30 frames/s
frequency
Table 5.5 Test parameters during experiments on grate C

61
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

5.7 Results and discussion

The following sections present the results for respective test rig. The overall aim of the
experimental work is to derive diffusion coefficients that can be implemented in the
numerical model in order to simulate the transport process on a real scaled vibrating grate.
The implementation would be easy to make if a relationship between the diffusion coefficient
and parameters like amplitude, frequency and particle shape could be found. It is also obvious
that the diffusion will vary depending on the location on the grate as well as on the bed
thickness. The analyzing work of the experimental outcome has been conducted on the basis
of investigating such relationships. For test rig A, focus is on finding out what parameters
that affect the diffusion coefficient and how they are related. For test rigs B and C additional
work has been carried out to study how the diffusion coefficient depends on the location of
the grate. In the area of granular material, relationships have been found between the
diffusion coefficient and the dimensionless acceleration, af 2 / g (chapter 4). This relationship
has also been tested for each test rig.

5.7.1 Results - grate A


The calculated diffusion coefficients are shown in Table 5.6. The results show that the
diffusion coefficient increases with the frequency. It can also be seen that the values are
significantly larger for the spheres than for the cylinders. This has probably more to do with
the different material of the particles than the shapes. The drinking straws are much lighter
than the spheres and also much softer, which means that during collisions and contact with
the grate, more energy is absorbed within the particles. The consequence is that the energy
from the vibrations of the grate is less effective in reaching the top layer of particles, resulting
in fewer possibilities for mixing and a lower diffusion coefficient. During the experiments
with the drinking straws it was observed that after a number of test runs there was a build-up
of static electricity between the particles and between the particles and the walls. It is possible
that this static effect further reduced the level of diffusion.

Amplitude Spheres Cylinders


Frequency 4mm 2.5mm 4mm 2.5mm
6Hz 388.80 190.53 28.19 58.32
4Hz 170.08 76.16 14.38 8.71
2hz 7.24 10.53 6.90 5.38
Table 5.6 The calculated diffusion coefficients in cm2/s for grate A. The experiments were
carried out for two different particle types by varying the frequency and amplitude.

A statistical analysis, using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) table, of the experimental data,
concluded that the diffusion on the grate was most significantly affected by the test variables
of frequency and particle type (Table 5.7). An ANOVA table tests the acceptance or rejection
of a null hypothesis, which states that the means of all test conditions are the same. The
important columns to consider in the ANOVA table are the F0-, F- and P-values. F0 is the
ratio of the mean square of the test factor (frequency, particle type or amplitude) to the mean
square of the error. The F value is read from a reference table for a one tailed F-test. If the F0-
value is greater than F the null hypothesis is rejected and it is concluded that there is a
difference in test level means at the given confidence level (0.05 in this case). The P-value
represents the highest confidence level at which the null hypothesis can be rejected. The

62
Chapter 5: Experimental work

smaller P-value, the more certainty there is that a difference in means, due to that test factor,
exists, i.e. that the test factor is significant.

Sum of Degrees of Mean


Source of variation F0 F-value P-value
Squares freedom Square
Frequency 1.55E+05 2 7.74E+04 5.93 5.14 0.037977
Particle type 1.30E+05 1 1.30E+05 9.97 7.71 0.034272
Amplitude 1.77E+04 1 1.77E+04 1.36 7.71 0.309084
Freq. x Type 8.94E+04 2 4.47E+04 3.42 5.14 0.101815
Freq. x Amp. 1.10E+04 2 5.48E+03 0.42 5.14 0.674932
Type x Amp. 2.43E+04 1 2.43E+04 1.86 7.71 0.244037
Freq. x Type x Amp. 2.07E+04 2 1.03E+04 0.79 5.14 0.495091
Error 3.13E+05 24 1.31E+04 1.00
Total 7.61E+05 36
Table 5.7. ANOVA table for experimental diffusion results.

The amplitude did not show a statistical significance as a test factor. However, the choice of
amplitude is still of importance since during testing at the 1mm amplitude, even with a
frequency of 10 Hz, diffusion was undetectable. The different behaviour between the spheres
and cylinders is demonstrated in Figure 5.14 where the diffusion coefficient is plotted against
the dimensionless amplitude, Af 2 / g where A is the amplitude, and f the frequency. The
curve fitting results for the spheres are good while the result is more uncertain for the
cylindrical particles.

450

400
y = 27675x - 30,589
350

300
Diffusion [cm 2/s]

250 Spheres
Cylinders
200
Linear (Spheres)
150 Linear (Cylinders)

100
y = 2564,1x + 4,4564
50

0
0 0,002 0,004 0,006 0,008 0,01 0,012 0,014 0,016
-50
Af 2/g

Figure 5.14 The diffusion coefficient for spheres and straws (cylinders) plotted against the
dimensionless amplitude, Af 2 / g .

63
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

The major findings of the experiments, carried out on grate A, were that at low frequencies
(<2Hz) the particles packed and moved together as a solid with a low mixing process. At high
frequencies (>3Hz) the particles had a random jumping motion comparable to a fluidised bed
with a more significant mixing process. The diffusion coefficient for the spherical particles
was larger than for the cylindrical ones, most likely because of the heavier material. These
behavioural findings are in accordance with results by Yang and Hsiau (2000).

5.7.2 Results grate B


To understand better the presentation of the results from the experimental work on grate B an
outline of the grate is shown in Figure 5.15. The lines indicate positions on the grate from
where the results are taken.

X = 260 mm X = 578 mm X = 874 mm

y = 667 mm

y = 459 mm
800 mm

y = 222 mm
y

x 1200 mm

Flow direction

Figure 5.15 A schematic picture of the grate. The dashed lines are where the values of the
diffusion coefficient are calculated and will be presented in the following graphs.

5.7.3 Grate B- variation of Dx along the grate


Firstly, how the diffusion coefficients are varying along the grate, in the x-direction, was
investigated. It was visible that the thickness of the particle layer decreased closer to the end
of the grate and that the motion accordingly became livelier. Figure 5.16 shows the diffusion
coefficient (Dx) at a frequency of 20 Hz and amplitude of 5 mm for different y positions (222
mm, 459 mm and 667 mm from the side wall) along the grate. The value of Dx varies from
2cm2/s up to 6.5cm2/s. At the position x = 700 mm the value of the diffusion coefficient starts
to increase rapidly. The reason for the increase in diffusion is most likely related to the depth
of the fuel layer. The fuel layer decreases closer to the outlet and at the outlet itself it is only
one particle thick. When the particle layer is very thin the particles can move more freely
since the resistance from surrounding particles is lower, giving rise to higher diffusion. At the
start of the grate, where the particle layer is thick, the energy supplied to the bed from
vibration is distributed amongst the particles as they rearrange themselves. The damping, due

64
Chapter 5: Experimental work

to collisions, is higher and consequently the movement of each particle is lower. Hence, the
depth of the particle layer plays an important role when determining the diffusion coefficient.

The diffusion in the middle of the grate seems to be lower than close to the walls. This is
opposite compared to what would be expected, since the walls are expected to reduce the
particle movement and the diffusion therefore should be larger in the centre than close to the
walls. A reason for the unexpected behaviour might be a consequence of a wave like
appearance of the diffusion coefficient caused by the construction of the grate that will be
discussed later in this section.

Dx along the grate at different y positions


6.5

6 y = y667
= 667
mmmm
y = y459
= 459
mmmm
5.5 y = 222 mm
y = 222 mm

5 Flow direction
Flow direction
Dx [cm 2/s]

4.5

3.5

3
y = 222 mm
y = 459 mm
2.5
y = 667 mm

2
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
x [mm]

Figure 5.16 Dx along the grate at different y positions for a frequency of 20 Hz and an
amplitude of 6 mm.

5.7.4 Grate B- variation of Dx across the grate


When studying the variation of Dx across the bed at different axial positions (260 mm. 578
mm and 874 mm from the inlet) it can be seen that the diffusion coefficient is higher closer to
the outlet (Figure 5.17). There is a tendency of an increasing value of Dx from the wall
towards the centre, indicating a boundary layer effect. At 578 mm from the inlet the diffusion
coefficient is 2.5 cm2/s next to the walls and increases up to 3.2 cm2/s closer to the centre of
the grate which likely is due to the damping and resistance of the walls. For the diffusion
coefficient, taken at x = 280 mm, a dip of the value can be seen in the centre of the grate (y =
450 mm). Similar tendency was observed also at the other positions. The observations

65
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

confirm the findings of the unexpected lower velocity in the centre of the bed shown in
Figure 5.16.

There is a high degree of fluctuations of the diffusion coefficient across the grate. The
fluctuations seem to become more severe at higher values of the diffusion coefficient, close
to the end of the grate. One explanation is the case of a natural variation of the diffusion
coefficient. At the end of the grate, where the particle layer is thin and the diffusion
coefficient large, there is an obvious random motion of the particles. Visibly it was seen that
the particles moved around fairly non-coherently and it is therefore not surprising that there is
such a fluctuation of the diffusion coefficient. Even if the vibration of the grate is imposed in
all four corners of the great, the motion of the grate surface might not be uniform. If the
motion is non-uniform then the impact on the particles will also be non-uniform and similarly
the velocities of the particles. A further discussion of the effect of grate construction is found
in section 5.7.7.

Dx across the grate at different x positions X = 578 mm


5 X = 260 mm X = 874 mm
x = 280 mm
x = 578 mm
4.5 x = 874 mm

Flow direction
4
Dx [cm2/s]

3.5

2.5

2
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
y [mm]

Figure 5.17 Dx across the bed at different x positions for a frequency of 20 Hz and an
amplitude of 6 mm.

5.7.5 Grate B- comparison of Dx and Dy


When comparing the diffusion in x- and y-direction there is no clear difference neither across
nor along the grate (Figure 5.18). Since the diffusion coefficient is defined as the standard
deviation of the velocity this result is not surprising. The grate is tilted one degree which
results in a net movement of the particles along the grate, towards the outlet. But since the
mean velocity is subtracted, only the deviation of the particles from the mean path is
represented by the diffusion coefficient, which should be of the same order for both
directions, since the impact from the vibration force is equal in x- and y-directions.

66
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Dy and Dx along the grate at y = 459mm


6.5 Dy and Dx across the grate at x = 578mm
Dy 4
6 Dx Dy
5.5 Dx

5 3.5

D y , Dx [cm /s]
Dy , Dx [cm2/s]

2
4.5

4
3
3.5

2.5 2.5

2 0 200 400 600 800 1000


0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
x [mm]
y [mm]

Figure 5.18 Comparison of Dx and Dy along and across the grate for a frequency of 20Hz
and an amplitude of 6mm.

5.7.6 Grate B- influence of frequency and amplitude


Since there is not a great variance in the diffusion across the grate, an average value for each
x-value has been calculated and plotted against the length of the grate. Figure 5.19 shows the
diffusion coefficient, Dx, along the grate for 15.5 Hz at different amplitudes (2 mm, 4 mm, 5
mm and 6 mm) and Dx for an amplitude of 6 mm at different frequencies (11 Hz, 13.25 Hz,
15.5 Hz, 17.75 Hz and 20 Hz). It can be seen that the diffusion coefficient increases with
frequency and amplitude. This is expected since a higher frequency and amplitude means
higher vibration intensity and therefore a larger movement of the particles. Here, it is also
seen very clearly that the diffusion increases close to the outlet. The value of Dx is nearly
constant up to a certain point after which it increases linearly. This critical point where the
increase initiates seems to be located at the same distance from the inlet independent of the
frequency, at about 850 mm or about two thirds of the total length from the inlet. Up to that
critical point the bed thickness is probably more or less constant and then decreases towards
the outlet. This observation suggests that the point where the particle layer starts to decrease
is more dependent on the initial bed height, or the size of the grate, rather than the intensity of
the vibration.

For the fixed frequency of 15.5Hz there is no clear increase in the diffusion coefficient for the
lowest amplitude of 2mm but the increase seems to get more significant with higher
amplitudes. On the other hand, looking at the fixed amplitude of 6mm, the increase of the
diffusion coefficient is of the same magnitude for all frequencies tested. There is a small
variation of the diffusion coefficient along the grate, especially for amplitude of 4mm, which
is explained by the design of the grate. The dips of the value of the diffusion coefficient take
place at the positions 250mm and 550 mm from the inlet. When studying the design of the
grate these positions coincide with the reinforcement bars, giving a lower diffusion (see
5.7.7)

67
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 5.19 Dx along the grate for 15,5 Hz at different amplitudes and for 6mm at different
frequencies

An dimensionless amplitude, Af 2 / g , has been calculated and plotted against the diffusion
coefficient (Figure 5.20). It can be seen that the diffusion coefficient increases with an
increasing amplitude. This is in accordance with previously presented results. A linear fit to
the data has been made which gives a linear relationship between the diffusion coefficient
and the dimensionless acceleration. This relationship is however very uncertain due to the
wide spread of the data and no further conclusions can be made.

68
Chapter 5: Experimental work

4,5

4
y = 19,256x - 0,2866
3,5

3
Dx [cm /s]
2

2,5

1,5

0,5

0
0 0,05 0,1 0,15 0,2 0,25 0,3
2
Af /g

Figure 5.20 Dx is plotted against the dimensionless amplitude, a linear fit is made of the data
points.

5.7.7 Grate B- influence of grate construction


The wavelike appearance of the diffusion coefficients seen in the previous figures are caused
by instabilities of the grate design. If a drawing of the grate construction is superimposed on
the surface plot of Dx it can be seen that the diffusion is higher in between the reinforcement
bars (Figure 5.21). Instead of reaching a maximum value along the centre of the grate the
maximum value is reached in the centre of each construction cell. This shows that the results
are very sensitive to the design of the rig. This is also one of the major conclusions from this
set of experiments; the diffusion coefficient is highly dependent on the grate system and grate
construction. Other conclusions are the dependency on frequency and amplitude; the
diffusion coefficient is increasing with increasing frequency and amplitude. Also, the depth
of the particle layer is of great importance, an increased value of the diffusion coefficient is
related to a decreased particle depth. It has been concluded that there is no major discrepancy
between the diffusion across (y-direction) and along (x-direction) the grate.

69
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 5.21 A surface plot of Dx for a frequency of 11 Hz and an amplitude of 4 mm, the
units on the scale on the right hand side are in mm2/s.

5.7.8 Results grate C


Figure 5.22 shows the outline of the grate where the positions along and across the grate from
where the results are presented are marked. The dashed rectangle represents the area covered
by the camera and as is shown, not the entire grate is captured. The test square is used to
calculate a mean diffusion coefficient, which is described in section 5.7.11.

X = 329 mm
X = 128 mm X = 528 mm

y = 818 mm

Test y = 532 mm
square
inlet

y = 267 mm

x
Flow direction

Figure 5.22 Outline of the grate that shows the points from where the results are taken. The
dashed area represents the region covered by the camera.

70
Chapter 5: Experimental work

5.7.9 Grate C- variation of Dx and Dy along the grate


When studying the diffusion along the grate it can be seen that Dx decreases with the distance
from the inlet. For 13 Hz Dx has a value of 0.06cm2/s at the inlet which decreases to
0.005cm2/s 400mm from the inlet (Figure 5.23), thereafter the value again slightly increases.
This is the opposite results to what was shown for grate B, where the diffusion coefficient
was increasing towards the outlet. The explanation has to do with the way the vibration is
introduced to the grate. Since the grate is only vibrating in one end (at the inlet) the impact of
the vibrating movement will decrease with the distance from the inlet. The vibrations are so
more intense and have larger amplitude at the start of the grate and therefore cause larger
mixing of the particles.

When visually observing the movements of the particles it could be seen that a mixing
process only occurred in the very start of the grate while nearly no impact of the vibrations
could be seen close to the outlet. The reason why the diffusion coefficient increases again
after 400mm from the inlet has probably to do with the problem of getting the particles off
the grate. Since the edge of the grate prevented the particles from falling off the particles at
the end were manually, with a hand, pushed off (Figure 5.24). The picture also shows how a
pile of particles is built up halfway to the outlet. The reason for this is most likely the low
impact of the vibration away from the inlet which is not strong enough to move the particles
further towards the outlet. The diffusion coefficient is overall very low and the major
transportation of the particles is in the form of a uniform horizontal velocity. The dependency
of the y-position of Dx is not very significant.

Dx along the grate at different y positions


0.08

y = 214 mm
0.07 y = 414 mm
y = 614 mm
0.06

0.05
Dx [cm /s]
2

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
x [mm]

Figure 5.23 Dx along the bed at different y positions for a frequency of 13 Hz and an
amplitude of 6 mm.

71
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Grate seen from the side Grate seen from the exit

Pile built up Bar preventing


particles from falling off
the grate

Figure 5.24 The unevenness of the grate is illustrated by showing the pile built up at one of
the sides

Despite the lower value close to the inlet, the diffusion coefficient in the y-direction is of
similar magnitude to that in the x-direction, ranging from 0.015 cm2/s to 0.065cm2/s. The
value of Dy also decreases towards the end of the grate. For 13Hz Dy is 0.06 cm2/s close to
the inlet, then decreases to 0.005cm2/s at 700 mm from the inlet (Figure 5.25). This is also an
effect of the more intense vibrations at the start of the grate. In contrast to the low
dependency of the y-position of Dx, Dy seems to a higher degree depend on the y-position on
the grate.

Up to 200 mm from the inlet the diffusion closer to the edges is larger than in the centre. This
behaviour is explained by the location of the feeding box, being placed in the centre of the
grate and leaving areas next to the edges of the grate without feeding of new particles. The
result is a lower particle layer close to the grate edges than in the centre, which enhances the
transportation of particles towards this low-concentration region. The reason why the value
of Dy is not symmetrical, the value is higher closer to one edge (y = 267mm) than the other
(y = 818mm), is explained by the distortion of the grate. As described in 5.1 the vibration
system was worn out with an unsymmetrical vibration movement as consequence. A larger
diffusion coefficient in y-direction closer to one edge is in accordance with Figure 5.24.

72
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Dy along the grate at different y positions


0.07

0.06

0.05
Dy [cm /s]

0.04
2

0.03

0.02

y = 214 mm
0.01 y = 414 mm
y = 614 mm
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
x [mm]

Figure 5.25 Dy along the bed at different y positions for a frequency of 13 Hz and an
amplitude of 6mm.

5.7.10 Grate C- variation of Dx and Dy across the grate


The diffusion in the x-direction is nearly constant across the grate, the difference of the
values depend on the x position (Figure 5.26) with a higher value close to the inlet. On the
other hand Dy varies significantly across the grate, reaching the lowest value, 0.01cm2/s in the
centre (y = 450mm) and increasing up to 0.06cm2/s towards the edges (Figure 5.27). The
result is in accordance with the previous discussion of the variation along the grate.

Particles from the centre of the grate will spread to the areas in the corners not covered by the
feeding system, where particle concentration is lower. This shows again that the diffusion is
favoured by a low particle density. Low particle density gives a higher freedom of motion
which results in larger displacements of the particles and so a higher diffusion coefficient.

It was earlier in this section concluded that the major transportation of particles along the
grate was by a horizontal velocity. This theory is strengthened by Figure 5.28 where the mean
velocities in x- and y-directions are plotted against the length of the grate. The mean velocity
in x-direction, U, is around 910-3 close to the inlet and decreasing to 510-3 at the outlet.
The mean velocity in y-direction, V, is 410-3 m/s, with an outward direction, close to the
edges and zero in the centre at the inlet of the grate and then decreasing to zero at a distance
250 mm from the inlet. After that position V reaches a value of 110-3 m/s with the same
direction, downward over the entire grate. The values of the velocities are in accordance with
the calculated diffusion coefficients, and also show the distortion of the grate, causing a net
movement of the particles towards one side.

73
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Dx across the grate at different x positions


0.07
x = 128 mm
x = 329 mm
0.06 x = 528 mm

0.05
Dx [cm /s]
2

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
y [mm]

Figure 5.26 Dx across the bed at different y positions for a frequency of 13 Hz and an
amplitude of 6mm.

D y across the grate at different x positions


0.08
x = 128 mm
0.07 x = 329 mm
x = 528 mm
0.06

0.05
Dyy [cm /s]
2

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
y [mm]

Figure 5.27 Dy across the bed at different y positions for a frequency of 13 Hz and an
amplitude of 6mm.

74
Chapter 5: Experimental work

-3 -3
x 10 U along the grate at different y positions x 10 V along the grate at different y positions
11 5
y = 214 mm y = 214 mm
4
10 y = 414 mm y = 414 mm
y = 614 mm 3 y = 614 mm
9
2

8 1
U [m/s]

V [m/s]
0
7
-1
6
-2

5 -3

-4
4
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
-5
x [mm] 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
x [mm]

Figure 5.28 The velocities in x- and y-directions, U and V respectively, are plotted against
the length of the grate

5.7.11 Grate C- dependency on frequency


In order to investigate the diffusion coefficients dependency on the frequency a small square
of the size 172mm x 143mm (marked in Figure 5.22) in the middle of the grate was observed
and the mean diffusion coefficient for that area calculated. The choice of observing just a
small region of the grate was made to avoid the large fluctuations of the diffusion coefficient
occurring along the edges of the grate in particular and thereby achieve a more accurate mean
value. The result showed that the diffusion coefficient increases with the frequency
(Figure 5.29). This was done for all image series for each tested frequency and it can be seen
that except for the highest frequency, 15Hz, the variation between the different series is
small. This means that the results from the different image series are consistent and verifies
the calculations of the diffusion coefficients where an averaged value of all image series is
used. Furthermore it can be seen that the diffusion coefficient increases with increasing
frequency.

The diffusion coefficient for each test series has been plotted against the dimensionless
amplitude (Figure 5.30), like those of the previous grate experiments. Again, a linear fit was
made to the data but no conclusions can be made due to the lack of consistent data. It is
surprising that the diffusion coefficient for 14 Hz is lower than for 13Hz and the reason is
most likely errors or uncertainties in the measurements.

75
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Average value of Dx and Dy in test square

0.08

0.07

0.06
Dx at 15Hz
Dx/Dy [cm2/s]

0.05 Dx at 12Hz
Dy at 15Hz
0.04
Dy at 12Hz
0.03 Dx at 13Hz
Dy at 13Hz
0.02

0.01

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Picture serie

Figure 5.29 An average value of Dx and Dy taken from a small test square of the grate is
plotted for each taken image series.

0,08

0,07

0,06

0,05
Dx[cm2/s]

y = 1,5097x - 0,061
0,04

0,03

0,02

0,01

0
0,00E+00 1,00E-02 2,00E-02 3,00E-02 4,00E-02 5,00E-02 6,00E-02 7,00E-02 8,00E-02

Af2/g

Figure 5.30 Dx at the test square is plotted against the dimensionless amplitude Af2/g.

76
Chapter 5: Experimental work

5.7.12 Grate C- influence of grate construction


As has been described previously it was observed after some running time that the vibrating
motion was not symmetrically distributed on the grate. There was a tendency for the particles
to move towards one side. This phenomena has been illustrated by introducing a string of
black particles in the centre of the grate and then investigate how they distribute during
vibrations. Figure 5.31 shows the initial distribution of black particles and the distribution
after 25s and 45s. It can clearly be seen that there is not much mixing taking place between
the black and the non-coloured particles. The black particles move more as a uniform mass
towards the left side of the grate. Also the non-coloured particles move in this direction. The
reason for this behaviour is most likely linked to the design of the grate. To let the fixed, non-
vibrating end rest on a long half pipe turned out to be very sensitive. It was observed that the
rear end of the grate was not vibrating and that all particle transportation at that end was due
to pushing by particles coming from the inlet. Due to the grate construction of tubes put
together the particles were mainly moving along the tube lines and did not cross over to the
neighbouring lines.

Initial distribution Distribution after 25s Distribution after 45s

Figure 5.31 Picture series of a black string introduced in the centre of the grate before
starting the vibrations

Additional experiments were carried out with a plane plate placed on top of the grate, with
the purpose of avoiding the effects of the uneven grate surface. The grate was filled with
particles at the start of the vibrations and no feeding of new particles was made. Figure 5.32
shows Dx and Dy for the case with a plate and without a plate along the grate (y = 414mm)
and across the grate (x =329mm). Along the grate the diffusion coefficient close to the inlet
(up to x = 200mm) is much higher for the case with a plane plate. The value of Dy is slightly
higher than for Dx but decreases in an identical manner. The reason for the decrease in the
diffusion coefficient at the end of the grate is probably because the grate at this position is
empty of particles which give them a higher mobility. Across the grate the diffusion
coefficient is higher close to the edges for the case with a plate. For Dy the values are slightly
higher across the whole grate while for Dx the value is the same in the middle of the grate
independent of if there is a plate or not. This shows that the diffusion coefficient across the
grate most likely is inhibited by the unevenness of the water tubes of which the grate consists.
The conclusion is that the grate surface is of importance when determining the diffusion
coefficient and the present grate surface reduces the diffusion across the grate due to the
tubes.

77
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Dx along the grate at different y positions


Dx across the grate at different x positions
1.4
0.9
plate plate
no plate no plate
1.2 0.8

0.7
1
0.6

0.8
Dx [cm2/s]

Dx [cm2/s]
0.5

0.6 0.4

0.3
0.4
0.2

0.2 0.1

0
0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
y [mm]
x [mm]

Dy across the grate at different x positions


Dy along the grate at different y positions 1.4
1.5 plate
plate
no plate
no plate 1.2

1
1
Dyy [cm2/s]

0.8
Dy [cm2/s]

0.6

0.5
0.4

0.2

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0
x [mm] 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
y [mm]

Figure 5.32 Dx and Dy are plotted across and along the grate for the cases of a plate placed
on top of the grate and without a plate.

The experiments were also carried out for an initially empty grate and for an initially filled
grate regarding particles. The results of Dx and Dy across and along the grate at a frequency
of 15Hz are shown in Figure 5.33. There is not a great discrepancy between the two different
cases. The explanation is that the images are taken after some time of running when the
initially empty grate has been filled with particles. Since there is such a slow movement of
the particles at a short distance from the inlet, the grate is reasonably quickly filled up with
particles and the particle layer increases as more particles are fed onto the grate. For Dx the
diffusion for an initially empty grate is more oscillating with some distinctive peaks at x =
300 mm and x = 500 mm. This might be a consequence of a lower particle layer which gives
a higher probability of particle movement and so a higher diffusion coefficient.

78
Chapter 5: Experimental work

Dx along the grate at different y positions Dx across the grate at different x positions
0.12 0.25
filled grate filled grate
empty grate empty grate
0.1
0.2

0.08
0.15
Dx [cm2/s]

Dx [cm2/s]
0.06

0.1
0.04

0.05
0.02

0 0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
x [mm] y [mm]

Dy along the grate at different y positions Dy across the grate at different x positions
0.04 0.08
filled grate
filled grate
empty grate
0.035 0.07 empty grate

0.03 0.06

0.025 0.05
Dy [cm2/s]
Dy [cm2/s]

0.02 0.04

0.015 0.03

0.01 0.02

0.005 0.01
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800
x [mm] y [mm]

Figure 5.33 Dx and Dy are plotted across and along the grate for the cases of an initially
filled grate and an initially empty grate regarding particles.

5.8 Comparison between the experiments


It has been shown that the diffusion coefficients are strongly dependent on the grate design
and the way the vibrations are imposed. The difference between grate A and grate B is that
the grate movement is more harmonic for the latter grate which gives a more realistic
situation. The reason for trying rig C was to avoid the stiffness problems of the construction
bars. This was succeeded since the movement became more uniform throughout the grate.
However, the vibration system on grate C turned out to be more sensitive and it was very
difficult to achieve some consistent data. The grate had problems with distortion which can
also be seen in the results. For grates A and B, Dx and Dy were more or less identical while a
difference could be noted for grate C. One reason is that the feeding of particles did not
cover the entire side of the grate, leaving areas next to the edges with a lower particle
concentration which led to a higher diffusion in the y-direction. The use of a panel wall as
grate makes the surface uneven and the particles tend to move along the tubes rather than
crossing them. It seems like by using a water cooled panel wall as grate gives a more stiff
construction but there is a problem by only letting one end of the grate vibrate and keeping
the other fixed. It means that only the first part of the grate is affected by the vibration and the
particle movement at the end of the grate is very slow. This might be a minor problem during

79
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

combustion since the particles mainly are burnt in a region at the start of the grate and only
ash, which is much lighter and easier to transport, remains at the end of the grate.

For all three grates the diffusion coefficient is increasing with increasing frequency and
amplitude. The relation between the diffusion coefficient and dimensionless amplitude for
each grate has been collected in Figure 5.34. Due to a wide spread of data no conclusions can
be made. It can be seen that for grate C a higher vibration frequency is required compared to
the other grates to set the particles in motion and so achieve a diffusion coefficient larger than
zero. This agrees with the experimental experiences where a higher inertia of setting the
particles into motion was observed for grate C.

450

400
y = 27675x - 30.589

350

300

250
Diffusion [cm /s]
2

Spheres
Cylinders
200
Linear (Spheres)
Linear (Cylinders)
150

100

y = 2564.1x + 4.4564
50

0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01 0.012 0.014 0.016

-50
2
Af /g

Grate A
0.08
5

4.5 0.07

4 y = 19.256x - 0.2866
0.06

3.5

0.05
3
y = 1.5097x - 0.061
Dx [cm /s]

Dx[cm /s]
2

2.5 0.04

2
0.03

1.5

0.02
1

0.5 0.01

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08
Af2/g
Af2/g

Grate B Grate C
Figure 5.34 The relation between the diffusion coefficient and dimensionless amplitude for
grates A, B and C.

There is a great variation of the order of magnitude of the diffusion coefficient for the grate
designs tested. The diffusion coefficients for grate A are 100 times larger than for the values
of grate B which in turn are 100 times larger than values of grate C.

5.9 Comparison to literature


No similar experiments of vibrating grates have been found in literature. However, extensive
work has been carried out within granular material (chapter 4). In 5.9.1 a comparison is made

80
Chapter 5: Experimental work

between the results from grate B and a theoretical diffusion coefficient derived by Hisau and
Hunt (1992). Yang et al (2005) have performed experimental work do find a diffusion
coefficient for waste on a travelling grate. Despite two different types of grates; vibrating
grate and travelling grate, the methodology is similar and a comparison between the values of
the calculated diffusion coefficients are made in 5.9.2.

5.9.1 Comparison with theoretical diffusion coefficient


When studying the theoretical diffusion coefficient by Hisau and Hunt (Eq. 4.5) it is clear
that the parameter that has greatest influence is the solid fraction. A lower solid fraction gives
a higher diffusion coefficient because the free paths of the particles are larger and the
particles thereby become more movable. This agrees with the conclusion drawn, earlier in
this chapter: the bed height is of great importance. A smaller bed height gives a larger void
and lower solid fraction during the vibrations and so a higher diffusion coefficient. An
attempt has been made to compare the theoretical diffusion coefficient by Hisau and Hunt
with the calculated diffusion coefficient from grate B. It should be emphasized though that
this is only a rough comparison since there are so many discrepancies regarding such as
particle shape, particle size and lack of information about bed expansion during the
experiments.

d ( )
1/ 2

D= (4.5)
8 (1 + e p ) g 0 ( )

The function g 0 ( ) is evaluated from the Carnahan and Starlings approximation for
molecular gases (1969):

2
g 0 ( ) = (5.1)
2(1 )3

The definition of the kinetic temperature, , is:

u '2 + v '2 + w '2


= (4.6)
3

As comparison, the calculated diffusion coefficient from the experimental work is defined as:

s2
D= (4.8)
2t

Since s is the standard deviation of the velocity fluctuations, the experimental diffusion
coefficient is proportional to the velocity fluctuations squared. The theoretical diffusion
coefficient, however, is directly proportional to the velocity fluctuations.

To calculate the theoretical diffusion coefficient, parameters like void fraction on the grate
and coefficient of restitution for wood pellets are needed. The void fraction at rest is

81
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

estimated to 0.5 and since the expansion is fairly low the same value has been used for the
calculations. The coefficient of restitution is set to 0.95. This is only an estimation not based
on any specific measurements but the choice of the coefficient of restitution is not of great
importance for the results which can be seen in Eq. (4.5), the void fraction is more important
due to the third power influence.

When calculating the granular temperature the velocity fluctuations are used. These values
are taken from the standard deviation of the velocity from the taken image series during the
experimental work. The two different calculations are based on the same parameters and the
results show that the velocity fluctuations are the determining values for the diffusion
coefficient. When calculating the theoretical diffusions coefficient different values of the
solid fraction are tested. It can be seen that for lower frequencies and amplitudes a higher
value of the solid fraction fits better to the experimental diffusion coefficient. For a higher
frequency and amplitude the movement of the particles is greater with a larger bed expansion
which gives a lower solid fraction. It can also be seen that the theoretical diffusion
coefficient close to the outlet fits better to the calculated value at a lower solid fraction. This
agrees well with the observations made during the experimental work; the particle depth
decreases towards the outlet which means a higher particle motion and so a lower solid
fraction.

As a result of the comparison it could be concluded that the theoretical diffusion coefficient
can be used in order to calculate the void fraction. The relation between the diffusion
coefficient and porosity of the bed is interesting since the porosity is the connection point
between the gas phase and solid phase. This would be very useful when simulating the gas
phase and a further investigation is recommended.

82
Chapter 5: Experimental work

f=20Hz, A=6mm f=20Hz, A=3mm

f=11Hz, A=6mm f=11Hz, A=3mm

Figure 5.35 Dx from grate two is plotted against the length of the grate for some different
combinations of frequencies and amplitudes. In each plot theoretical diffusion coefficient is
added for a range of chosen solid fractions to investigate what choice of solid fraction that
best fits to the experimental results.

5.9.2 Comparison to experiments by Yang et al.


The values of the diffusion coefficient by Yang et al. are of a wide spread in their results,
similar to that measured in this work. A difference is that for a vibrating grate it seems like
Dx and Dy are of the same order of magnitude while for a travelling grate Dx is larger than Dy.
This implies that the mixing of the fuel is greater along the grate than across for a travelling
grate which is connected to the grate design. There is not much of mechanical movement of a
travelling grate that can force particles to move across the grate. However, for a vibrating
grate the particles are affected by a stronger mechanical force resulting in spreading the
particles in all directions. The stronger effect of the vibrating grate on the particles is also
illustrated by the much higher value of diffusion coefficients compared to a travelling grate.

83
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

The comparison emphasises the large dependency the grate type has on the diffusion of the
particles. It shows that it is very important to adjust the diffusion coefficient according to the
type of equipment used.

Test Dx Dy
Yang scale model
0.0005 0.06 cm2/s 0.0003 0.0032 cm2/s
tests
Yang Real furnace
0.45 -1.82 cm2/s 0.0685 0.38 cm2/s
test
Grate A 5.4 400 cm2/s* -
2
Grate B 0.5 6.5 cm /s 0.5 6.5 cm2/s
Grate C 0.0015-0.08 cm2/s 0.0015-0.08 cm2/s
* The diffusion coefficient was assumed to be isotropic over the grate
Table 5.8 Comparison of diffusion coefficient from grate A, B and C and work by Yang et.
al.(2005).

5.10 Experiences from an industrial vibrating grate

When comparing the test grates to an industrial designed grate there are several aspects to
consider. An industrial grate does normally consist of a water cooled panel wall like test rig
number three. The motion mechanism is different in the way it moves more up and forward
instead of just up and down as the test rig (Figure 5.36). This will cause a more distinctive
horizontal velocity of the particles. How the mixing look like on an industrial grate has not
been fully investigated. The reason for the specific design is more a result of operation
experience and a practical mechanical solution.

As an example of an industrial vibrating grate, a grate manufactured by the company


Babcock & Vilcox Vlund has been chosen. The information is based on personal
communication with company employee, Jrgen Hansen, March 3rd 2006. The grate is
constructed by sections of panel walls (normally two or four) mounted together. The panels
are placed at an angle of 6 and each section is set into vibration by a linkage connected to a
motor. The movement of the grate will be up and forward with a frequency of around 6-8 Hz
and amplitude of about 3mm. The choice of amplitude and frequency are based on tests and
estimations of the residence time of the fuel on the grate. The vibration cycle is normally 15s
vibration every 5 minutes or 5s every 40 minutes. The vibrations transport the fuel from the
inlet to the ash pit, and for good efficiency it is essential that the ash is completely burned
when leaving the grate. The vibration also mixes the fuel and prevents agglomeration of the
fuel particles, it arranges the fuel evenly across the surface and separates lumps, so that fresh
fuel surfaces are exposed to heat and oxygen.

There are two different ways of introducing the fuel on the grate; the fuel can be thrown in, a
so called suspension firing or pushed in by pushers or screws. An advantage with throwing in
the fuel is that the fuel is burnt in suspension which gives a higher effect per unit area of the
grate. The ash pit is located on the same side as the fuel is introduced. The biggest particles
are ending at the far end, giving them longer time to burn. This is the dominating type of
feeding system for vibrating grates. However, grates that are intended to burn straw are
equipped with a feeding system with pusher or screws. The reason is that straw can not be

84
Chapter 5: Experimental work

fired in suspension. When using suspension firing it is optimal to have a certain particle size
distribution, e.g. wood chips, which is not the case for straw. Combustion air is introduced
through holes on the grate. The distribution of holes is determined depending on the
combustion stage at the location. Bigger wholes at the end (8 mm) of the grate, 6,5 mm in the
middle and finer (4,4mm) near the ash to get as good ash burnout as possible.

Figure 5.36 A sketch of an industrial used vibrating grate (Babcock & Wilcox Vlund).

Not much is known of what the transportation of the particles looks like on the grate. By
watching the end of the grate, just before the ash pit it was observed that this part was not
affected by the vibrations of the grate. No movement of the fuel could be seen, but during the
vibrations flames were intensified and lumps of burned straw were thrown towards this part.

A problem with vibrating grates is that emission peaks of CO frequently occur. This is
particularly a problem when firing light types of fuel, since they move too easily during
vibrations. The problems can be solved by minimizing the time of vibration. However, there
is a natural minimum time due to starting up and shutting down of the driving motor. The
peaks are not necessarily caused by the vibrations. There is a theory that they are formed
when a large section of fresh fuel lands on the grate and the available amount of O2 is not
sufficient for a complete combustion. The peaks can partly be avoided by adjusting the
secondary air. The development of a bed model able to catch these peaks would be very
valuable for the work to control and decrease the CO emissions. The aim of this research
work is to gain knowledge so that such a bed model can be realized.

5.11 Future investigations

In order to fully understand the diffusion process on a vibrating grate it would be interesting
to study the conditions in a real scale furnace. This is a challenging task since the bed is
difficult to access with measurement instruments. But since the results show a great

85
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

dependency of the chosen vibrating system, real scale experiments are vital. It is also
necessary to look further into the vertical vibration process. According to theory of granular
material the diffusion is highest in the direction of vibration which in this case is the vertical
direction. It has been found that the bed height is of great importance when determining the
diffusion coefficient and further studies need to be undertaken regarding how, more exactly,
the diffusion coefficient depend on the bed height.

5.12 Conclusion / Summary

The large difference of diffusion coefficient in the different experiments means that a
theoretical diffusion coefficient will be difficult to derive. Instead the best way would be to
determine the diffusion coefficient experimentally or empirically. It is clear that the diffusion
coefficient should vary with the location in the bed and with the intensity of the vibrations.
The nature of this variation will most likely look the same independently of the grate system,
and has been examined and presented in this chapter. The major findings from the
experimental work are:

Dx and Dy are of the same magnitude.

Grate construction and vibrating system is of great importance for the diffusion
coefficient.

Dx and Dy increases with increasing frequency and amplitude.

Dx and Dy increases with decreasing particle thickness.

There is also a possibility that the combustion process will have an effect on the diffusion
coefficient. However, by studying the behaviour of particle transportation with no
combustion taken place, the overall mechanisms can be identified and quantified. Knowing
these mechanisms will be of significant help when, in the future, investigating the mixing
process of fuel in a burning bed.

86
Chapter 6: Modelling work

6 Modelling work
The overall aim of the modeling work is to develop a bed model, in
three dimensions, for a vibrating grate that describes the process in the
fuel bed. Most of previous work in developing a bed model for biomass
has been focused on the combustion chemistry, and not on the mixing of
the fuel. For a vibrating grate the motion of the fuel plays an important
role for the combustion process, in particular for the creation of
unwanted CO peaks during the vibration period. Therefore, it is also
important that the bed model takes the mixing process into account. An
example of such a model is presented in this chapter. The work focuses
on how best to incorporate the diffusion and velocity components into
the model, when combustion is not taking place. This chapter will
describe the model idea and structure. Finally, the modelling results will
be presented and analysed.

87
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

6.1 Model structure

Combustion of straw on a vibrating grate is a very complicated process governed by a large


number of differential equations that need to be solved. The different stages during
combustion have been described in previous chapters and all need to be investigated and
modeled in order to accurately capture the process. Apart from the combustion process itself,
there are many other factors that influence the process on the grate. Factors such as airflow,
particle agglomeration, channel formations inside the bed and mixing of the fuel. Two phases
are involved in the combustion process, a solid phase and a gas phase. Heat and oxygen from
the gas phase are provided to the solid phase so that conversion can take place. Reaction
products and reaction heat are, in turn, released to the gas phase where further reaction takes
place.

In this work the focus has been on developing a bed model that accounts for the mixing of the
fuel. The modeling work only considers the gas phase and solid phase when no combustion is
taking place. Without combustion the system can be seen as a porous structure of solid
particles through which a gas flows. To simplify the calculations, the model has been divided
into a solid and a gas phase that will be solved separately (Figure 6.1). The gas phase makes
use of Darcys law and treats the bed as a porous media. In the solid phase the transport
equation is solved for the fuel components. The average velocity of the fuel on the grate is
predetermined and based on the feeding velocity and also on the vibration movements. The
mixing effect of the vibrations is incorporated by the diffusion coefficient. The two phases
will be described in more details in next two sections.

GAS PHASE SOLID PHASE


porosity

Erguns Eq. Predetermined horizontal velocity.


/Continuity Eq. Vibrations

Experiments
Gas Diffusion
Pressure Particle
velocity Coefficient
velocity

Diffusion

Conservation Eq. for species Time

Figure 6.1 Structure of the bed model showing the different parts of the gas and solid phases.

88
Chapter 6: Modelling work

6.2 Gas phase

In previous bed models, described in chapter 3, the Navier-Stokes equations are used to solve
the velocity field of the gas phase in the bed. Thus, the velocity and pressure are coupled and
the solving requires an iterative process like the SIMPLE or SIMPLER algorithms (Versteeg
et al., 1995). In this work another approach is applied where the bed is treated as a porous
media and Darcys law is applied to model the gas flow. The advantage of using this
approach is that no iteration has to be undertaken to calculate the pressure and velocity, thus
the calculations become simplified and the computational time shortened. To calculate the
pressure through the bed Erguns equation is used (Bird et al., 2002):

u (1 ) 2 7 u 2 (1 )
P = 150 2 + (6.1)
D p 4 D p 3
3

Where P [Pa/m] is the pressure drop over the bed, [kg/ms] the dynamic viscosity, the
bed porosity, Dp [m] the effective particle diameter, [kg/m3] the density and u [m/s] is the
gas velocity.

To simplify the calculations Erguns equation is rewritten in the following form:


P = u (6.2)

Where,
Dp 2 3
= (6.3)
150 (1 )2

7 1 (1 )
= (6.4)
4 Dp 3

1
u '
= 1 +

(6.5)

In Eq. (6.5) , u ' [m/s] represents the velocity from previous time step. Eq. (6.2), together
with the ideal gas law, is inserted into the continuity equation (6.6), which leads to Eq. (6.7):


+ div ( u ) = 0 (6.6)
t

1 P
div P = 0 (6.7)
RT t

This equation is equivalent to an ordinary diffusion equation and is discretised and solved
using the finite volume method. The programming language Fortran is used for the

89
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

calculations and the program structure is shown in Figure 5.2. The coupling between the solid
and gas phase will be through the porosity of the bed. With a generated porosity field, based
on the process in the solid phase, the pressure drop over the bed can easily be calculated by
Eq. (6.7). The velocity field of the bed is then obtained by Eq. (6.2).

Grid

Set.coefficients B.C

Calc.pressure

Calc.velocity

No
Converged?

Yes

No
t = tend?

Yes

Post
processing

Figure 5.2 Flow chart for the gas phase model.

6.2.1 Porosity
It is not immediately evident as to how the porosity in the model should be described. For the
case of no combustion, when the bed is treated as a porous bed, the porosity can be set to a
constant value. However, the porosity in the bed will depend on the combustion process and
type of fuel and possibly also on the grate movement. During combustion, the fuel particles
will shrink and the structure will change, to become more porous. This will affect the
porosity of the bed and the value of the porosity should thereby change depending on the
position along the grate.

6.2.2 Test of Erguns equation


In order to find out whether Erguns equation is an accurate approach for the description of
the pressure gradient versus the velocity, some experimental work has been carried out. A test
rig consisting of a vertical pipe connected to a fan was set up (Figure 6.3). A grate was placed
horizontally in the pipe and filled with a 20 cm thick layer of wood pellets. The pressure drop
over the bed and the velocity through the bed were measured while air was flowing through
the pipe. Two different sizes of pellets were used, with lengths of approximately 2 cm and
3 cm. The diameter was 0.8 cm for both cases. The bulk porosity was measured to 0.48 for

90
Chapter 6: Modelling work

the shorter pellets and to 0.53 for the longer ones. The viscosity and density were set to
1.8110-5 kg/m s and 1.19 kg/m3 respectively.

Pellets, length 2cm Pellets, length 3 cm

Porosity
0.48 0.53

Viscosity
1.8110-5 m2/s 1.8110-5 m2/s

P
Density
1.19 Kg/m3 1.19 Kg/m3

Vair

Figure 6.3 Set-up for tests of Erguns equation and parameters used for calculations.

Each test sequence started out with a very low air velocity, the velocity was then increased
continuously until the pellets started to move. At each velocity a corresponding pressure drop
was noted. Finally, the experimental results were compared to the values obtained from
calculations by the Ergun equation. Results from the experiments with a pellet length of
2 cm are shown in Figure 6.4. It can be seen that the measured values follow the same trend
as the calculated ones, but they are of a larger magnitude. An Iris shutter, with an uncertainty
of 7%, was used to measure the velocity through the bed. This is marked in the figure as
lower and upper uncertainty limits for the calculations with Erguns equation. Errors could
also have been introduced by difficulties in keeping the test rig air-tight, which might have
affected the values of the pressure drop. However, the results give a rough indication of that
Erguns equation is suitable to use for the calculation of gas flow through the bed.

It was observed that, at a certain velocity, the pellets at the top of the bed started to become
airborne. As the velocity was further increased a larger part of the bed was set in motion and
the pressure and velocity started to fluctuate. This break point can be seen in Figure 6.4 at
the velocity of 2 m/s, the experimental values do not longer follow the calculated ones. Since
the pellets start to move, the porosity will change and Erguns equation will thereby be
affected. The movements of the particles lead to a higher porosity which according to the
Ergun equation leads to a lower pressure drop (Eq. 6.1). This is also what the experimental
results show, a drop in the pressure drop, when the particles become airborne.

91
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Pellet Length 2 cm

1400.0

1200.0

1000.0
Pressure drop, Pa

800.0

600.0

400.0
Experiments
200.0 Ergun's Eq.
Upper/lower uncertainty limit
0.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
Velocity, m/s
Figure 6.4 Comparison between measured pressure drop and pressure drop
calculated by Erguns equation. .

6.3 Solid phase

When modeling the solid phase, the conservation equation for species is used:

Yi
+ div ( Yi u ) = div ( DgradYi ) + S y (6.8)
t

Where [kg/m3] is the density, u [m/s] the velocity tensor and D[m2/s] is the diffusion
coefficient. Yi represents the mass fraction of the different components of the solid material,
i.e. volatiles, char and ash. The source term on the right hand side, Sy, represents the change
of the components due to the chemical reactions taking place during combustion. A challenge
when modeling the solid phase is to capture the mixing of the fuel. The calculation of the fuel
transportation is simplified by separating the convection and diffusion mechanisms. The
convection mechanism is seen as the mean movement of particles on the grate, represented
by the velocity u along the grate and v across the grate. As a first assumption the horizontal
velocity is considered to be constant and calculated by using a constant fuel feeding velocity.
However, during the experimental work it was observed that the vibrations also give a
convective contribution, and that the mean velocity should be a function of the position on
the grate. This is not an easy modification of the model since when choosing and defining the

92
Chapter 6: Modelling work

velocity it is important to make sure that the continuity equation is obeyed. A more detailed
discussion of how to represent the convective distribution to the model is given later in this
chapter, in the result section.

The effect of the vibrations on the particles is represented by the diffusion term, D, in
Eq. (6.8). This is the same approach as Yang et al. (2002) have used in their bed model for
combustion of waste, FLIC, with a successful result (see chapter 3 for more information).
The diffusion coefficient is based on the kinetic theory of gases and defined as the deviation
from the mean movement of the particles (Eq. 4.8). A vibrating grate normally operates such
that there is a few seconds vibration followed by a period at rest. The diffusion coefficient
will therefore get a step like appearance, with a constant value during the period of vibration
and a value of zero at the time at rest (Figure 6.5).

Diffusion

Time

Figure 6.5 Picture of the envisaged appearance of the diffusion coefficient

The experimental work, described in chapter 5, has been used to investigate the diffusion
coefficient. It was then concluded that the value of the diffusion coefficient depends on the
type of grate used and also of the thickness of the particle layer. The implementation of the
diffusion coefficient in the model should therefore be made in a way that these observations
can be incorporated in the model. To meet these requirements the diffusion coefficient is on
matrix form, with a separate value for each computational cell and set at each time step. The
finite volume method is used to solve the equations and the program structure is shown
below.

93
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

SET CONSTANTS

CREATE GRID

t = t+t SET VELOCITIES

SET DIFF. COEFF.


Guess Y

SET COEFFICIENTS SET BC

SOLVE I
TDMA
SOLVE J

Converged ?

NO
YES
UPDATE BOUNDARIES

POST PROCESSING

t = t_end ?

NO
YES
END

Figure 6.6 Program structure for the solid phase model.

6.4 The Finite Volume Method

The computational domain is divided into discrete control volumes as shown in Figure 6.7.

Figure 6.7 A discrete control volume used in the FVM.

94
Chapter 6: Modelling work

When solving the equations an ADI (Alternating Direction Implicit) method is used. The ADI
solver makes use of the TDMA (Tri Diagonal Matrix Algorithm) method, where the
discretised equation is set on a tri- diagonal matrix and solved iteratively. The equation
system is thereafter solved sweeping south-north/north-south or west-east/east-west. By using
the ADI solver the sweeping direction is alternating throughout the iteration.

6.5 Test cases

To examine how the numerical model works a few different test cases have been set up and
run. The main obstacles and difficulties are how to represent the velocities and the diffusion
coefficient in the bed. This section will focus on how the choice of these specific parameters
influences the outcome from the model. The geometry of the test cases is shown in Figure
6.8. The size of the grate is 800 mm1200 mm and the fuel is fed onto the grate through two
inlets, each 100 mm wide. The reason for choosing this specific geometry is that it
corresponds to the geometry of test facilities used later in this chapter. The positions from
where the modeling results are taken are marked in the picture. Here, Y in the transport
equation represents the fraction of a cell filled with particles. A value of unity means that the
cell is completely filled with particles and a zero value means an empty cell. According to
this definition, the transport equation illustrates the spreading of particles on the grate.
Boundary conditions of type Neuman are set for all walls except for the one where the
feeding takes place. For this wall, a Dirichlet boundary condition is applied with the
concentration of unity at the inlets and zero elsewhere.

1 2 3
X = 300mm X = 600mm X = 900mm

100 mm

y = 400mm
290 mm 1
800 mm

100 mm 2 y = 210mm

y = 80mm
3

1200 mm

Figure 6.8 The geometry of the grate used for the test cases, the dashed lines represent the
positions from where the results are taken.

First grid dependence and time dependence tests have been performed. These calculations
were carried out for a constant velocity and constant diffusion coefficient all over the bed.
The velocity was set to 0.001 m/s and the diffusion coefficient to 310-4 m2/s. The vertical

95
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

velocity is set to zero and the density is set to 650 kg/m3. Only one inlet was modeled,
covering the entire left side of the grate. The test showed that the solution is grid independent
for a mesh size of 2020 cells and time independent with a time step smaller than 1.0 s
(Figure 6.9). For the following calculations the mesh is set to 8080 cells and the time step to
1.0 s. This choice is made to get a smooth resolution and reasonable computational time.

(a)

(b)
Figure 6.9 Concentration is plotted against the length of the grate for different time steps (a)
and different mesh sizes (b).

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Chapter 6: Modelling work

Four different cases have been tested and analysed (Table 6.1). As a first case the velocity
and diffusion coefficient were set to be constant over the grate. Some different values of the
diffusion coefficient and velocity are tested and so is the effect of the vibration sequence. The
second and third test cases aim to investigate the effect of a varying value of the diffusion
coefficient and velocity respectively. Finally a test case based on observations from a test rig
is set up and compared to the real case.

Test case Diffusion coefficient Velocity


1 Constant Constant
2 Varying Constant
3 Constant Varying
4 Based on real case conditions Based on real case conditions
Table 6.1 Description of the different test cases

6.5.1 Test case 1 constant velocity and diffusion coefficient


The first test case involves the simplest set-up with a constant diffusion coefficient
throughout the bed and a constant horizontal velocity equal to the feeding velocity. Some
different values of the velocity and diffusion coefficient are tested to see how the model
responds to certain combinations. It was observed that the solution, independently of the
chosen combination, reaches steady state after sufficiently long time. Figure 6.10 shows the
spreading of the particles for two different feeding velocities; 0.001m/s and 0.01m/s. The
value of the diffusion coefficient is based on the experimental work on test rig B and set to
310-4 m2/s. The vibration sequence is set to 20 seconds of rest followed by 5 seconds of
vibration. It can be seen that for the higher velocity the convection becomes dominating and
the concentration will be higher at positions in level with the feeding inlets. For the lower
velocity the concentration is spread more evenly across the grate and the time required to
reach the outlet is longer.
U = 0.001 m/s

T = 60 s t = 300 s t = 600 s
U = 0.01 m/s

Figure 6.10 The spreading of the concentration for two different velocities is shown.

97
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

To investigate the effect of the vibration sequence, some different combinations have been
chosen and tested. The combinations are 20 s of rest followed by 5 s of vibration, 20 seconds
of rest followed by 10 s of vibration, 20 s of rest followed by 20s of vibration and finally a
case with constant vibration and no time at rest. The outcome is presented in Figure 6.11
where the concentration is taken at the first position lengthwise and first position across the
grate (Figure 6.8).

(a)

(b)
Figure 6.11 The concentration profile across (a) and along (b) the grate is shown for
different combinations of the vibration sequence and at different times.

98
Chapter 6: Modelling work

By varying the vibration sequence it can be seen that for short intervals of vibration the
convection becomes dominating and the concentration is higher in level with the feeding
lines. For longer periods of vibration the particles have more time to diffuse across the grate
and the concentration is more evenly distributed. After some time, the difference between the
vibration sequences decreases, especially in the centre and close to the side walls.

The relation between convection and diffusion is characterised by the Peclet number:

F u
Pe = = (6.9)
D Dx / x

Where [kg/m3] is the density, u [m/s] is the velocity, Dx [m2/s] and x [m] the
characteristic length (cell width). A high Peclet number means that convection dominates.
When investigating the effect of Peclet number on the concentration field it can be seen that
the steady state solution is the same for a specific Peclet number, independent of the
combination of diffusion coefficient and velocity. The time required to reach steady state
differs depending on the choice of diffusion coefficient and velocity respectively. Some
different values of the Peclet number were chosen and the results of the calculations are
shown in Figure 6.12. All calculations were carried out for a constant vibration. For a high
Peclet number it can be seen that the concentration spreads more in the lengthwise direction,
towards the outlet. For lower Peclet number the concentration spreads more across the grate
resulting in a more even concentration field on the grate.

These findings are, as should be expected, for a diffusion problem and provides useful
information when discussing the appropriate magnitude of the velocity and diffusion
respectively. For optimal combustion, an even concentration profile on the grate is to be
preferred, so the choice of a small Peclet number would be advantageous. On the other hand
it is also necessary to consider the residence time on the grate during combustion, which is
determined by the transportation rate lengthwise. This is done by controlling the feeding
velocity of the fuel and also by adjusting the vibration sequence. In Table 6.2 the different
test parameters used for test case one are summarised.

99
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Position 1

Position 2

Position 3

Figure 6.12 Investigation of the effect of Peclet number on the concentration profile. Three
different positions on the grate are showed.

100
Chapter 6: Modelling work

Change in:
Vibration Peclet
Velocity
sequence number
Mesh size 8080 cells 8080 cells 8080 cells
Time step 1.0s 1.0s 1.0s
0.001m/s
U 0.01m/s
0.01m/s
V 0 m/s 0 m/s 0m/s
Dx 310-4 m2/s 310-4 m2/s
Dy 310-4 m2/s 310-4 m2/s
5
2.5
1.5
Peclet number 0.5
0.5
0.05
0.005
20s/5s
Time at 20s/10s
Const.
rest/Time of 20s /5s 20s/20s
vibration
vibration Const.
vibration
Table 6.2 Table of the different test combinations used for test case one.

6.5.2 Test case 2 varying diffusion coefficient


It was observed, during the experimental work, that the diffusion is not uniform over the
grate, but that it will be a function of the position on the grate and also of the bed height. To
be able to represent an anisotropic diffusion coefficient a separation into a y- and x-
component has been incorporated into the model. Since the model is in two dimensions the
diffusion coefficient will be assumed to increase linearly with the length of the grate,
corresponding to a decreasing bed height. In this test case the transversal diffusion coefficient
(y-direction) is set to 110-3 m2/s and the longitudinal diffusion coefficient (x-direction) is set
to 210-4 m2/s up to a specific point from where it is increasing linearly to a maximum value
of 610-4 m2/s at the end. These values are based on results from the experiments carried out
on test grate B. For both cases the velocity was kept constant, 0.01 m/s, over the whole bed.
Figure 6.13 shows the results where it can be seen that, for the case of an increasing diffusion
coefficient, spreading of the particles are low at the first half of the grate, but much higher at
the end. For the case of constant diffusion, the diffusion pattern of the particles is more
uniform over the entire grate.

101
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Constant diffusion Increasing diffusion towards the outlet


Figure 6.13 The spreading of the concentration profile for two different diffusion set-ups.
One with a constant diffusion over the entire grate and one with an increasing diffusion
towards the outlet.

6.5.3 Test case 3 varying velocity


In previous test cases the velocity is uniform over the entire grate. This is not very realistic
since the horizontal velocity is caused by the feeding of the fuel which only takes place at a
smaller fraction of the inlet wall. The velocity field over the grate, in order to represent the
reality, should be varying across the grate. But if the velocity is a function of position and
time so is the density according to the continuity equation. How such a solution, with variable
velocity field, should be formulated will be discussed later in this section. To start with, the
velocity will be kept constant over the grate but restricted to an area covered by the feeding
lines.

Figure 6.14 Sketch of how the velocity only is set on part of the grate.

Two different inlet velocities are tested, 0.01 m/s and 0.001 m/s. The diffusion coefficient is
set to 110-3 m2/s. The results at three different times for a vibration cycle of 5s of vibration
followed by 20s at rest are shown in Figure 6.15. The higher velocity gives a significantly
faster progression of the concentration. Since there is no convection outside the area of the

102
Chapter 6: Modelling work

inlet lines, the concentration field will exceed the average value of 0.250 that is reached when
velocity is uniform over the entire grate.
u = 0.001m/s
u = 0.01m/s

Time = 60s Time= 300s Time = 600s


Figure 6.15 The spreading of concentration for two different velocities, 0.01m/s and
0.001m/s.

6.5.4 Test case 4 - Comparison to a real case


To increase the understanding of how the velocity profile looks like on a grate, pictures and
film sequences have been collected the modified test grate C, used during the experimental
work. The modification involves a new vibrating system to avoid distortion. The fuel, which
consists of wood pellets, is fed onto the grate by two screws and the grate is vibrating in
intervals of 5s of vibration followed by 5s of rest. When the fuel is fed in, it lands on the grate
under the screws and a particle pile is built up. When the pile reaches a certain height, the
particles on the top start to slide along the edges of the pile, which results in a wider pile. The
feeding also pushes the pile forward, but only for a reasonably small area in front of the inlet.
The overall movement results in an area, 10 to 20 centimeters long spread with an angle of
about 45 relative to the inlet. No other area of the grate is affected by the feeding inlet.
Figure 6.16 shows the distribution of particles on the grate after a few minutes. The pile of
pellets is easy to identify and the sharp gradients are marked with red lines in the figure. It
can also be seen that in the areas in between the inlets and in the corners the particle
concentration becomes low (marked with red circles in the figure).

103
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Figure 6.16 Picture from test rig illustrating the arrangement of particles close to the
feeding.

As soon as the grate starts to vibrate the particle pile is leveled out and the particles distribute
evenly across the grate (Figure 6.17).

Figure 6.17 Picture from test rig illustrating the arrangement of particle close to the feeding
just after a vibration sequence.

It was observed that the level of spreading of the pellets is greatly influenced by the vibration
frequency. As discussed in the theory chapter there is a minimum frequency required,
corresponding to a force high enough to set the particles in motion. Also the particle layer is
of importance. A lower force and so a lower frequency is sufficient to set the particle in
motion for the case of a small layer. Figure 6.18 shows sequences from two different films
taken of the grate. The two sequences represent two different vibration frequencies. The first
picture is taken just before a vibration sequence is started, the second just after the vibration

104
Chapter 6: Modelling work

sequence and the third picture is taken just after another vibration sequence is commenced. It
can clearly be seen that for a higher frequency the level of particle spread is much higher than
for a lower sequence. For the latter case there will be areas in between the two screws and in
the corners with a lower concentration of particles.

3s 5s 15s

8s 10s 27s
Figure 6.18 Two different picture series are shown representing two different vibration
sequences.

The picture series also show the forward movement of the particles along the grate. Taking
these observations into account it can be concluded that the first assumption about a constant
horizontal velocity caused by the feeding system is not fully valid in this application. In
reality, the feeding system only affects a small area around the inlets. However, the thickness
and the total amount of particles are determined by the feeding arrangement. The main
convective contribution appears during the vibrations, when the fuel is slowly transported
along the grate. This is also consistent with the fact that the vibration sequence, in real life
applications, determines the residence time on the grate. By choosing a large fraction of time
of rest, the fuel will not spread as much and the residence time will be longer. If the feeding
velocity is kept constant the amount of particles will also be larger, as will the overall particle
thickness. To include these findings in the model it is suggested that the velocity is divided
into two components, one part that corresponds to the effect of the feeding system and
another part that is a consequence of the vibrations. The contribution from the vibration could

105
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

be set to a constant value over the entire grate during vibration and does not, in that sense,
cause a problem for the mass conservation. For the feeding velocity, the most realistic case
would be to set a velocity profile with a decreasing velocity in the area close to the inlets. To
maintain mass conservation it is necessary to apply the continuity equation and adjust the
density. If the velocity is varying across the grate, the density will also vary and possibly also
the other velocity components. The density in this case will then be a measurement of the cell
density and not of the individual particle density which is the case in the present state of the
model. A varying density will give a varying particle layer height, which is also the case
when looking at the process in three dimensions. One could say that by introducing a varying
density a third dimension is introduced.

Modeling of the reality will always, to some extent, involve approximations and
simplifications. It is of importance to discuss and evaluate the impact of the simplifications.
In the current model it is assumed that the feeding system causes a horizontal velocity of the
bed. When looking at a real scale vibrating grate furnace the inlet of the fuel is placed at a
distance above the grate. When the fuel is introduced it is falling down on the grate, causing
break-up and disorder of the straw. The horizontal velocity will then only depend on the
vibrations and should therefore be included as a function of the vibration sequence.

The incorporation of a varying velocity profile will be an important task for future
development work. It will be necessary to identify the factors affecting the velocity field in
the bed and, most importantly, to determine how they affect it. Factors needed to be
investigated are; feeding system, vibration frequency, vibration amplitude, grate type, grate
inclination, particle size, particle properties and bed thickness.

In the meantime, a trial of reproducing the particle behaviour observed in the film sequences
from the test rig has been made by adjusting the diffusion coefficient. To represent the
feeding velocity of the particles, diffusion coefficients of 210-3 m2/s in the y-direction and of
110-3 m2/s in the x-direction were set in the area affected by the inlet (Figure 6.16). During
vibration, Dx and Dy are set to 110-2 m2/s and 210-2 m2/s respectively. Figure 6.19 shows a
simulation with a constant velocity of 0.001 m/s corresponding to the feeding velocity.
During the vibration a velocity of 0.02 m/s is added, corresponding to the convective
transport caused by the vibrations.

In summary, the results from the test cases show that the model is able to describe a
pre-defined diffusion and convection process. How to link the model to the reality and how to
implement it into practical case is still unsolved. The problem lies more in how to interpret
the physical behaviour into a numerical description than in the actual solving of the
equations. The work and results presented in this report give a good illustration of the
complexity of the combustion process on a vibrating grate and the difficulties in the
numerical description of the process. Even with a uniform fuel like wood pellets and with
combustion omitted, the number of problems and uncertainties is fairly large. The amount of
difficulties that will arise when deriving a mathematical model applied to a real case with
straw, a non-uniform fuel acting highly unpredictably during vibration, will be even larger

106
Chapter 6: Modelling work

8s

16s

24s
Figure 6.19 Comparison of the model to a film sequence from a modified test grate C.

107
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

6.6 Future work

The future work, that has to be performed to develop a complete bed model, will be to extend
the model into three dimensions and to include the combustion process. Below follows a brief
discussion of how this work could be carried out.

6.6.1 Three dimensions


A restriction of the simulations presented is that they are carried out in two dimensions.
However, the extension to a three dimensional model is straightforward. How to implement
the velocity and diffusion is not as obvious. It is necessary to add a vertical component that
will have a strong dependency on the vibration. Theory shows that the diffusion is greater in
the direction of the vibration which in this case is the vertical direction. It is therefore
adequate to assume that the diffusion coefficient in the vertical direction should be larger than
in the other two directions. The horizontal diffusion coefficient will depend on the vertical
position in the bed, but also on the total bed height at the specific location on the grate. If
combustion was added the situation becomes even more complex since the bed height will
also depend on the conversion process. To implement this theory into the model, further
investigation and experimental work are needed.

6.6.2 Combustion
A vital step in the bed model development will be to incorporate the combustion process.
Straw particles are a convenient type of fuel to model in the sense that they can be considered
as thermally thin (low Biot number). This simplifies the modeling work since no
consideration to internal temperature gradients needs to be taken. When incorporating the
chemical reactions the time scales will be of importance. The time scales of the combustion
will be on a different level compared to the case where only diffusion takes place. This will
be of importance when choosing the time step. As discussed previously, the combustion
process certainly also determines the bed height. The reactions are normally taken into
account by introducing source terms in the transports equations. Another change, when
introducing combustion, is that the energy equation for both solid and gas phases needs to be
solved.

108
Chapter 7: Conclusion and Perspectives

7 Conclusion and Perspectives

The purpose of this work has been to develop a bed model for combustion of straw on a
vibrating grate. Focus has been on investigating how to represent the macroscopic
transportation of fuel on the grate. However, when studying the literature of mixing theory
and vibration of granular flow, several conclusions can be adapted for the conditions of a
vibrating grate:

Vibration is anisotropic, with the highest contribution in the direction of the vibrations
The degree of diffusion is dependent on bed height, particle size and properties
The diffusion depends on the frequency and amplitude of vibration

Straw, both pelletised and untreated, differ from granular material both in size and packing
structure. Despite these discrepancies the overall behaviour is of the same kind and has been
taken into consideration when developing the bed model. The similarities in the particle
behaviour were shown by the experimental work carried out within this project with the main
results being:

Diffusion increases linearly with increasing frequency and amplitude.

Diffusion increases linearly with decreasing particle layer thickness.

Dx and Dy are of the same order of magnitude.

A problem during the experimental work has been to construct a test rig that can give a
smooth acceleration curve. The vibration level required to rearrange for example wood
pellets is fairly high, which places a high stress on the grate construction. Three different test
rigs have been used, each with a unique vibration pattern and rig design, in order to
investigate the diffusion behaviour of the particles. The results showed a very high
dependency on the rig design. This is an important outcome, since it shows that a diffusion
coefficient has to be determined for each type of grate to be modeled, and that this cannot be
generalized without resorting to a semi-empirical approach.

109
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Most existing bed models do not take particle mixing into account. For a vibrating grate it is
clear that the mixing and transportation of the fuel are of great significance in order to obtain
an accurate description of the conversion process on the grate. The model approach chosen in
this work has been to separate the gas and solid phases into two independent models related
to each other through the bed porosity. By treating the bed as a porous media and using
Erguns equation for the gas flow, the numerical work is simplified and the computational
time shortened. The effect of the choice of how to represent the velocity and diffusion
coefficients in the model has been investigated. The main results and conclusions from the
modeling work are:

The model is able to accurately describe a predefined diffusion problem in two


dimensions.
The vibrations give rise to both a diffusive and convective contribution in the model.
The mean velocity of the particles can be seen as a convective process whilst the
deviation from the mean velocity should be treated as a diffusive process.
In order to introduce a varying velocity depending on the position on the grate, a
modification of the model is necessary where also the density will vary as a
consequence of the continuity equation. The definition of the density will thereby
change from being the particle density to be the cell density, i.e. a measure of how
dense the particles are packed in each cell.

Measurements from straw-fired furnaces with vibrating grates show a high occurrence of
unwanted CO peaks. When observing a real scale straw fired furnace it can be seen that the
combustion behaviour is extremely chaotic and actually very far from deterministic. The
straw particles are thrown upwards and around in an uncontrollable way during the
vibrations. When fresh fuel as a consequence of the vibrations is exposed to oxygen an
intensification of the combustion takes place and this might be one reason for the CO peaks
identified in the over bed area. A recent IR recording of the grate of Enstedvrket verifies
this kind of behaviour. The IR recordings were made in conjunction to an optical
measurement campaign carried out by Ris (Clausen, 2005). Two frame sequences, taken
with 10s in-between, are shown in Figure 7.1 . The flow direction is towards the lower right
corner of the picture, one of the measuring probes can be seen to the right.

110
Chapter 7: Conclusion and Perspectives

Figure 7.1 Two frame sequences, 10s apart, from an IR film taken of the area above the grate
of Enstedvrket (Clausen, 2005).

A crucial question is now how well the deterministic approach adopted in this work in reality
represents such a chaotic process. From the IR recording, it is apparent that the motion is not
only governed by the motion of the grate, but also to a high degree by irregular feeding of
straw to the grate and seemingly random packing of straw as it is fed into the furnace. In
order to account for this, another possibility would be to introduce a more stochastic form of
model where the mixing and transportation of the fuel is set randomly. However, the need for
empirical data based on grate type, feeding system and other plant specific parameters would
still be present.

When including combustion into the model the question of whether the mixing approach
presented in this model is a suitable choice or not becomes even more critical. The time scale
of the chemical reactions will be of a much lower order than the ones used in this work which
implies a more demanding computer code. If the bed model in the future will be coupled to a
CFD model and used in practical cases it is of importance that the computational time is of an
acceptable size. An important task will be to find out to what detail level in the chemistry of
conversion and in the mass transport it is necessary to go in order to achieve a bed model
providing sufficient information without being too computationally expensive. As the
fundamental processes leading to e.g. SO2 and NOx formation take place within the fuel
layer, the required level of detail can become high. It is also important to remember that by
introducing more details into a model there is also a larger risk of introducing computational
difficulties and errors. So, despite the higher accuracy a more detailed model can provide a
simpler model might be more practical useful in the long run.

The work carried out in this report has led to useful knowledge of what governs the
transportation of biomass particles on a vibrating grate. Interesting conclusions have been
made about the effects parameters like particle properties, bed layer, vibration amplitude and
frequency have on the diffusion process of solid fuels. The difficulties of experimental
derivation of diffusion coefficients have been illustrated as well as the high dependency of
the grate construction and peripheral systems on the diffusion process. Based on these
findings it is recommended not to continue along this path for future bed model developments
on a vibrating grate. Instead focus should be on the combustion process and the effect of

111
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

mixing incorporated through a randomly given, or predefined diffusion coefficient. The


challenging work of creating a bed model that in three dimensions accurately describes the
burning process of straw on a vibrating grate and provides detailed input data for CFD
modeling of the over-bed area still remains. This thesis acts like a mile stone in the bed
modeling process and emphasizes the needs and challenges for continuous research work
within the area.

112
Chapter 8: References

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Appendix A- The PIV method

Appendix A- The PIV method

A.1 General description of PIV

Particle Imaging Velocimetry (PIV) is a measurement technique for determining velocity


fields. By measure the distance the particles have travelled in a known time interval the
velocity can be calculated. To measure a flow velocity seeding particles are introduced into
the flow. Different types of particles are chosen depending on the flow properties, since it is
important that the particles follow the flow. A section of the flow field is illuminated by laser
and the light is pulsating to freeze the movement of the seeding particles. The time in
between the light pulses is then used to calculate the velocity.

The distance traveled by the particles is obtained by detecting the position of the tracer
particles by a CCD (Charged Coupled Device) camera. The pulsing light sheet and the
camera are synchronised so that particles captured during light pulse one are registered in
frame one, particles captured during light pulse two registered in frame two and so on. Each
camera image is divided into a number of interrogation areas. For each interrogation area the
image from the first and second light pulses is correlated to derive an average particle
displacement vector. This is done for all interrogation areas which results in a vector map of
all the particle displacements. The displacement is then divided by the known time interval
between two pictures and a map of raw velocity vectors is thereby produced.

Since PIV is an instantaneous measurement technique all information about the particle
displacement is sampled at the same time and there is a statistical chance that there will be
some regions with no realistic input. Therefore it is necessary to post process the obtained
data and validate the vector maps. It is for this reason the vector maps from the correlation
process normally are called raw-vector maps.

119
Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

Laser

Optics

Light sheet
Seeding

Flow

Camera

Figure A.1 The basics of the PIV method

A.1 Test procedure

The purpose of the experiments that have been carried out in this work is to investigate the
displacements of the fuel particles on a vibrating grate. Since there is no fluid involved in
present experiments seeding particles and laser system are not necessary. Instead, the fuel
particles are traced directly by a CCD camera placed above the grate. The pictures from the
camera are imported into a PIV software program, Dantec Dynamics, where the post
processing is carried out. A schematic picture of the work procedure is shown in Figure A.2.

CCD camera
Picture series

Light
source
Post processing

Particle Diffusion

Figure A.2 Schematic picture of the experimental work procedure.

120
Appendix A- The PIV method

A.2 Interrogation areas

Each picture is divided into a number of interrogation areas. It is important to make sure that
these regions are of an appropriate size. If the interrogation area is too small, so that one
particle takes up nearly all surface area, there will not be sufficient variation of the intensity
to give a good correlation. On the other hand, if the interrogation area is too large, the number
of particles inside will be too high to give a reliable result. Figure A.3 shows a picture of the
grate with three different alternatives of the size of the interrogation areas. For this case, the
middle alternative was found to be of appropriate size and chosen for the continuing work

Figure A.3 Picture of the grate filled with particles with three different choices of the
interrogation area size.

A.3 Image Intensity

For each pixel in the image a grey scale value is given, varying from 0, corresponding to a
complete black area to 255, corresponding to a complete white area. The grey scale values
are transformed into an intensity field of each interrogation area. The visibility of a particle
depends on many parameters, such as light source, position of the particle and the sensitivity
of the recording optics. In many situations different weighting is put on certain locations
inside the interrogation area. This can be done by a multiplication of the recorded image
intensity with weight kernels. By changing the magnitude of the image intensity the
difference between different grey scales is made larger and more distinctive intensity peaks
created.

A.4 Cross correlation

Cross correlation is used to trace the particle displacement. The intensities of two sequential
pictures are multiplied. The cross correlation can be seen as finding which relative
displacement of the interrogation areas that gives the best pattern match. The definition of the
cross-correlation function, R fg (i, j ) , is:

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Diffusion of solid fuel on a vibrating grate

M N
R fg (i, j ) = f (i, j ) g ( x i, y j ) (A.2)
x =0 y =0

where M and N are the dimensions of the interrogation area and f (i, j ) and g (i, j ) are
functions representing the pixel values of the two images. The highest correlation peak
obtained by the operation can be considered to represent the best match between the functions
f (i, j ) and g (i, j ) . The position of the peak in the correlation plane corresponds to the
average particle displacement for the specific interrogation area. By knowing the time
between each taken picture the velocity of the interrogation area can easily be calculated and
a velocity field be generated. To more efficiently calculate the cross correlation fast Fourier
transformations (FFT) are used in PIV.

Cross
correlation

Figure A.4 The principle behind cross correlation is shown.

122

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