An Investigation on the Effect of Air Swirler Vane Angle on Liquid Fuel Combustion Characteristics

Abstract

This is an experimental and numerical study on the effect of air swirl vane angle on combustion characteristics of liquid fuel burners. The swirl vane angle varied in a range from 0°to 75°and the values of the dependent variables were determined. The flame temperature was measured by an S-type thermocouple and a Testo 350 XL gas analyzer was used to determine the NO and CO pollutant concentrations. Also, sprint CFD code along with suitable models was used in analytical modeling. The results indicate that there is an optimum angle for the swirl vane (approximately 45°for the case study). At the optimum angle, the average temperature of the flame increases as much as 12.5% and 28.5% in comparison with small and large angles, respectively. Therefore, combustion efficiency reaches its maximum level and CO emission is at an extremely low level. The results also demonstrate that large swirl angles decreases NO emission. C⃝ 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 46 (7): 750-760, 2017; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj).