Radiative properties of char, fly-ash, and soot particles in coal flames. Technical progress report, second year, October 1994--December 1994

In large-scale coal-fired flames, radiative transfer is significant as a large portion of the energy generated during the char pyrolysis and soot oxidation is transferred to the surroundings by radiation (due to emission). The relatively cold gases and particles which are not burning yet are heated by this incoming energy (absorption), which may have originated not only from the immediate surroundings of the control volume of interest but the entire flame. It is obvious that if the emission and absorption of radiation in such a flame are not accounted for correctly, it is not possible to determine other underlying phenomena with accuracy, as the fundamental principle of conservation of energy would be violated. In order to consider the effect of radiation heat transfer in coal-fired furnaces, we have to (1) model the radiative transfer equation to satisfy the conservation of radiant energy principle; (2) use the correct radiative properties of combustion gases and particles; (3) account for the interaction of radiation with the flow and energy equations. The radiative properties for a participating medium of spherical particles can be expressed in terms of the spectral absorption, extinction, and scattering efficiencies and the phase function for a single particle, and can be calculated from the Lorenz-Mie theory. For small size particles, the expressions are based on the Rayleigh limit of Lorenz-Mie theory, and are significantly simpler. The details are readily available in the literature