Numerical investigation of combustion process in gas fireplaces

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Wolf Steel Limited, parent company of Napoleon, is looking to improve existing gas fireplaces and developnew products to meet the continuously increasing consumer market demand of efficient and clean heatingproducts with an aesthetical aspect. Current design methods rely on empirical knowledge developed over manyyears for some specific burners. However, no systematic methodology based on rigorous combustion researchhas been derived that would be valid for any kind of burners and fuels. In addition to the complex chemistryinvolved in the formation of atmospheric pollutants, the desired optimal operation of gas fireplaces stronglydepends on the burner design and amount of air available for burning.The objective of the proposed research is to investigate the complex relationships between the burner geometryand operation variables and their resulting impact on heating value, flame appearance and atmosphericemissions. The proposed investigation will be conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) thatprovides detailed information at small turnaround times with much lower costs compared to experimentalstudies. The final results will provide detailed information on the fluid flow within the combustion chamber, asfluid can eddy back and contaminate the air supply to the burner, causing poor combustion and flameappearance. Further, using the simulations, a map of optimal operating conditions for heat output, atmosphericpollutants (carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), soot and nitric oxides (NOx)), and luminous flamesbased on a rigorous approach will be generated.The proposed research will provide numerical results using CFD to improve the design and fundamentalunderstanding of combustion processes in the context of fireplaces. The proposed work will be key towardsproviding Wolf Steel Ltd and their customers further leading-edge simulation tools in a highly competitivemarket.