Analysis of a 20 kW flameless furnace fired with natural gas

An experimental and computational investigation of a MILD industrial burner, fed with natural gas, is presented. The experimental tests are performed at a constant inlet excess air of 17%, two power levels and two different furnace temperatures. Comparisons are presented in terms of energy balance, thermocouples measurements, OH* self-emission images, and NOx/CO content. After a first validation based on the global energy balance, different combustion models, i.e. EDM, ED/FR and EDC are tested. Finally, the comparisons between the predicted and measured NO emissions indicates a good quantitative agreement adopting a simple NO formation mechanism based on the thermal, prompt, N2O and NNH routes.