Computational fluid dynamics modeling and experimental validation of heat transfer and fluid flow in the recovery boiler superheater region

Development of predictive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods for recovery boilers would be highly beneficial for the development of such very large-scale energy production applications. Herein, unique experimental data is compared with a developed CFD framework demonstrating the predictive character of the present simulations. The novelty of the work consists of the following: (1) We report two sets of previously unpublished full-scale temperature and flow field measurements from the recovery boiler superheater region. The data from these challenging measurements is very valuable, since reported experimental data on recovery boilers is scarce in literature. (2) We introduce a detailed, three-dimensional CFD model for the recovery boiler superheater region. The results of the model are verified computationally and validated with the experimental data. (3) We demonstrate the added-value of the developed CFD model with a detailed analysis of the three-dimensional flow field and heat transfer results. In addition, we consider the implications of the three-dimensional solution for the estimation of fouling.