PDA research on the air/particle flow characteristics in a 2000 t/d GSP pulverized coal gasifier at different swirl vane angles

On an air-particle test facility, a particle dynamics anemometer is employed to investigate, in a small-scale gasification chamber for a 2000 t/d GSP gasifier, the influence of burner swirl vane angle (SVA: 16° 21° 26° and 31°) on the air/particle flow characteristics. The distributions of three-dimensional air/particle velocity, particle volume flux and particle size were obtained. Further, a novel method was provided to quantify the air-particle mixture extent with dimensionless difference of particle volume concentration. The results show that along the jet flow direction, single peak, double peaks and single peak successively appeared in the profiles of mean axial velocities. As the SVA increased from 16° to 31° the first appeared peak of mean axial velocities in the near-wall region (300 mm ≤ r ≤ 352 mm) gradually moved toward the burner; in the region x/d = 0.3–4, the central recirculation zone expanded. The profile variation of particle volume flux at different SVAs was basically similar to that of air mean axial velocity. In the same cross-sections of x/d = 1–4, as the SVA increased from 16° to 26° the air-particle mixture extent in the boundary of peak zone for particle volume flux rose; when the SVA increased to 31° it reduced.