Frantisek Hrdlicka

Simulation of adsorption processes in gas cleanup filters

New emerging technologies developed for efficient, clean, coal processing require research into the phenomena used in these processes. In this paper we will deal with the problem of cleaning gas obtained by means of coal gasification. Realisation of this process takes the form of filters with various properties. The efficiency of the gas cleaning process can be influenced by several factors. One class of factors is the physical properties of the granules used in the filter. These properties influence the way the granules move in the filter bed. Another class of problems concerns the adsorption properties of the granules. The quality of adsorption influences the efficiency of a filter and thus the costs of the gas cleaning process. The optimal combination of adsorption and physical properties of granules leads to the optimal exploitation of the filter, both from the point of view of costs and the degree of gas cleaning. While the physical properties of granules have been investigated, the adsorption properties still remain an unknown factor (or at least a factor with an unknown impact on the filter efficiency) from the point of view of filter design and exploitation. The main goal of our research was to investigate and simulate the adsorption capability of granules. The expected result was the determination of optimal counterplay between physical and adsorption processes. A simulation model with visualisation module has been developed and inxplemented.

Real-time simulation and visualization using pre-calculated fluid simulator states

We present our extension for structured fluid simulators and solvers widely used in computer graphics and simulation applications. It is based on storing pre-calculated fluid simulator states (FSS). The simulation using our extension is based on partial computation with synchronous utilization of pre-calculated fluid simulator states stored on disk device. We have incorporated this concept to real-time simulation and visualization system of combustion processes in pulverized coal boilers. The system is based on a simple fluid simulator and a coal particle system. We compared features between classical approach of storing data sets and saving the output of visualization to common movie files formats. Furthermore, we have performed measurements of overall acceleration and disk space requirements. The disk space requirements are in orders less demanding than the ones needed for saving corresponding data sets. This allows better scalability and storing and replaying results of complex tasks with large grids and/or ten thousands of particles.

Interactive educational system for coal combustion modeling in power plant boilers

We present our educational system for interactive education of combustion processes. The system is built on several concepts used mainly in the computer graphics area (fluid simulator, particle system) and combustion simulation field (simplified combustion process model and heat transfer engine). Together they combine unique and original concepts that offer real-time simulation and visualization of the combustion process. The user may have immediate interaction during simulation and visualization - e.g. changing coal inlets and combustible properties and other input parameters during simulation. The system allows real-time monitoring of about 40 basic cell volume characteristics inside the boiler and 10 pulverized coal particle characteristics. All these features are available immediately, without needing to wait hours for complex calculations to finish. The system is especially suitable for interactive education purposes in power-engineering.

Simulated boiler pressure pulsation in comparison with experimental measurement

Abstract Two approaches, which analyse the interrelationships between the occurrence of pressure oscillations and the geometrical arrangement of flue gas passes in a boiler, are presented. Firstly a complex mathematical description of the process by means of partial differential equations is solved analytically. Then the compartment approach is presented. Using this approach, the complexity of the model can easily be selected to attain the desired accuracy, on the basis of experience. Both approaches have been verified by experimental measurements. The proposed modelling of boiler pressure pulsations can be a useful tool in boiler design.