Numerical Modelling of Porous Radiant Burner with Lateral Heat Transfer

In this work, numerical modelling of porous radiant burners (PRB) with sidewall heat loss has been studied. A cylindrical (axisymmetric) burner is used in a methane–air premixed combustion. The stoichiometric mixture of reactant has been selected to maximize the effects of sidewall heat transfer. Also, a lean mixture of reactant has been added. It has been observed that the one-dimensional modelling of PRB is not valid due to the sidewall heat transfer. The present study indicates that the lateral heat loss, which is found to be 6% of the supplied fuel energy, results in highly two-dimensional behavior. The temperature of the two-dimensional flame is generally lower than the one-dimensional one. This temperature reduction is observed to be more significant at the sidewall than at the centre line, where the maximum flame temperature is experienced. Due to a lower temperature, less NOx is formed with respect to the one-dimensional modelling. The new results are much closer to the experimental data than that in previous works.