THE RESULT OF THE PRESENT PROJECT WILL BE A THERMAL-HYDRAULIC COMPUTER PROGRAMME ADAPTED TO PARTICLE-GAS FLOW IN FBC-BOILERS, AND WHICH HAS BEEN VALIDATED BY COMPARISON WITH EXPERIMENTS WITH INTERNALS. THE PROGRAMME HOWEVER WILL BE APPLICABLE WITHOUT FURTHER ADAPTATIONS TO OTHER TOPICS.

THE PRESENCE OF COAL AND ASH PARTICLES IN THE FLUEGASES INFLUENCES OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTION BOILERS. AREAS OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE IN THIS RESPECT ARE :

- INCOMPLETE COAL COMBUSTION IN THE FREEBOARD;
- FOULING OF HEAT TRANSFER SURFACES;
- EFFICIENCY OF CYCLONES UNDER OFF-DESIGN CONDITIONS;
- EROSION IN FLUEGAS SYSTEM.

UNTIL NOW TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE AREAS ARE BASED ON OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK. THIS IS A SLOW AND EXPENSIVE PROCESS.

THROUGH THE ADVANCEMENT OF THERMOHYDRAULIC COMPUTER CODES IT BECOMES NOW POSSIBLE TO DESCRIBE THE PARTICLE-GAS FLOW WITH SOME ACCURACY BY THESE CODES. APPLICATION OF THESE CODES TO THE MENTIONED PROBLEM AREAS WILL BRING ABOUT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOVERNING PHYSICAL PHENOMENA AND WILL HELP TO ACCELERATE FBC-DEVELOPMENT, AND PROBABLY IN ECONOMIZING ON DEVELOPMENT COSTS.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION OF THE APPLICATION OF AN EXISTING THERMAL-HYDRAULIC COMPUTER PROGRAMME TO PARTICLE-FLOW PHENOMENA IN FLUIDISED BED COMBUSTION BOILERS.