Visualization of the recovery-bioler flow fields predicted by computational fluid dynamics

Flow patterns in the kraft recovery furnace can be simulated using models based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The use of CFD is becoming increasingly common as computer workstations become more powerful and CFD software is improved. In this article, the authors present simulated results for flow fields in the lower furnace. Because the flows in the lower furnace are dominated by the air system, the authors chose to simulate flow fields under isothermal conditions. The predicted flow fields were used to supplement results obtained from physical modeling. When a physical model is used for testing, each air-system configuration is typically evaluated based on air and gas velocities and the mixing distribution as measured at a limited number of test planes. Such measurements are commonly used to quantitatively assess air-system configurations for modeling studies or to validate CFD models.