In this paper, the
combustion process of a 350 MW opposite pulverized
coal combustion boiler is studied using a combined field test and
numerical simulation. Considering the turbulence–radiation
interaction (TRI) effect caused by turbulent particle pulsation during
the combustion process, the TRI model is modified by introducing optical
factors. The interaction between the optical thickness and the radiation
pulsation of pulverized coal particles during the combustion process
is studied to learn the influences of turbulent particle combustion
on radiative heat transfer. According to the analysis of the TRI influence
on pulverized coal combustion, the temperature of the cross section
decreases with TRI. Compared with the traditional radiation model
calculation, the time-average temperature of the cross section is
reduced by 49.85 K, and the deviation from the experimental data is
reduced by 1.54%. It is proved that the temperature distribution in
the furnace considering TRI is closer to reality. In the numerical
simulation of the TRI sensitivity to the optical thickness of the
particles, it is found that with TRI, the increase of optical thickness
will strengthen the effect of turbulent kinetic energy in the combustion
area. Due to the increase in particle density, the content of the
main radiation medium produced by combustion, H2O and CO2, increases and the radiation effect in the furnace is enhanced.
In the fire area with dense particles, the average temperature of
the cross section increases by 28 K. Hence, the change in optical
thickness causes the change of TRI parameters, and the TRI effect
becomes more significant with the increase of particle load.