US 7,008,218 B2 · Combustion emission estimation with flame sensing system

Abstract

There is described a method and apparatus for controlling the combustion by-product formation rate in at least one burner of a fossil fuel fired power plant. The burner has an associated flame scanner which is focused on a small area of the burner flame to obtain an image signal of the flame. A flame signal that represents properties of temporal combustion in the visible light spectrum of the burner is generated from the image signal. Combustion turbulence at the burner is analyzed from the flame signal by a dynamic invariant that has a relationship to the combustion by-product values and different combustion by-product levels at the burner and the combustion turbulence is correlated to the combustion by-product formation rate at the burner. The method and apparatus can also be used to correlated the combustion turbulence at a multiplicity of burners to the associated combustion by-product formation rate.

Claims13

Dependent claims

In a fossil fuel fired power plant having a combustion area with at least one burner and an associated flame scanner, a method for controlling combustion by-product formation rate comprising:

a) obtaining an image signal of flame in said at least one burner by focusing said flame scanner on an area of the flame in said at least one burner where the flame flicker frequency is characteristic of a limited number of combustion pockets in which fuel and air mix and burn;
b) generating from said image signal a flame signal representing properties of temporal combustion in the visible light spectrum at said at least one burner;
and
c) relating a combustion by-product emission level from said at least one burner to said flame signal by calculating a dynamic invariant of said flame signal that provides a measure of the nonlinear dynamics of the flame, said dynamic invariant being nearly constant at the same combustion by-product emission level of said at least one burner and having a consistent relationship with different emission levels of said combustion by-product.

1 more element

In a fossil fuel fired power plant having a multiplicity of burners each having an associated flame scanner a method for controlling combustion by-product formation rate comprising:

a) obtaining an image signal of flame in each of said multiplicity of burners by focusing each of said associated flame scanners on an area of the flame in said associated one of said multiplicity of burners where the flame flicker frequency is characteristic of a limited number of combustion pockets in which fuel and air mix and burn:
b) generating for each of said multiplicity of burners from said associated image signal an associated flame signal representing properties of temporal combustion in the visible light spectrum at said associated one of said multiplicity of burners:
and
c) relating a combustion by-product emission level from each of said multiplicity of burners to said associated flame signal by calculating a dynamic invariant of said associated flame signal that provides a measure of the nonlinear dynamics of the flame, said dynamic invariant being nearly constant at the same combustion by-product emission level of said associated one of said multiplicity of burners and having a consistent relationship with different emission levels of said combustion by-product.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Combustion emission estimation with flame sensing system

Life of this patent

Combustion emission estimation with flame sensing system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims13