Predictive modelling of boiler fouling. Final report.

A spectral element method embodying Large Eddy Simulation based on Re- Normalization Group theory for simulating Sub Grid Scale viscosity was chosen for this work. This method is embodied in a computer code called NEKTON. NEKTON solves the unsteady, 2D or 3D,incompressible Navier Stokes equations by a spectral element method. The code was later extended to include the variable density and multiple reactive species effects at low Mach numbers, and to compute transport of large particles governed by inertia. Transport of small particles is computed by treating them as trace species. Code computations were performed for a number of test conditions typical of flow past a deep tube bank in a boiler. Results indicate qualitatively correct behavior. Predictions of deposition rates and deposit shape evolution also show correct qualitative behavior. These simulations are the first attempts to compute flow field results at realistic flow Reynolds numbers of the order of 10{sup 4}. Code validation was not done; comparison with experiment also could not be made as many phenomenological model parameters, e.g., sticking or erosion probabilities and their dependence on experimental conditions were not known. The predictions however demonstrate the capability to predict fouling from first principles. Further work is needed: use of large or massively parallel machine; code validation; parametric studies, etc