E5: Select Gas Burners Flashcards
Gas burners can be either?
Mechanical or Non-Mechanical
What determines the type of gas burner is used?
How the combustion air is supplied
What’s another name for Non-mechanical gas burner?
atmospheric burner
What do non-mechanical rely on for combustion air?
Atmospheric pressure
What is High Fire?
max firing rate of a burner
Is the max fuel input / heat output a burner can safely be operated at.
Low fire
min input of fuel required to keep a burner from flaming out
Modulation
Vary gas input / vary heat output to a process in order to match heat load requirement / sustain the desired temp
What is Turndown ratio? (TURNED DOWN FOR WHAT!)
ratio of the max fuel input : min fuel input rate for modulating burner.
What is the Turndown ratio used for?
To help determine how low a boiler can modulate before it turns off
Port loading
the amount of gas-air mixture passing through a burner that will create a stable flame
What is port loading burner express as?
BTUs / square inch of port area
How can the port loading be changed?
By altering the orifice size or gas pressure (manifold pressure)
Port loading (NG) bn 25,000 - 30,000 BTUs / square inch indicates what?
Stable flame
An atmospheric burner has a venturi that sucks primary air into where?
The burner / mixes air and gas before ignition
How do Mechanical burners get their supply requirements for air combustion?
They use a fan or blower
How are Mechanical burners categorized?
by:
1) location of the fan / blower in relation to the combustion chamber
2) Air pressure being delivered via burner / where the gas + air are mixed in the burner
What are the different kinds of Mechanical burners?
1) Forced Draft Burner
2) Induced Draft Burner
3) Balanced draft burner
4) Fan - assisted burner
What is a forced draft burner?
Combustion air is supplied by a fan or blower at sufficient pressure that overcomes resistance of the burner / appliance
How does a forced air burner work?
Supplies air to burner / forces products of combustion through the appliance
Where is the fan or blower located?
Upstream of the combustion zone
How does a induced draft burner operate?
Uses mechanical draft produced by a fan located downstream / chimney side of combustion zone
How is an Induced draft fan designed?
to pull in required air supply for combustion / vent products of combustion w/ positive vent pressure
How is the Balanced Draft burner different?
It’s a combination of forced / induced draft
Where are Balanced Draft burners mostly seen?
Larger boilers w/ multiple passes where the flue gases have to travel long distances
What is a Fan assisted burner?
Is a burner in which the combustion air is supplied by a mechanical device (fan / blower) at sufficient pressure to overcome the resistance of the burner only.
Where is the fan located?
upstream: fan assisted conversion burner
downstream: Fan assisted combustion system
Fan assisted systems give more precise control over what?
the air entering the combustion chamber
Mechanical combustion products are vented how?
Naturally w/ a nonpositive vent stack pressure
What is a pre-mix burner?
Mix the required amounts of air / gas before ignition
What are 3 types of pre-mix burners?
(MAG)
1) Inspirator or Gas Jet mixer
2) Aspirating Mixer
3) Mechanical Mixer
Inspirator burner uses what type of gas?
High pressure gas of 10 psi or more
Inspirators can entrain / pre mix up to what % of required combustion air?
100%
How does an Aspirating mixer work?
Uses pressurized air, issued at high velocity via venturi to entrain / mix gas
Aspirating mixer are common where?
on residential / commercial condensing boilers dt their excellent turndown
What does an Aspirating mixer use to mix gas?
Pressurized air at high velocity via a venturi
How is a Mechanical mixer straight forward?
uses a fan or blower to mix / supply air and gas to burner
How do burners create a stable flame?
by balancing the different combustion properties of gas - air mixture
What happens when combustion limits are exceeded?
The combustion process won’t generate enough heat and flame will go out
What are the 4 combustion properties that effect the burner flame?
(LIMM)
1) Limits of flammability
2) Max flame speed
3) Ignition temp
4) Max flame temp
What are limits of flammability?
the upper and lower ranges of gas that support combustion
What is max flame speed?
The velocity the flame front moves towards the air-gas mixture
What is NG burn ratio?
4-15% fuel
A stable flame will has a what?
A balanced air-gas flow velocity / flame speed (that keeps the flame front close to burner spot)
What is ignition temp?
Is the temp at which an air-gas mixture will initiate / support combustion
What is flame temperature?
Max flame temp can only be reached at perfect combustion
True or False: Each fuel gas has its own max flame temp.
True
What is NG ignition temp?
700C - 1300F
What is the ignition temp of Propane?
490C - 920F
What is the ignition temp of Butane?
1980C - 3600F
What is a flame retention device?
When gas-air mixtures flow into sheltered areas / burns –> generating enough heat to ignite gas/air mixture leaving the burner head
What is a flame stabilizing device?
Provides shelter for the air-gas mixture to essentially ignite
What is the basics of an atmospheric burner?
a device that requires no fans or electrical supply
burns gas simply / efficiently
What are the 2 types of atmospheric burners?
1) Luminous
2) Bunsen burner
What does the luminous flame depend on for combustion?
the air around the flame (secondary air)
(it does not premix gas-mix mixture)
Why does the luminous flame have a small blue flame / large yellow flame?
Blue flame: hydrogen burns fast
Yellow flame: Carbon burns hot
Why does the Bunsen flame more efficient?
It premixes air w/ gas prior to ignition
True or False: a stable atmospheric Bunsen burner flame has several colour zones
True
each zone marks a stage in burning of the gas
What is the inner cone of a Bunsen flame?
Here gas is burned to form products (aldehydes, alcohols, CO + H)
Is the blue flame
Unburned gas mixture forms the shape of flame
What is the Outer cone
Here the secondary air around the flame diffuses into the flame takes part in burning
Inner cone products are completely burned here
Where does the highest flame temp occur?
Just above the outer cone tip
What is the Outer mantle?
- it’s colourless, surrounds outer cone
- contains no unburned gases
- Glows dt combustion products high temps
What are the 3 types of Bunsen flames?
(RON)
1) Reducing flame
2) Oxidizing flame
3) Neutral flame
What colour of flame will a Bunsen flame have if it’s stable?
Blue
What is a reducing flame?
Is a flame w/ low oxygen
What colour of flame will a reducing flame have?
Yellow dt the presence of unburned carbon (or hydrocarbons)