Study on performance of the ball packed-bed regenerator: experiments and simulation

The performances of the ball packed-bed regenerator were investigated experimentally and numerically by the authors of the paper. In the study for resistance characteristics of the regenerator, based on the experimental data, a revised Ergunʹs equation with the coefficients k1=203 and k2=1.95 was achieved for the randomly packed bed of uniform spheres. The thermal characteristics of the regenerator was studied by a 1-D, transient numerical model. Emphasis was put on the effect of variations of fuel on the exit flue gas temperature and the heat recovery. This study indicates that not all fuels are applicable for the regenerative furnace if single preheating is used. For the fuels with low- or medium-caloric value, double preheating should be taken while for the fuels with high-caloric value, both single and double preheating can be used.