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Flame stability and burner condition monitoring through optical sensing and digital imaging

Sun, Duo (2012) Flame stability and burner condition monitoring through optical sensing and digital imaging. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) thesis, University of Kent. (doi:10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86491) (KAR id:86491)

Abstract

This thesis describes the design, implementation and experimental evaluation of a prototype instrumentation system for flame stability and burner condition monitoring on fossil-fuel-fired furnaces. A review of methodologies and technologies for the monitoring of flame stability and

burner condition is given, together with the discussions of existing problems and technical requirements in their applications. A technical strategy, incorporating optical sensing, digital imaging, digital signal/image processing and soft computing techniques, is proposed. Based on this strategy, a prototype flame imaging system is developed. The system consists of a rigid optical probe, an optical-bearn-splitting unit, an embedded photodetector and signal-processing board, a digital camera, and a mini-motherboard with associated application software. Detailed system design, implementation, calibration and evaluation are reported. A number of flame characteristic parameters are extracted from flame images and radiation signals. Power spectral density, oscillation frequency, and a proposed universal flame stability index are used for the assessment of flame stability. Kernel-based soft computing techniques are employed for burner condition monitoring. Specifically, kernel principal components analysis is used for the detection of abnormal conditions in a combustion process, whilst support vector machines are used for the prediction of NO x emission and the identification of flame state. Extensive experimental work was conducted on a 9MW th heavy-oil-fired combustion test facility to evaluate the performance of the prototype system and developed algorithms. Further tests were carried out on a 660MWth heavy-oil-fired boiler to investigate the cause of the boiler vibration from a flame stability point of view. Results Obtained from the tests are presented and discussed.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy (PhD))
DOI/Identification number: 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.86491
Additional information: This thesis has been digitised by EThOS, the British Library digitisation service, for purposes of preservation and dissemination. It was uploaded to KAR on 09 February 2021 in order to hold its content and record within University of Kent systems. It is available Open Access using a Creative Commons Attribution, Non-commercial, No Derivatives (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) licence so that the thesis and its author, can benefit from opportunities for increased readership and citation. This was done in line with University of Kent policies (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/strategy/docs/Kent%20Open%20Access%20policy.pdf). If you feel that your rights are compromised by open access to this thesis, or if you would like more information about its availability, please contact us at ResearchSupport@kent.ac.uk and we will seriously consider your claim under the terms of our Take-Down Policy (https://www.kent.ac.uk/is/regulations/library/kar-take-down-policy.html).
Subjects: T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
SWORD Depositor: SWORD Copy
Depositing User: SWORD Copy
Date Deposited: 30 Oct 2019 13:54 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:27 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/86491 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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