The objective of this study was to develop a technology to use conductive metal rods to enhance the burning rate of a liquid pool of emulsified oil. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) developed experiments in order to evaluate and optimize various parameters of importance in developing this technology, including the length, diameter, and spacing of the rods. A simplified computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was performed in parallel to help guide the experiments and to develop an understanding of how simplifications could be successful in developing empirical relationships that would ultimately be used for designing burners deployed in the field. This study was conducted in three phases:
Phase I (small scale tests)
An experimental setup was developed with optimum size, number and placements of rods immersed in a 10 cm pool of oil-water emulsions of octane, octane/xylene, and Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil at various water content. A burn consumption rate of greater than 20 mm/min was targeted. A CFD analysis was conducted in parallel to explore controlling parameters. The results were used to develop an empirical model to predict the burning rate and efficiency for given immersed object geometry and fuel parameters.
Phase II (intermediate scale tests)
In this phase the configuration developed in Phase I was analyzed to determine if it could deliver comparable burning rates and efficiencies in a 50 cm pool of water-oil emulsions. Adjustments were applied to the experimental configuration based on the test results. Additional parameters associated with scaling radiative and convective heat fluxes, because of increase in size, were incorporated in the empirical model developed during Phase 1.
Phase III (large scale tests)
A prototype burner design for field deployment was implemented during Phase III. Four large scale tests were performed using ANS crude oil. Three sets of tests were performed with water content at 25%, 40%, and 60%. The outcome of these large scale tests could inform the design of a simple, efficient prototype burner design that could be implemented in the field.
The final report is complete and posted below.