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Flow simulation in an electrostatic precipitator

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Article in Applied Thermal Engineering July 2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2008.10.019

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 Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Thermal Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Flow simulation in an electrostatic precipitator of a thermal power plant

Shah M.E. Haque a, M.G. Rasul b,*, A.V. Deev a, M.M.K. Khan b, N. Subaschandar a
a
Process Engineering and Light Metals (PELM) Centre, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, Gladstone, Queensland 4680, Australia
b
College of Engineering and Built Environment, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland 4702, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The performance of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is signicantly affected by its complex ow distribu-
Received 17 October 2007 tion arising as a result of its complex inside geometry. In the present study the gas ow through an ESP
Accepted 21 October 2008 used at a local thermal power plant is modeled numerically using computational uid dynamics (CFD)
Available online 18 November 2008
technique to gain an insight into the ow behavior inside the ESP. CFD code FLUENT is used to carry
out the computations. Numerical calculations for the gas ow are carried out by solving the Reynolds-
Keywords: averaged NavierStokes equations coupled with the ke turbulence model equations. The results of the
Thermal power plant
simulation are discussed and compared with on-site measured data supplied by the power plant. The
Electrostatic precipitator
Turbulent ow
predicted results show a reasonable agreement with the measured data. The model developed is a novel
Flow distribution tool for the thermal power plant to predict the effect of possible modications made to the ESP design on
CFD the ow pattern.
Fluent 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Over recent years the particle emissions from process industries
have been attracting more attention due to an anticipation of
upcoming strict environmental protection agency (EPA) regula-
tions. Industrial pollution can be controlled by energy recovery
and conservation [1], replacing conventional industrial processes
with continuous and energy efcient systems [2], or performance
optimization of the emission control devices [3]. Electrostatic pre-
cipitators (ESP) are the most common, effective and reliable partic-
ulate control devices which are capable of handling large gas
volumes with a wide range of inlet temperatures, pressures, dust
volumes and gas conditions.
The performance of ESP is affected by the uid ow character-
istics inside this device wherein the shape, size and arrangement
of collection electrodes, bafes, deectors, etc. signicantly inu-
ence the ow eld. But it is very difcult to carry out detailed
and reliable measurements of uid ow inside an ESP as the geom-
etry is very complex. CFD provides an alternative method, which is
viable and less expensive to study the ow behavior inside the ESP.
A suitable CFD model plays an important role in predicting the ow
eld characteristics and particle trajectories inside the ESP and
optimizing ow distributions within the ESP by simulating pro-
posed modications. This ensures that the desired ow proles
are achieved, thus substantially reducing the outage time. How-
ever, only a limited number of research works could be found in
the open literature for the prediction of turbulent ow behavior in-
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 7 49309676; fax: +61 7 49309382.
E-mail address: m.rasul@cqu.edu.au (M.G. Rasul).
side the ESP. Most of them are focused on 2D models based on sim-
plied geometrical arrangements and ignored the effect of sudden
expansion in geometrical conguration of an ESP. Zhao et al. [4]
developed a simple 2D model which consists of a single discharge
wire and two parallel plates. The 2D model developed by Skodras
et al. [5] consists of three-wires and two parallel plates arrange-
ments. Nikas et al. [6] simulated a 3D ow inside a laboratory scale
precipitator of three-wire and two-plate arrangements. Varonos
et al. [7] developed a 3D model and introduced smoothing grids
to improve the ow characteristic of an ESP. But they simplied
their model by introducing a porous region instead of creating
any physical collecting plates in their CFD model. The numerical
ow model of an ESP developed by Schwab and Johnson [8] re-
placed all the collection plates inside the ESP with equivalent resis-
tance. Gallimberti [9] also used local loss coefcients in the
governing equations to model the different wall proles and other
structures inside the ESP. Bottner and Sommerfeld [10] predicted
turbulent ow in a test channel equipped with seven discharge
wires. Dumont and Mudry [11] made a comparative study on ow
simulation results obtained from different precipitator CFD
models.
The above studies were broadly dedicated to simulate uid ow
inside the ESP with either simplied models or simplied geome-
tries. The accurate aerodynamic characteristics of the ow inside
an ESP in an operation may not be obtained without considering
all of its major physical details. The novelty of this study is to de-
velop a new 3D uid ow model of a full scale ESP which considers
all of its major physical features. It is to be noted that all the col-
lecting electrodes (CE), bafes, gas deectors, etc. are taken into ac-
count in this 3D model and have not been replaced by any

1359-4311/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2008.10.019
2038 Shah M.E. Haque et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042

Nomenclature

C0, C1, C3e constants YM contribution of the uctuating dilatation in compress-

C2 pressure jump coefcient = pressure loss coefcient per ible turbulence to the overall dissipation rate
unit thickness (m1)
g gravity (m/s2) Greek symbols
Gk generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean a permeability of the perforated plate (m2)
velocity gradients (m2/s2) D differential
Gb generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoy- e turbulent dissipation rate (m2/s3)
ancy (m2/s2) g strain
I intensity l dynamic viscosity (N s/m2)
k turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s2) m kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
Dm thickness of the perforated plate (m) q density (kg/m3)
p pressure (Pa) rk turbulent Prandtl numbers for k
Re Reynolds number re turbulent Prandtl numbers for e
U velocity (m/s)
sk, se user-dened source terms Subscript
S modulus of the mean rate of strain tensor Dh hydraulic diameter
u0 uctuating velocity (m/s)
uavg average velocity (m/s)

equivalent porous region as other researchers have done in their and located after the collection chamber, has a 2 mm thick screen
studies. A detailed numerical approach and simulation procedure inside it. Due to the symmetry in geometry only one-half of a gas-
is presented to predict the ow behavior inside the ESP. The pre- path has been modeled in this study.
dicted results are compared with the on-site measured data. The
ow model developed has the potential to better predict the effect 3. Numerical approach and simulation procedure
of possible modications and improvement in ESP design.
Numerical computation of uid transport includes conservation
2. ESP geometry of mass, momentum and turbulence model equations. The Fluent
Inc. geometry and mesh generation software Gambit was used as
The power station in this study has four power generating units a preprocessor to create the geometry, discretize the uid domain
of 350 MW capacity each. Each unit has two single-stage, plate- into small cells to form a volume mesh or grid and set up the appro-
type, rigid-frame, cold-side and dry ESPs which are called pass A priate boundary conditions. The ow properties were then specied
and pass B. Each pass has two gas-paths covering four zones as is and the problems were solved and analyzed by Fluent solver.
shown in Fig. 1. The effective length, width and height of each cas-
ing are 30.36 m, 11 m and 13.1 m, respectively. The width and 3.1. Governing equations
height of the CE walls are 5.76 m and 12.5 m, respectively. Each
pass has 54 passages having 400 mm CE wall spacing. Discharge The air inside the ESP was treated as incompressible Newtonian
electrodes (DE) are welded into pipe frames with 2 frames per pas- uid due to the small pressure drop (<100 Pa) across the ESP. The
sage. The width of DE frame is 5.76 m and the heights are 5 m and ow was assumed to be steady and can be described by the conser-
7.5 m. Rapping is the dust removal method for both collection elec- vation of mass equation:
trodes and discharge electrodes. Three perforated plates with the
thickness of 8 mm, 2 mm and 2 mm are located inside the inlet ~  qU
r ~ 0 1
evase. The inlet evase is a pyramidal diffuser with large divergence
angle (more than 50) which is located in front of the rectangular and the momentum equation:
collection chamber. The outlet evase, which is a convergent duct
~
~r
U ~U~  rp mr
~ 2U
~ ~
g 2
q
For the turbulent ow inside the ESP, the key to the success of CFD
lies with the accurate description of the turbulent behavior of the
ow. To model the turbulent ow in an ESP, there are a number
of turbulence models available in Fluent. The realizable ke model
is a relatively recent development and contains a new formulation
for the turbulent viscosity and a new transport equation for the dis-
sipation rate, e which can be written as follows [12]:
  
@ @ @ lt @k
qk qkuj l Gk Gb  qe  Y M Sk 3
@t @xj @xj rk @xj
  
@ @ @ lt @ e
qe qeuj l qC 1 Se
@t @xj @xj re @xj
2
e e
 qC 0 p C 1e C 3e Gb Se 4
Fig. 1. Measurement planes for velocity distribution. k me k
 Shah M.E. Haque et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042 2039

where 4.2. Numerical prediction and data comparison

  q
g k The CFD model of the ESP (Fig. 2) consists of about 1.2 million
C 1 max 0:43; ; gS ; S 2Sij Sij
g5 e computational nodes. The simulation was performed with a Pen-
tium IV 3.2 GHz 32 bit CPU workstation with 2 GB RAM-memory
The turbulence intensity, which is dened as the ratio of the root-
and 80 GB hard disc memory. It is necessary to rene the grid near
mean-square of the velocity uctuations, to the mean ow velocity
the wall region for the boundary layer treatment. As the geometry
can be estimated from the following formula derived from an
of the ESP is quite complex, each part of the ESP (inlet evase, col-
empirical correlation for pipe ows [12]:
lection chamber, hoppers, outlet duct, etc.) was modeled individu-
u0 ally using Gambit and some faces of the computational domain
I 0:16ReDh 1=8 5 were set as walls to represent as collection walls, bafes and gas
uavg
deectors. Fig. 3 shows a typical computational domain where bell
As illustrated elsewhere [13], a source term was added to the ke shaped grading was chosen for the bafe surfaces to create ne
turbulence model equations to estimate the pressure drop across grids near the wall region. The individual mesh les thus created
the perforated plates. In the CFD simulation, the perforated plates were then merged using 3D version of tmerge utility of Fluent
were modeled as thin porous media of nite thickness with direc-
tional permeability over which the pressure change was dened
as a combination of viscous loss term and an inertial loss term
which is given by [12]
 
l 1
Dp  U C 2 qU 2 Dm 6
a 2

3.2. Boundary conditions

The nite volume method was used to discretize the partial

differential equations of the model using the SIMPLEC method
for pressurevelocity coupling and the second order upwind
scheme to interpolate the variables on the surface of the control
volume. The segregated solution algorithm was selected to solve
the governing equations sequentially (i.e., segregated from one
another). Standard wall functions, which are a collection of
semi-empirical formulas and functions, were applied to bridge
the viscosity-affected region between the wall and the fully-tur-
bulent region. The wall function approach is a popular and prac-
Fig. 2. Numerical grid for ESP model.
tical option for the near-wall treatments for industrial ow
simulations [12]. The inlet boundary condition of the model
was set as a velocity-inlet with the value of 9.07 m/s as velocity
magnitude. The direction of the velocity was normal to the inlet
boundary. The turbulent intensity at the inlet boundary was set
as 3%, based on the Reynolds number of the ow (which is
1.1e+6) and calculated using Eq. (5). An atmospheric pressure
boundary located downstream of the outlet duct was specied
as pressure-outlet. The pressure-outlet boundary was placed far
away from the outlet evase so as not to affect the ow inside
the ESP. The no-slip boundary condition was used in all the walls.
Porous jump boundary condition was used for the porous
surfaces.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. On-site measurement

The on-site measured data on ow distribution at plane 2

(Fig. 1) was supplied by the referenced power plant. A windmill
vane type anemometer (Instrument No: 1414/540493, Maker:
Lambrecht) with 10.16 cm diameter vane was used to measure
the velocity inside the collection chamber with the unit ofine
and the induced-draft fans operating. The anemometer was cali-
brated in a wind tunnel in the velocity range of 0.414.8 m/s.
The accuracy of the calibration was 1% or 0.05 m/s (whichever is
greater in the range of 0.515 m/s). Average inlet velocity mea-
sured at plane 1 was 9.07 m/s with 2% standard deviation at an
average temperature of 24 C. The measured mean velocity at
plane 2 was 0.78 m/s with 11.8% standard deviation. Fig. 3. Computational grid showing bafe and hopper walls.
2040 Shah M.E. Haque et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042

software. The complete model as developed was rened using grid

adaption utility of Fluent to change the number of grid elements in
the computational domain so that results could be checked for grid
independency. The model was found grid independent as the re-
sults obtained using different grid sizes did not show any signi-
cant differences.
A separate CFD model was developed to nd the effect of viscous
loss term in Eq. (6) at turbulent ow conditions. A small piece of an
original 8 mm thick perforated plate was modeled which was placed
inside a round duct. The grid of this model is presented in Fig. 4.
Fig. 5 represents the predicted pressure drop across the perfo-
rated plate at different velocities for air and for a ctitious gas with
100 times lesser viscosity than air. Since the change of shear vis-
cosity by the factor of 100 did not result in any measurable differ-
ence in the predicted pressure drop, it was concluded that the
pressure drop across the perforated plate is mainly due to the iner-
tial loss at turbulent ow condition. The viscous loss term can be
eliminated from Eq. (6) due to this reason [12]. Appropriate values
for C2 for the same Reynolds number and plate thickness are then Fig. 6. Predicted pressure drop across the perforated plate (inlet velocity 9 m/s).

calculated from the literature [14].

Fig. 6 represents the predicted pressure drop across the perfo-
rated plate, placed inside the round duct with an average inlet
velocity of 9 m/s. Another CFD model was developed to justify
the simplication of perforated plates as porous surfaces in the
ESP model. The pressure drop across the porous surface incorpo-
rated into this model using the literature [14] value of C2 for the
same inlet and outlet boundary condition is shown in Fig. 7. The
method of calculating C2 was found justied as the predicted pres-
sure drop across the porous surface varied from the same across
the perforated plate by only 2%.

Fig. 7. Predicted pressure drop across the porous jump boundary condition (inlet
velocity 9 m/s).

Fig. 4. Computational grid of perforated plate model.
Fig. 5. Predicted pressure drop across the perforated plate at different velocities for
air and gas.
Two more simulations were carried out with and without intro-
ducing the perforated plates inside the ESP to observe the signi-
cance of using perforated plates and screens inside the ESP. The
velocity contour at plan view section without any perforated plates
is presented in Fig. 8.
The simulated result shows ow separation from the inlet evase
wall as is expected for the ow with high Reynolds number inside
a diffuser with large divergence angle. The ow separation could
be removed by introducing resistance over the cross section of
the diffuser. Fig. 9 shows the results of the simulation after insert-
ing perforated plates and screens inside the inlet and outlet evase.
The perforated plates are found to create resistance over the cross
section and regulate the ow in both the diffuser and the channel
following it.
The initial values of C2 in Eq. (6) were obtained from the litera-
ture [14], which were 527 for plate 1, 1605 for plate 2, 1563 for
plate 3, 9600 for bottom part of the outlet screen and 29,950 for
the upper part of the outlet screen. It is to be noted that these val-
ues are valid only for a uniform duct and perforated plate arrange-
ment. As the perforated plates used in the ESP are located inside a
diffuser and a convergent duct, the values of C2 obtained from [14]
cannot be directly used in this study. Hence the values of C2 were
reduced until the predicted velocity matched with the on-site mea-
sured data taken at the downstream of the ESP (at plane 3). The
 Shah M.E. Haque et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042
Fig. 8. Velocity contours at y = 5.91 m plan view section without perforated
plates.
Fig. 9. Velocity contours at y = 5.91 m plan view section with perforated plates.
simulated velocity distributions at the middle of the ESP (at plane
2) were then compared with the on-site measured data. Fig. 10
presents the comparison of velocity distributions from the centre
to the wall at the height of y = 5.91 m. It is found from Fig. 10 that
the predicted results varied from 2% to 22% with an exception at
x = 3.5 m where the variation is about 40%. The velocity distribu-
tions from the roof to the bottom at x = 0.5 m are presented in
Fig. 11. It is found from Fig. 11 that the predicted results varied
from 2% to 25% with an exception at y = 2.4 m where the variation
is about 33%. Though the manufacturer of the vane anemometer
species 1% calibration accuracy, it is believed that in an actual
ESP, the accuracy of the vane anemometer measurement may be
reduced by velocity stratication and ow angularity. Dumont
and Mudry [11] also examined the accuracy of the predicted result
of their ESP model with the on-site measured data using vane ane-
mometer and reported that Velocity stratication causes a prob-
lem because the probe design is such that it requires a constant
velocity over its measurement region. This region is the diameter
of the vane assembly. If the probe is located in a region where a
velocity gradient exists, it does not accurately provide an indica-
tion of the average velocity within that region. Velocity stratica-
tion can be an issue when measuring ESPs with rigid electrodes,
large structural ribs or elements on the collection plates, or other
obstacles upstream of the measurement location. They also
reported that Flow angularity is another issue that inuences
the accuracy of the vane anemometer reading. The vane anemom-
eter does not provide an accurate means of measuring a particular
2041
Fig. 10. Velocity distribution from centre to wall at y = 5.91 m (plane 2)
comparison between the measured data and CFD prediction.
Fig. 11. Velocity distribution from roof to bottom at x = 0.5 m (plane 2)
comparison between the measured data and CFD prediction.
component of velocity. Thus, when the ow travels at any angle
other than parallel to the vane rotational axis, a measurement error
can result. Hence the overall predicted results of the current mod-
el could be considered as satisfactory, taking into consideration the
accuracy of the measured data.
This 3D uid ow model inside an ESP considering detailed geo-
metrical features should give a good prediction of the effects of
ow distribution on dust collection inside the ESP. This model
can be useful in identifying options for operation and maintenance
improvement activities by ESP tuning, optimizing ow distribution
and rapping cycles as well as necessary plant modications.
5. Concluding remarks
A CFD analysis for the uid ow through an ESP of a thermal
power plant is presented. A uid ow model of a full scale ESP,
including its major physical features has been developed. Realizable
ke turbulence model has been used for computing turbulence
parameters inside the ESP. Numerically predicted velocity proles
inside the ESP are compared with the measured data. These predic-
2042 Shah M.E. Haque et al. / Applied Thermal Engineering 29 (2009) 20372042
tions are found to be in reasonable agreement with the measured
data. The inclusion of collecting electrodes, bafes and the perfo-
rated plates in the numerical model is expected to provide direct
means to assess their inuence on the ow pattern of an ESP and
make this model particularly useful to predict possible improve-
ment in the ESP designs.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the
referenced power plant for providing their on-site measured
data.
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