Flare Research Project-Facility

U of A / NRC Facilites

NRC Low-Speed Wind Tunnel

The NRC Low-Speed Wind Tunnel was built in the 1960s. Originally intended for aerodynamics research, it has been used to test a wide variety of
aircraft components, focusing primarily on turbine engines and airfoils. The wind tunnel is a 4 story open-loop facility located in building M46 at
the NRC in Ottawa ON.

It has a single test section that measures 10 ft x 20 ft and is 35 ft in length. Its size allows for testing flare stacks up to 4 inches in diameter.

The tunnel is powered by a 1000 HP DC electric motor that can produce constant airspeeds up to 36 m/s.

Currently, the facility is equipped with the following:

double-paned Pyrex windows on the second and third floors for viewing the flare stack and flame.
Gas detection and alarm system (methane, propane, carbon monoxide).
Motorized 8 ft x 14 ft traverse system for plume characterization and single point efficiency measurements.
Sophisticated fuel delivery system with mass flow controllers and manifold for gas mixing (natural gas, propane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen)
Extensive sensor suite for measuring tunnel temperature, wind velocity, gas flow rates, gas concentrations, plume temperatures and more.

Front view of the M46 Building.

EXTERIOR VIEW

EXHAUST

INLET

Scale model of the facility showing the location of the test section inside the building.

SCALED-DOWN MODEL OF M46

Here is a picture of the very first flame in July 2001.

IGNITION USING PROPANE TORCH

FLARE VIEWED FROM 3^rd FLOOR NORTH

The Experimental Setup

Every experiment begins with the ignition of the flare using a hydrogen flame ignitor. Then, the tunnel motor is brought up to the desired crosswind speed. To measure the efficiency of a flare, we use the traverse to position a gas sampling probe in the flare plume, and then a suite of gas analyzers measure the concentration of various chemical species . The flares currently burn only natural gas, but the facility will be equipped for burning a mixture of natural gas, propane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen. The current setup enables us to deliver up to 2000 litres/minute of gas to a 4 inch stack.

10 FT STACK WITH HYDROGEN FLAME IGNITOR IN POSITION

FLARE VIEWED FROM 3^rd FLOOR ACCESS DOOR

Below is a panorama on the south side of the test section on the third floor. The individuals in the picture are (from L to R), Oleg Zastavniuk and Lindsay Howell. Oleg is standing beside the gas analyzer cart with its associated calibration gases, and Lindsay is sitting at the main control computer that controls the traverse, fuel delivery and data acquisition. In the background are two Pyrex windows to view the flare stack, along with two blue access doors to the tunnel.

Instrumentation

Gas Analyzers

The NRC facility possesses a suite of 4 online gas analyzers that measure concentrations of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and oxygen. The following is a list of the components of this system:

    - Hydrocarbons – FID (flame ionization detector)
    - Carbon Dioxide – NDIR (non-dispersive infrared)
    - Carbon Monoxide – NDIR (non-dispersive infrared)
    - Oxygen – PMD (paramagnetic detector)

Gas analysis is performed by using the motorized traverse to position a single gas sampling probe in the flare plume, which is connected to the gas analyzer suite. The main control computer on the third floor performs data acquisition and time averaging of the measurements.

Velocity and Temperature Measurements

The wind tunnel is equipped with various pitot tubes to measure velocities at different points and at different ranges. An anemometer and a wind vane are mounted on the roof of the building to monitor exterior wind velocity and direction. Tunnel ambient temperature is measured using AD590 constant-current transducers.

Temperature profiling is performed by using the motorized traverse to position a vertically mounted “rake” of thermocouples in the flare plume. A slave computer on the third floor performs data acquisition, then the main control computer time averages the measurements.

Flare Stream Measurements

We measure flare gas flows using a sophisticated fuel delivery system consisting of mass flow controllers, solenoids, a constant temperature water bath and a gas manifold . The mass flow controllers allow us to measure gas flow rates very accurately. They are equipped with electronically controlled valves that give us precise control when setting gas flow rates. Currently, our mass flow meters are calibrated for natural gas, propane and carbon dioxide. We can adjust the flow meters for other gas types as the need arises.

All the mass flow controllers and solenoids are wired to a slave computer on the first floor of the building. This slave computer receives instructions from the main control computer on the third floor.

Data Acquisition System

Currently, the main control and two slave computers are all Pentium III machines running National Instruments LabVIEW software. The main control computer receives data from all of our sensor packages via the two slave computers and various data acquisition cards. The LabVIEW software platform is very flexible and reliable. This system allows us to rapidly create or reconfigure our laboratory for varied experiments with a minimum amount of effort.

Motorized Traverse System

The most important piece of equipment in the NRC wind tunnel is the motorized traverse system, which has a 14 ft vertical and 8 ft horizontal traverse range. The system provides us with a positional accuracy of ± 0.2 in. The system may be programmed with a grid pattern of evenly spaced points which it will follow, pausing at each point for a specified amount of time to collect data.

TRAVERSE MOUNTED IN TUNNEL

OLEG WITH THE TRAVERSE

Note: Flare stack in foreground

University of Alberta Facility

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
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