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Show The application of sub-scale results (such as these) and computational results to commercial systems requires the laboratory use of full-scale combustion systems in simulated industrial applications. This is due to a number of reasons. First, fueVair mixing strategies which work well at a small scale often become difficult or impractical at larger burner sizes and must be modified and the resulting performance verified. Second, the influence of the aerodynamic, thermal, and chemical environment of the industrial application must be considered on the performance of an innovative combustion strategy. Finally, work at the International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) has suggested that quantitative emission results from very small burners may not be applicable to larger burners even when they are similarly scaled (Weber, 1995). It is for this reason that the UCICL has designed and built a full-scale high-temperature furnace simulator, and has used the furnace to investigate the emission behavior of a large industrial burner in a simulated industrial application. This simulator is flexible enough to simulate a variety of industrial furnace environments, large enough to accommodate burners at the low end of most industrial burner lines (4MM Btu/hr), and small enough to be operated within the controlled laboratory environment of the UCICL and allow visual and instrument access. The initial simulated application chosen was the thermal oxidation of VOCs in exhaust fumes. APPROACH The first step of the approach was to establish requirements for the furnace simulator which would maximize its research value while maintaining its ability to emulate realistic industrial applications. The second step was to investigate existing research furnaces at five different industrial and academic locations, and incorporate useful features from these into the UCICL simulator. The third was to design the furnace simulator including the related air, fuel, cooling and emission systems, considering both the research requirements as well as funding and facility limitations imposed, and then build the simulator and related facilities. The fourth step was to establish an industrial partner who would specify an initial industrial application to be simulated and researched as well as to supply full-scale burners, both standard production-line models as well as research models. The industrial partner is Maxon of Muncie, Indiana, while |