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Show Paper No. 5 PULSE COMBUSTORS FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS Alan G. Buchkowski, P.Eng., Novadyne Ltd., R.R. #3, Hastings, Ontario, Canada K O L 1 Y O Tel: (705) 696-2119 Fax: (705) 696-2912 Abstract Pulse combustors have existed for many years, however with few exceptions, have not been utilized for industrial applications. Based on the developments by Novadyne Ltd., this paper presents data on the positive and negative characteristics of gas-fired pulse combustion, including emissions, available kinetic energy, noise and vibration, as well as limitations of the technology. The application of pulse combustion to industrial processes is discussed with specific references to Novadyne's work in industrial drying and process heating. Data is given to show how pulse combustion can be applied to provide cost effective systems for industrial applications. Introduction Pulse combustion has been a known phenomena for over 100 years. The first practical application was as an engine of a weapon of war, the German V-l Flying Bomb. Since then, many have tried to bring products utilizing pulse combustion to market. With few exceptions successful commercial applications are rare; those exceptions in North America being the Hydropulse Boiler, the Lennox Pulse Furnace, and to some extent Fulton Pulse Boilers. For industrial applications the success stories have been virtually non-existent. Significant efforts have been made to applications in industrial drying, and process heating, with promising technical results, but only marginal business success at best. This paper explores the experiences of the efforts by Novadyne Ltd., primarily focusing on the technical characteristics. Background The challenge in bringing a new heating device market are many. First the equipment must be designed and fabricated to be operate in the desired fashion at a prescribed capacity, while meeting regulatory requirements, be reliable and simple, and have significantly lower capital and operating costs than competing technologies, and/or be able to perform functions that other technologies cannot. Secondly, it has to be proven to potential customers to have these attributes, usually as a result of field installations. Novadyne Ltd. has been involved in the development of pulse combustion equipment for four years, building on the work of Mr. John Kitchen, the designer of the HydroPulse boiler. At the outset of the developments, the particular design for a pulse combustor promised the attributes needed for industrial applications, including: 1 |