Development of a Two-Dimensional Dump Combustor for the Incineration of Hazardous Wastes

Abstract Dump combustors are characterized by the sudden expansion of fuel-air mixture into a combustion cavity by means of a rearward facing step. This geometry can lead to the development of stable recirculation regions behind the step, and shows potential for highly controllable, small scale waste incineration. This paper describes the development of an intermediate scale (60 kW) incinerator. The use of a variety of non-intrusive diagnostic techniques to optimize the device geometry and operating parameters for effective waste destruction is described. These techniques include visualization of the time evolving 2-D velocity field inside the combustor by particle image velocimetry and visualization of the instantaneous hydroxyl radical concentration by planar laser-induced fluorescence. Comparison of these measurements made under conditions resulting in differing degrees of waste destruction helps to identify the reasons for different types of “upsets” associated with the incineration process.