Fault diagnosis of burner – burner flame too long and drifting

Many users have insufficient or even blank maintenance work for on-site heating furnace burners

In fact, except for newly installed and well debugged burners, most of the existing combustion thermal energy devices have more or less the problem of maintenance personnel being unable to timely and accurately identify burner flame faults during burner operation for diagnosis and troubleshooting, especially when only a few burners in the heating furnace have problems

 

 

Common phenomena and faults briefly as below:

 

Flame anomaly

By observing the inside of the furnace, it is easy to identify phenomena such as flame length exceeding the normal range and drifting, and the flame may even extend to the convection section or other areas of the furnace

The burning flame area may appear very hazy, and the flames are not bright with clear boundaries

 

Flame instability

The flame may sway and be very unstable, possibly due to uneven mixing of air and fuel during individual or complete combustion processes, or improper burner settings

 

Abnormal smoke emissions

Thick smoke or visible plumes may be emitted from the chimney, which is a sign of incomplete combustion, indicating that the flame has not effectively converted fuel into heat energy, and the exhaust temperature of the chimney may be higher than the design specifications.

 

Decreased thermal efficiency

In theory, long flames are less efficient in transferring heat to radiation tubes than short flames because their average temperature is lower.

Additionally, an excessively long flame means that heat has already dissipated before reaching the area that needs to be heated, leading to a decrease in thermal efficiency.

 

Abnormal process temperature

Due to a decrease in efficiency, the outlet temperature of the medium process may not reach the target value
Increased fuel consumption.

In order to maintain the required process temperature or yield, lower radiation efficiency may lead to higher fuel consumption conditions, thereby increasing fuel consumption.

 

Abnormal furnace temperature

The temperature inside the furnace may be higher than the normal operating range, which may cause overheating and damage to the furnace materials.

 

Pipeline or equipment damage

If a flame that is too long and floats comes into contact with pipes or other equipment in the furnace, it may cause local overheating, scaling, or coking, shorten the coking cycle, reduce heat transfer, and ultimately lead to equipment damage or shortened lifespan.

 

Increased emissions

Incomplete combustion and excessive local combustion may lead to an increase in the content of harmful substances in emissions, such as CO and NOx.

 

Difficulty in operation

Excessive flame length and drifting may make it difficult for operators to maintain stable combustion, increasing the complexity and difficulty of the operation.

 

Hidden danger

Unstable flames may cause pressure fluctuations inside the furnace, and may even lead to explosions or other safety accidents.