Detailed Computational Modeling of Military Incinerators

The United States has selected incineration as one of the methods for destroying the highly toxic chemical agents and munitions contained within the Chemical Weapons Stockpile. In this paper we describe a suite of Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) based models that provide the ability to conduct detailed simulations of chemical demilitarization incinerator operation. The models contain furnace and canister geometries and all of the relevant physics and chemistry. The destruction of chemical agent predicted using non-equilibrium chemistry models that include full and reduced chemical kinetic mechanisms. We have developed CFD models for a Liquid Incinerator, Metal Parts Furnace, Metal Parts Furnace Afterburner, and a De-Activation Furnace System located at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) in Tooele, Utah. We modeled the incineration of the GB agent using the simulant dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP). The models predict complete destruction of the chemical agent when the incinerators and afterburners are operated as per standard operating conditions. The original document contains color images. Prepared in collaboration with CARMAGEN ENGINEERING, Inc., Cornell Univ. and McGill Associates.