New over-fire air arrangement and its air ratio optimization determined by aerodynamic characteristics in a cold small-scale model for a down-fired 660-MWe utility boiler

► A new OFA program is proposed for FW down-fired boiler with high NOx emissions. ► The new OFA layout can increase burnout rate of coal compared with others. ► The effect of OFA ratio on the flow field in the model furnace was determined. ► An optimized OFA ratio of 20% is recommended according to the present work. A new over-fire air (OFA) program, which called arch-supplied OFA, is proposed for Foster Wheeler (FW) type down-fired boiler in this paper. The OFA nozzles are setting on arches near the furnace center and emitting OFA flow into the furnace at an inclined angle. Cold airflow experiments were conducted to determine the effect of the OFA ratio on the aerodynamic field in a small-scale furnace modeled for a 660-MWe down-fired boiler. As the OFA ratio increases, the penetration depth of the OFA flow increases in the level direction and the turning point from downward to upward of the OFA flow moves to the furnace center. At the same time, the velocity of the F-tier airflow decreases and its ability to bring the arch-injected airflow to deeper positions weakens and the turning point from downward to upward of the F-tier airflow moves to the wall. When the OFA ratio is 20%, the OFA flow could penetrate to the furnace center in the level direction and mix with the upflowing gas completely, while the arch-injected airflow have sufficient travel distance and enough residence time in the lower furnace. Thus, considering the penetration depth of arch-injected flow in the vertical direction and the OFA flow in the level direction, an OFA ratio of 20% is recommended for the new OFA arrangement according to the present work.