Flame stability monitoring and characterization through digital imaging and spectral analysis

This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of an instrumentation system for the stability monitoring and characterization of combustion flames. The system, incorporating optical sensing, image processing and spectral analysis techniques, is designed to monitor a range of flame characteristic parameters. The stability of the flame is assessed through statistical analysis of the flame parameters obtained. Embedded computer techniques are employed to ensure the compactness and robustness of the system. Experiments were conducted on a gas-fired combustion test rig to evaluate the system. The impact of equivalence ratio on the stability of the gaseous flame is investigated. Further trials were carried out on a 9 MWth heavy-oil-fired combustion test facility. The impact of the swirl vane angle of tertiary air on the oil-fired flames is studied. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the system for the monitoring and characterization of the flame stability.