Experimental study on heat transfer to furnace walls in a small LPG-fueled furnace

In this study experiments on heat transfer in a small rectangular cross section LPG-fueled furnace are carried out. The furnace is a vertical one supplied with the fuel via a number of parallel horizontal tubes. The effects of the following design parameters are investigated: (1) the number of fuel tubes and the number of holes on each tube, through which fuel issues upward into the combustion chambe, (2) the arrangement of the fuel holes on each tube relative to the holes on heighboring tubes (whether in-line or staggered), (3) the size of the holes on each tube, and (4) the positions of the fuel tubes relative to the furnace walls Results show that maximum heat transfer to furnace walls is realized when five fuel tubes with eleven 3-mm-diameter holes on each tube are used, provided that the holes arrangement is staggered. Other major conclusions are given in the main body of the paper.