Basic Combustion Techniques

Part 5: Stack and draught

Draught : The negative pressure (Vacuum) of the air

and flue gas measured at any point in the heater, express
in pascals, mm.bar or inches of water.
Draught loss : The pressure drop, including buoyancy
effect through duct conduits or across tube and
equipment in air and flue gas system

Chimney draught or draft

Basic principle
The combustion flue gases inside the chimneys or
stack are much hotter than the ambient outside air and
therefore less dense than the ambient air. That causes
the bottom of the vertical column of hot flue gas to
have lower pressure than the pressure at the bottom
of a corresponding column of outside air.
That higher pressure outside the chimney is the driving
force that moves the required combustion air into the
combustion zone and also moves the flue gas up and out
of the chimney. The movement or flow of combustion air
and flue gas is call Natural draught/draft, Natural
ventilation, Chimney effect or Stack effect
The taller the stack, the more draught is created.

Draft effect : The pressure difference between indoor and

out door
While the temperature difference causes density difference
and therefore pressure difference. Another thing that
causes pressure difference is NPL (neutral pressure level).

Function of stack
1. Control dispersion of flue gas in atmosphere
Amount of flue gas
Emission standards
Wind effect

2. Creation draught
Enough fire box pressure control level
Enough combustion air for burning fuel

Function of stack: 1.) Control dispersion of

flue gas in atmosphere
1. Bouyant plumes
Plumes which are lighter than air because they are at a higher
temperature and lower density than the ambient air which surrounds
them, or because they are at about same temperature as the ambient
but have a lower MW and hence lower density than ambient air.
2. Dense gas plumes
Plumes which are heavier than air because they have a higher density
than the surrounding ambient air. A plume may have a higher density
because it has a higher MW than air, for example a plume of carbon
dioxide. A plume may also have a higher density than air if the plume
is at a much lower temperature then air.

Characterization of atmospheric
turbulence
The amount of turbulence in the ambient atmosphere has a major
effect on the dispersion of air pollution plumes, because turbulence
increases the entrainment and mixing of unpolluted air into the plume
and thereby acts to reduce the concentration of pollutants in the plume
(i.e. enhances the plume dispersion).
It is therefore important to categorize the amount of atmospheric
turbulence present at any given time.

The Pasquill atmospheric stability classes

The most commonly used method of categorizing the amount of
atmospheric turbulence present was the method developed by Pasquill
in 1991. He categorized the atmospheric turbulence into six stability
classes name A,B,C,D,E and F.
Class A is the most unstable or most turbulence class, and F is the most
stable or least turbulence class.
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The Pasquill stability class

Stability class

Definition

Stability class

Definition

Very unstable

neutral

Unstable

Slightly stable

Slight unstable

stable

Meteorological condition that define the Pasquill stability classes

Daytime incoming solar radiation

Surface

Wind speed

Nighttime cloud
cover

m/sec

Mi/h

Strong

Moderate

Slight

>50%

<50%

<2

<5

A-B

2-3

5-7

A-B

3-5

7-11

B-C

5-6

11-13

C-D

>6

>13

Note Class D applies to heavily overcast skies, at any wind speed day or
night

Visualization of a buoyant Gaussian air

pollutant dispersion plume

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Function of stack: 2.) Creation Draught

Creation draught
Enough fire box pressure control level
Enough combustion air for burning fuel

A target draught is established at the point of highest flue gas

pressure within the heater. The target value is selected to
minimize air leaking into the heater and to provide adequate
differential pressure or draught loss at the burner level for
necessary air flow across all burners.

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Draught profile

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Stack Draught Calculation

Natural draft head
h = (p o- p i) H
Where
h = draft head
p o = density outside air (kg/m3)
p i = density inside air (kg/m3)
H = high between inlet and outlet air
Dh = draft head (mmh2O)
Natural draft pressure
p = g (p o- p i)h
Where
h= stack height (m.)
p = pressure (Pa, N/M2)
g = acceleration of gravity -9.81 (m/S2)

Temp out
Temp in

Density and temperature

With air density of 1.293 kg/M3 at 0 oC then
p = (1.293 kg/M3 )(273k)/(273k+t)

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Stack Draught Calculation

Theoretical draft = 353 (1/T ambient air T)- (1/T flue gas T) * H mmwc
p =

g (((p o*273)/T amb air T - ((p i*273)/T flue gas T))h

g [ (353/Tamb air T)- (353/T flue gas T) ]h

= g *353[(1/Tamb air T)- (1/T flue gas T)]h
=

= 353 (1/Tamb air T)- (1/T

flue gas T)

(n/M2)

]h mmwc

( 1 mmbar= 10 mmwc = 100 N/m2)

T amb air and T Flue gas are in deg.K

H= Stack height (m)
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Total Loss = inlet loss (friction loss) + outlet loss (exit loss)
Friction loss:
p = (H/D)*1/2* * V2
(N/m2)
= friction coefficient = 64/Reynolds number(2300) = 0.028
D = stack diameter (m)
H = stack height (m)
V = flue gas velocity
(m/s)

p = (0.5 V2 H)/(T

flue gas T

*D )

(mmwc)

T Flue gas T is in deg. K

Exit loss:
p = 1/2pV2

(N/m2)

= exit loss coefficient ( normally = 1 for outlet stack)

p = 17.6 V2 /T

flue gas T

(mmwc),

T Flue gas is in deg. K

Total draft= Theoretical draft - friction loss - exit loss