TRAINER© is a realistic simulation of a process heater that demonstrates the impact of operating parameters such as air temperature, fuel composition, and humidity on the operation of the heater. The air flow and fuel flow to the heater can be adjusted and the stack damper can be set to control the draft. Each time a change is made in any of the operating parameters the screen is updated to show the impact of the change on operating variables. The heater configuration can be changed to match a specific heater. TRAINER includes instructor lessons that address combustion and heater operation; and student tutorials designed to demonstrate various aspects of heater operation.

For a detailed description "click" following screen shot.

The Trainer© Process Heater Simulator Has 5 modules. They are:

• The TRAINER© Base Configuration
• Heater Customization Module
• Burner Customization Module
• Process Module
• NOx Module
• FD/ID and Preheated Air Module

The TRAINER© Base Configuration - The base configuration provides the user with the ability to study the safe operation of a fired heater or furnace by changing certain primary parameters such as fuel flow, combustion air temperature, humidity, stack damper setting and burner air register setting. Each time a change is made, a complete set of furnace operating conditions is generated. The flame length simulation is used to provide a more accurate representation of the impact of the changes.

Heater Customization Module - The heater customization module permits the user to vary parameters such as stack height, convection section height, radiant section height, stack flow area, convection section flow area, and setting loss. These variable parameters permit the user to examine the impact of increased or decreased draft, excessive heat loss, lower or higher radiant section temperature and the shifting of duty between the convection and radiant sections on heater or furnace operation.

Burner Customization Module - The burner customization module permits the user to vary parameters such as burner throat area, burner register area, fuel composition, fuel supply pressure and burner flame length. The ability to change the throat and register areas enables the user to investigate the controllability of the burner/furnace system. The variable flame length feature enables the user to evaluate the effect of installation of burners with longer or shorter flame lengths.

Process Module - The process module enables the user to input the process inlet temperature and the process flow rate. Additional display items are the convection section process outlet temperature and the radiant section process outlet temperature. The user can evaluate the change in efficiency and emissions (if NOx module is included) that may result from increased or decreased inlet and outlet temperatures or changes in process flow. The new automatic control feature that can be set to control process outlet temperature, stack O2 and heater draft is included as a part of this module.

NOx Module - The NOx module lets the user see the effects of any of the above described parameter changes on NOx emissions. New inputs are burner types (i.e. low NOx burners) and a NOx scaling factor that permits the user to duplicate the emissions level from an existing unit.

FD/ID and Preheated Air Module - The Forced Draft/Induced Draft module permits the heater to be operated with forced draft, induced draft or balanced draft with ambient or preheated air. Air flow and draft are controlled by adjusting FD or ID fan dampers. When preheated air is used, the energy for preheating the combustion air is provided by the heater stack gases.

Real Time Simulation - The newest Trainer© feature is the ability to simulate real time changes in parameters that affect the operation of a fired process heater. For example, the process inlet temperature can be varied over a period of time with the heater in either manual or automatic control to demonstrate the effects on heater operation. The effects of different rates of change of variables can be demonstrated. All parameters including atmospheric conditions can be varied over time.

The following table provides a summary of the features that are included in the first five modules of the TRAINER© Heater Simulator Software. A sixth module has been completed that provides for Forced Draft, Induced Draft, Balanced Draft, and Pre-Heated Air operation.

* Calculated but not displayed