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The potential of on-line optical flow measurement in the control and monitoring of pilot-scale oxy-coal flames

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Abstract

Digital image processing techniques offer a wide array of tools capable of extracting apparent displacement or velocity information from sequences of images of moving objects. Optical flow algorithms have been widely used in areas such as traffic monitoring and surveillance. The knowledge of instantaneous apparent flame velocities (however, they are defined) may prove to be valuable during the operation and control of industrial-scale burners. Optical diagnostics techniques, coupled with on-line image processing, have been applied in the optimization of coal-fired power plants; however, regardless of the available technology, the current methods do not apply optical flow measurement. Some optical flow algorithms have the potential of real-time applicability and are thus possible candidates for on-line apparent flame velocity extraction. In this paper, the potential of optical flow measurement in on-line flame monitoring and control is explored.

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Notes

  1. \(T\) denotes vector transpose.

  2. These parameter values are consistent with the original paper of Brox et al. (2004). \(\eta \) is the reduction factor between subsequent pyramid levels.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Taylor Geisler (University of Utah) for assistance in pilot-scale tests and to Prof. Philip Smith (University of Utah) for his insights on interpreting the results. This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Energy under Award Number DE-NT0005015. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. This work was partially sponsored by the TAMOP-4.2.1.B-10/2/KONV-2010-0001 project with support by the European Union, co-financed by the European Social Fund. This research was carried out in the framework of the Center of Excellence of Sustainable Resource Management of the University of Miskolc.

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Correspondence to Pal Toth.

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Toth, P., Zhan, Z., Fu, Z. et al. The potential of on-line optical flow measurement in the control and monitoring of pilot-scale oxy-coal flames. Exp Fluids 55, 1727 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-014-1727-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-014-1727-3

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