Nearly 45% of the residential site energy in the US is consumed by the gas furnace for space heating. The design practice of next-generation product often refers to CFD-based design tool, in order to reduce the development cost and cycle. In the present study, Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is applied to measure the detailed flow field inside a general gas furnace model for establishing a benchmark database and validating CFD predictions. The furnace model is equipped with multiple observation windows and is connected to an air circulation system with seeding particles introduced, simulating different well-controlled operation conditions. The flow field around the four primary heat exchangers and at the outlet of the furnace is measured and analyzed statistically. The mean velocity displays symmetric patterns as the differential pressure between inlet and outlet of the furnace is low. The symmetry is transiently lost as the differential pressure increases. Statistical analysis also shows turbulence in regions with flow separation and vortex shedding. The results provide a clear understanding of the change of flow characteristics under different operation conditions.

This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.