A burner control system for controlling the operation of a fuel burner arranged to burn a combination of a supply of fuel and a supply of air is provided. The burner control system is arranged to receive from an exhaust gas analyzer one or more signals, each signal being indicative of the level of an exhaust gas emitted by the fuel burner; receive from a photodetector a signal indicative of a level of electromagnetic radiation output by the flame of the fuel burner; and control at least one of the supply of fuel and the supply of air to the burner based on the one or more signals received from the exhaust gas analyzer and the signal received from the photodetector.

Systems, methods, and computer readable medium are provided for determining interferometric data and spectral data associated with combustion conditions of a flame in a combustion chamber using a sensor head including a first vacuum cavity, a diaphragm operatively interfaced to an inner portion of the combustion chamber, and an optical sensor interrogator configured on a computing device and coupled to the sensor head via optical fibers. The optical sensor interrogator including an interferometer configured to determine interferometric data associated with the flame based on light transmitted and reflected via a first optical fiber and a spectrometer configured to determine spectral data associated with the flame based on light transmitted via a second optical fiber.

A method for operating a combustion chamber is provided. The method includes introducing a fuel into the combustion chamber via a plurality of nozzles, each nozzle having an associated stoichiometry for an output end of the nozzle. The method further includes measuring the stoichiometry of each nozzle via one or more sensors to obtain stoichiometric data, and determining that at least one of a frequency and an amplitude of spectral line fluctuations derived from the stoichiometric data has exceeded a threshold. The method further includes adjusting the stoichiometry of at least one of the nozzles based at least in part on the stoichiometric data so as to maintain a flame stability of the combustion chamber.

A flame scanner includes a lens barrel assembly defining a generally hollow body having a first end and a second end, and an opening formed in the first end, a lens positioned adjacent to the second end, and a fiber optic cable receivable through the opening in the first end, the fiber optic cable having a distal end. A field of view of the flame scanner is selectively adjustable by varying a position of the distal end of the fiber optic cable with respect to the lens.

A remote sensing system which may be assembled with an Infrared (IR) sensor, or a plurality of IR sensors, disposed to sense IR radiance emitted as combustion products from a flare stack in two distinctive spectral bands, each band having a narrow spectral bandpass, the sensor being radiometrically calibrated to sense transmission characteristics of the two distinctive bands of the radiance from flare combustion gases; and an analyzer driven by a microcontroller, coupled to the IR sensor, to operationally respond in real time by generating an indication of flare stack's performance through a parameter derived from a ratio of the transmission characteristics of the two radiance outputs sensed by the IR sensor. The IR sensor of this flare monitoring-apparatus must be positioned in such a way that the anticipated entire flame will be captured within the Field of View (FoV) of the IR sensor, or sensors.

A system and method in which (i) a flame scanner provides UV and/or IR wave period and amplitude information for a burner flame and (ii) a flame stabilization metering module determines whether the wave period and amplitude of the flame have reached warning and shutoff set points for the burner, thus indicating that the operation of the burner is unstable, or that a flame out event is likely, and, in which event, corrective actions are taken, or the burner is shut down, to restore stable operation and prevent a flame out from occurring.

A method and system for identifying combustion dynamics in a combustion chamber, includes an optical sensor that receives energy from a flame within the combustion chamber. A processor is configured to receive a first signal from the sensor indicative of energy at a first wavelength and a second signal indicative of energy at a second wavelength. The processor can generate a data set of combustion quality indicators from the first signal and the second signal. The processor can convert the data set of combustion quality indicators in a time domain to a combustion quality spectrum in a frequency domain. The processor can analyze the combustion quality spectrum to determine anomalies, wherein the anomalies indicate at least one frequency where combustion dynamics occur in the combustion chamber and output a signal indicative of the at least one frequency where combustion dynamics occur.

Systems, methods, and computer readable medium are provided for determining interferometric data and spectral data associated with combustion conditions of a flame in a combustion chamber using a sensor head including a first vacuum cavity, a diaphragm operatively interfaced to an inner portion of the combustion chamber, and an optical sensor interrogator configured on a computing device and coupled to the sensor head via optical fibers. The optical sensor interrogator including an interferometer configured to determine interferometric data associated with the flame based on light transmitted and reflected via a first optical fiber and a spectrometer configured to determine spectral data associated with the flame based on light transmitted via a second optical fiber.

A heating device includes a combustion chamber, a housing in fluid communication with the combustion chamber, a burner disposed in the housing, a blower assembly connected to the housing for directing air into the interior of the housing, a valve assembly connected to the housing for controlling a flow of fuel into the burner, an optical color sensor for sensing a color profile of a surface of the burner, and a control unit configured to control the valve assembly in dependence upon the color profile of the surface of the burner.

To calculate a probability of an optical sensor's irregular discharge, a light detection system includes an optical sensor, an application voltage generating circuit that applies a drive pulse voltage to the optical sensor, a discharge determining portion that detects the optical sensor's discharge, a discharge probability calculating portion that calculates a discharge probability in a first state in which light from an additional light source having a known light quantity is incident on the optical sensor or the additional light source is turned off, and in a second state in which the additional light source's turning-on/turning-off state is different from the first state and the drive pulse voltage's pulse width is the same as the first state, a sensitivity parameter storing portion that stores the optical sensor's sensitivity parameters, and another discharge probability calculating portion that calculates a discharge probability of the optical sensor's irregular discharge.