CFD Simulation of the Slot Jet Impingement Heat Transfer Process and Application to a Temperature Control System for Galvanizing Line of Metal Band

Abstract

A CFD model to simulate the cooling technique trough slot jet impingement has been developed. Such a technique has been tested on an existing vertical galvanizing industrial line, which initially envisaged a round jet configuration, the subject of a previous work. Two different slot jet configurations have been simulated and compared to the pre-existing one, in order to provide design information for a possible new jet cooler after exploring different solutions. The numerical model has been appropriately calibrated and validated by comparing it with experimental measurements from a literature case. At first, a single slot jet configuration was simulated through a 2D model, then multi slot configurations were calculated using 3D models. Different turbulence models were compared to select the best candidate for the CFD approach. Finally, several configurations with different slots numbers and jet-wall distances were considered. It was possible to understand the physical mechanisms underlying this cooling technique and to be able to select the most promising configuration for the reference industrial cooling process.