Modeling of Heat Flux in a Heating Furnace

Abstract

Modern heating furnaces use combined modes of heating the charge. At high heating temperatures, more radiation heating is used; at lower temperatures, more convection heating is used. In large heating furnaces, such as pusher furnaces, it is necessary to monitor the heating of the material zonally. Zonal heating allows the appropriate thermal regime to be set in each zone, according to the desired parameters for heating the charge. The problem for each heating furnace is to set the optimum thermal regime so that at the end of the heating, after the material has been cross-sectioned, there is a uniform temperature field with a minimum temperature differential. In order to evaluate the heating of the charge, a mathematical model was developed to calculate the heat fluxes of the moving charge (slabs) along the length of the pusher furnace. The obtained results are based on experimental measurements on a test slab on which thermocouples were installed, and data acquisition was provided by a TERMOPHIL-stor data logger placed directly on the slab. Most of the developed models focus only on energy balance assessment or external heat exchange. The results from the model created showed reserves for changing the thermal regimes in the different zones. The developed model was used to compare the heating evaluation of the slabs after the rebuilding of the pusher furnace. Changing the furnace parameters and altering the heat fluxes or heating regimes in each zone contributed to more uniform heating and a reduction in specific heat consumption. The developed mathematical heat flux model is applicable as part of the powerful tools for monitoring and controlling the thermal condition of the charge inside the furnace as well as evaluating the operating condition of such furnaces.