Numerical simulation of aluminum holding furnace with fluid-solid coupled heat transfer

To predict three-dimensional temperature distribution of molten aluminum and its influencing factors inside an industrial aluminum holding furnace,a fluid-solid coupled method was presented.The fluid-solid coupled mathematics models of aluminum holding furnace in the premixed combustion processing were established based on mass conservation,moment conservation,momentum conservation,energy conservation and chemistry species conservation.Computational results agree well with the test data of the typical condition.The maximum combustion temperature is 1 850 K.The average temperature of the molten aluminum is 1 158 K,and the maximum temperature difference is about 240 K.The average temperature increases 0.3 ℃ while the temperature of combustion air increases 1 ℃.The optimal excess air ratio is 1.25-1.30.

Combustion and energy balance of aluminum holding furnace with bottom porous brick purging system

For acquiring the details in aluminum holding furnace with bottom porous brick purging system,efforts were performed to try to find out the potential optimal operation schemes.By adopting transient analysis scheme and constant boundary temperature,combustion in the furnace was investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics(CFD).The predicted gas temperature shows good agreement with the measured results,and the predicted energy distribution of the furnace is consistent with that obtained from energy balance experiment,which confirms the reliability of the numerical solution.The results show that as the fuel-air mixture temperature rises up from 300 K to 500 K,the energy utilization of the furnace could increase from 34.55% to 37.14%.However,as the excess air coefficient increases from 1.0 to 1.4,energy utilization drops from 34.55% to 29.56%.Increasing the combustion temperature is the most effective way to improve the energy efficiency of the furnace.High reactant temperature and medium excess air coefficient are recommended for high operation performance,and keeping the furnace jamb sealed well for avoiding leakage has to be emphasized.

Numerical simulation and combination optimization of aluminum holding furnace linings based on simulated annealing

To reduce heat loss and save cost, a combination decision model of reverb aluminum holding furnace linings in aluminum casting industry was established based on economic thickness method, and was resolved using simulated annealing. Meanwhile, a three-dimensional mathematical model of aluminum holding furnace linings was developed and integrated with user-defined heat load distribution regime model. The optimal combination was as follows: side wall with 80 mm alumino-silicate fiber felts, 232 mm diatomite brick and 116 mm chamotte brick; top wall with 50 mm clay castables, 110 mm alumino-silicate fiber felts and 200 mm refractory concrete;and bottom wall with 232 mm high-alumina brick, 60 mm clay castables and 68 mm diatomite brick. Lining temperature from high to low was successively bottom wall, side wall, and top wall. Lining temperature gradient in increasing order of magnitude was refractory layer and insulation layer. It was indicated that the results of combination optimization of aluminum holding furnace linings were valid and feasible, and its thermo-physical mechanism and cost characteristics were reasonably revealed.

Numerical simulation on melt flow with bubble stirring and temperature field in aluminum holding furnace

The numerical model for predicting the flow and temperature fields of the melt in holding furnace with porous brick purging system were set up using Euler-Lagrange approach.In this model,bubbles coalescence and disintegration were ignored based on the dimensionless analysis,and the bubble size was assumed to be obedient to Rosin-Rammler distribution with a mean size of 0.6 mm.The results show that on reference operating condition,during the heating and agitation process,melt mixes well in the furnace,and the melt velocity increases with the increase of gas flux.Holding the melt for 30 min causes the max temperature in the bulk melt to increase to 60 K.After holding the heat,the agitation processing restarts,and it takes 10 min for the stratified melt to retrieve the homogeneous temperature field when the gas flux is 10 L/min,which shows deficient alloying and degassing in the melt.With the increase of gas flux from 10 to 20,30 and 40 L/min,the necessary recovery time decreases from 10 to 6,5 and 4 min gradually,which shows the improvement of the stirring efficiency.Depending on the processing purposes,for both good degassing performance and gas saving,proper operating strategy and parameters (gas flux,primarily) could be adjusted.