Title: Gas flow model in the pusher-type slab reheating furnace and flow pattern improvement by computational fluid dynamics

Authors: Yong Tang, Timo Fabritus, Jouko Harkki, Jarmo Laine

Addresses: Laboratory of Process Metallurgy, P.O. Box 4300, University of Oulu, FIN-90014, Finland. ' Laboratory of Process Metallurgy, P.O. Box 4300, University of Oulu, FIN-90014, Finland. ' Laboratory of Process Metallurgy, P.O. Box 4300, University of Oulu, FIN-90014, Finland. ' Laboratory of Materials Engineering, P.O. Box 4200, University of Oulu, FIN-90014, Finland '

Abstract: Although a lot of numerical simulations have been developed for the pusher-type reheating furnace, most of those focused on the heat transfer between gas phase and slabs. The flow pattern in the furnace has been seldom reported before. This paper describes the CFD simulation about a pusher-type reheating furnace combined with fluid dynamics, combustion and radiation models. Calculation results show a detailed flow distribution in the reheating furnace and indicate that reverse flow under the slab near the lower burner is the main reason for scales accumulation in the front part of the heating zone. A block wall was added ahead of the lower burners in the heating zone in this CFD simulation in order to study its influence on decreasing such kind of reverse flow. The average oxygen content was also calculated in the present model. The oxygen distributes evenly inside most parts of the furnace except the areas near the burners.

Keywords: CFD; pusher-type reheating furnace; flow pattern; oxygen distribution.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2004.003784

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2004 Vol.4 No.1, pp.59 - 68

Published online: 29 Dec 2003 *

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