THE ENERGY-SAVING EFFECTS OF SURFACE-STRUCTURED WALLS IN A GLASS-MELTING FURNACE

In the context of a study of energy savings in glass-melting furnaces, the influence of surface-structured furnace walls has been investigat ed. The starting-point was the greater emissivity of a wall as a whole , where non-flatness of the surface enhances the heat-transfer to the melt. In this study the apparent total hemispherical and directional e missivities have been calculated for V-grooves, surface pyramids and p yramidal cavities. A Monte Carlo technique was used. On the basis of t hese results the energy-saving have been estimated. For instance, para llel V-grooves of 60-degrees included angle yield a fuel-saving of abo ut 1.5% for the furnace alone, and about 0.7% when a regenerator is ta ken into account. If unpractical sharp features are left out of consid eration, the general conclusion is that the energy-saving will be only marginal.