Gas flow analysis in melting furnaces

The flow structure inside round furnaces with various numbers of burners, b urner arrangements, and exit conditions has been studied experimentally wit h the purpose of improving the flow conditions and the resulting heat trans fer. Small-scale transparent models were built according to the laws of geo metric and dynamic similarity. Various visualization and experimental techn iques were applied. The flow pattern in the near-surface regions was visual ized by the fluorescent minituft and ''popcorn'' techniques; the flow struc ture in the bulk was analyzed by smoke injection and laser sheet illuminati on. For the study of the transient effects, high-speed video photography wa s applied. The effects of the various flow patterns, like axisymmetric and rotational flow, on the magnitude and uniformity of the residence time, as well as on the formation of stagnation zones, were discussed. Conclusions w ere drawn and have since been applied for the improvement of furnace perfor mance.