Physical properties of basalt and numerical simulation of the melting process in basalt particle beds

The physical properties of basalt, such as density, viscosity, permeability , and heat conductivity, were studied experimentally. By introducing the me asured parameters into the governing equations of the Finite differential m ethod (FDM), the melting processes of basalt, in relation to the thermal bo undary conditions and particle sizes, were simulated for the purpose of des igning a melting furnace for basalt. The governing equations were discretiz ed in a tridiagonal matrix form and were solved using the tridiagonal matri x algorithm (TDMA) and the alternative direction implicit (ADI) solver. The temperature distribution, position of the two-dimensional phase-change bou ndary, and melting time were calculated during the numerical simulation. Th ese provide the basis for determining the heating procedure, for controllin g the furnace temperature, and for predicting basalt melting states. In the experiment, an electrical furnace was designed based on the computations. It is demonstrated that the simulation results are reasonably consistent wi th the observed data.