ANALYSIS OF THERMAL LOADING FOR REHEATING FURNACE

Abstract

Heat treating is the controlled heating and cooling of a material to achieve certain mechanical properties, such as hardness, strength and the reduction of residual stresses. Many heat treating processes require the precise control of temperature over the heating cycle. Typically, the energy used for process heating accounts for 2% to 15% of the total production cost. The objective of this work is “to analyze thermal loading for reheating furnace”. The research methodology was based on both experimental work and theoretical developments including modeling different types of heat treat furnaces. Experimental validations using the CHT model were conducted to identify the specific problems in the current model. An enhanced furnace model has been developed and validated. The new model takes into account the real time furnace parameters determined from the experimental data and accounts for furnace door opening and closing sequence.