1996 Volume 82 Issue 11 Pages 893-898
The high-frequency induction melting furnace with packed beds of coke has been recently developed from many advantages. However, overall transport phenomena of the furnace is still not clear in spite of its importance for optimizing/designing the furnace. In this study, by summarizing the results obtained in the previous studies, a total mathematical model was proposed for simulating heat transfer and material flow in the furnace. Three experiments at different conditions were also conducted by using low-melting-temperature metal in the laboratory scale furnace with graphite packed beds. The results showed that agreement between observed and predicted data in any experiments is good enough for verification of the model. In addition, the experimental data revealed that the decrease of electric current and the reduction of scrap layer influence significantly productivity and temperature of liquid metal at the outlet, respectively. Finally, the model was applied to an industrial furnace, with both temperature and flow fields of scrap, coke and hot metal simulated for the first time. The major findings due to this analysis were that a thermally-inactive region at the center of the scrap layer and predominant channelling of hot metal near the wall exist.
