Yeromin O. Developing scientific fundamentals for heat and mass exchange processes during metal heating and elaborating methodology of designing and operating industrial furnaces with high temperature air heating

The dissertation focuses on the complex solution of the problem related to the increase in metal heating quality and decrease in fuel consumption due to controlled fuel combustion, flue gases movement as well as heat and mass exchange processes in industrial thermal furnaces with high temperature air heating. The dissertation research has proved the possibility to raise the efficiency of managing heat and mass exchange processes in the working space of thermal furnaces with high-temperature air heating due to distributed voluminous fuel combustion, reverse and large-scale inner recirculation of flue gases. Scientific foundation of distributed heat radiation in the furnace is based on simultaneous burning of fuel and high-temperature air with lower concentration of oxidizer; on the controlled mixing of combustion products, their impulse value difference not exceeding more than 10%; on the reverse movement of flue gases, ensuring such dynamic characteristics of fuel and air under which the length of voluminous heat radiation zone is equal to the trajectory of flue gases movement with recirculation Krec = 1.8 - 5. The research involved furthering principles of designing thermal furnaces with high temperature air heating, distributed fuel combustion, recirculation and reverse movement of flue gases in the working space. Feasible modes of furnace operation ensuring high quality and economical heating of metal have been developed. As the result of the research, a new methodology of computing burning devices with the view to organizing distributed voluminous fuel combustion in furnaces has been suggested. Innovative schemes and design variations of thermal furnaces with voluminous fuel combustion, reverse movement and recirculation of flue gases have been proposed and elaborated. Programming complex for modelling thermal furnaces has been created. Regenerative heating soaking pit with voluminous fuel combustion has been put into operation, which resulted in fuel economy up to 30 %, metal loss in clinker reduction by 3.5 kg/ton, performance growth by 7 - 17 %, and higher quality of ingot heating.