The central task of the digital twin is heat management within production furnaces. The furnace models must accurately consider heat transfer by conduction, radiation, and convection. The first step in creating a reliable model is the collection of high-temperature data for the furnace materials. Therefore, at the HTL, measurement methods are developed to accurately capture thermophysical material properties even at high temperatures. The measurement volumes are adjusted to allow for the representative measurement of heterogeneous materials typical in refractory applications. Examples include thermal conductivity and emissivity. If necessary, the measurement data are supplemented by literature data or manufacturer specifications. In the second step, the simulation of individual heat transfer mechanisms is validated. For this purpose, special test rigs are developed at the HTL, including:
- a radiation channel for radiation heat transfer with flexibly arranged radiation barriers
- a flow channel for convective heat transfer with flexibly arranged flow barriers
- a heat flux testing facility for measuring heat conduction in multi-layered furnace insulation.
In the final step, the digital twin of the furnace is validated on continuous or discontinuous production furnaces by comparing the simulation results with sensor data from the real furnaces. The mobile furnace testing facility of the HTL can be used for measurement purposes.