Improvement of thermoprocessing plants

The energy efficiency of thermoprocessing plants depends in a complex way on their design, the materials used, the arrangement of the heat treatment material and the process parameters of the heat treatment. The understanding of the interactions between the influencing variables is insufficient. An experimental optimisation of energy efficiency is therefore very costly.
Conversely, FE methods are available with which heat transport phenomena can be calculated taking thermal radiation, convection and conduction into account.

Computer simulations will be used to determine the influencing parameters that determine the energy efficiency of industrial thermoprocessing equipment and their interaction. New thermoprocessing plants will thus be designed in a targeted manner and the process parameters of existing plants will be optimised with regard to energy efficiency and product quality.

At the HTL, FE models are created for the most important continuous and discontinuous furnace types. The geometrical data for this are derived from the measurement of existing industrial furnaces (sub-project: potential analysis of thermoprocessing plants).  The required material data will be collected in the subproject: High Temperature Material Characterisation.
The FE models are validated for each furnace type by comparison with the energy balance of real furnaces. Afterwards, the effects of changes in design, furnace materials or process parameters can be evaluated without the need for experimental implementation.
The economic efficiency of energy-efficient thermal processes can thus be demonstrated in advance, thus promoting their implementation in production practice.