3D monolithic finite element approach for aero-thermics processes in industrial furnaces

Abstract

We consider in this paper a mathematical and numerical model to design an industrial software solution able to handle real complex furnaces configurations in terms of geometries, atmospheres, parts positioning, heat generators and physical thermal phenomena. A three dimensional algorithm based on stabilized finite element methods (SFEM) for solving the momentum, energy, turbulence and radiation equations is presented. An immersed volume method (IVM) for thermal coupling of fluids and solids is introduced and detailed. It consists in considering a single 3D grid of the furnace and solving one set of equations for both fluid and solid with different thermal properties. A fast anisotropic mesh adaptation algorithm based on the variations of the level set function is applied to ensure an accurate capture of the discontinuities at the fluid-solid interfaces. The proposed method demonstrates the capability of the model to simulate an unsteady three dimensional heat transfers and turbulent flows in an industrial furnace with the presence of conducting solids. Temperature measurements were carried in different locations and are compared to the experimental results.