Temperature measurements in a laboratory scale furnace for manufacturing of silicon carbide through Acheson process

Abstract

A hot model for SiC production has been developed on the laboratory-scale to measure temperatures in harsh conditions at various locations of the furnace. A unique method has been adopted to measure the core temperature in reactive and high temperature environment. The temperatures of the core and at various radial and angular locations within the furnace were measured using a ratio pyrometer and by B and C-type thermocouples respectively; this type of controlled measurement is missing in this field. In this study, the power supply was maintained such that a constant core temperature was sustained. The temperature decrease along the radial direction is an indicative of the SiC production. Further, at the same radial distances, variations in the local temperature depended on the angular positions; upper regions showed higher temperatures due to escaping hot gases. The results obtained in this study are expected to be beneficial to the industries.