Thermal analysis of sinter vertical cooler based on waste heat recovery

Abstract

Sinter vertical cooler, as a new type of sinter waste heat efficient recycling device, is facing great potential and rare opportunities for development. The structural and operating parameters greatly affect the subsequent utilization of waste heat. In the present work, the 3-D model has been improved, and the novelty is that a convection term is added to the energy equation of the solid phase to achieve the steady-state heat transfer condition in gas solid state. The reliability of the mathematical model was verified by the experimental data. Four main parameters were investigated based on exergy, energy consumption and dimensionless exergy consumption. The results show that, when the other parameters are constant, the optimal cooling gas mass flow rate is 85 kg/s based on the maximum exergy. The greatest impact on dimensionless exergy consumption is cooling section diameter, followed by cooling gas mass flow rate, cooling section height and sinter mass flow rate. The structural and operating parameters have a monotonous effect not only on the exergy but also the energy consumption. These results should be helpful for understanding the flow and heat transfer process in the sinter vertical cooler for waste heat recovery engineering.