Construction Of Furnace Research Articles

Agro-industrial waste utilization in air-cured alkali-activated pavement composites: Properties, micro-structural insights and life cycle impacts

This study investigates the development and performance of agro-industrial waste-based air-cured alkali-activated composites (AC) for sustainable high-strength pavement applications. The calculated amount of Na2SiO3 and NaOH were employed with water to generate alkaline activator solution. Locally sourced materials, including blast furnace slag, construction and demolition (C&D) waste, and sugarcane bagasse ash (SBA), were utilized to examine mechanical properties, micro-structural behaviour, and life cycle impacts. Optimized AC mixes containing 50% recycled aggregates (RCA) and 15% SBA demonstrated superior compressive, tensile, and flexural strength, while significantly reducing embodied energy and carbon emissions. Microstructural analysis through XRD, SEM, EDAX, and TGA confirmed the formation of stable alumino-silicate hydrate phases, contributing to enhanced superior-strength. The life cycle analysis results indicated considerable environmental benefits compared to traditional OPC pavement concretes. This research presents a sustainable solution for pavement infrastructure, aligning with circular economy principles by promoting the reduction of resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Simulation of the work of glass furnaces with the purpose of searching for reserves and increase their efficiency

The object of research is the operation of a glass furnace. The work involved modeling the operation of a glass furnace by changing the technical and economic indicators of its operation in order to optimize the technological processes of manufacturing glass products, increase the energy efficiency of the process, and reduce the ecological burden on the environment. Glass furnaces are complex heat engineering units that require a large amount of energy to operate. Therefore, increasing their effectiveness is the main task of our research. In the work, computer modeling of thermal processes in the furnace was carried out, heat balances were calculated and analyzed, and the performance of the furnace was analyzed after changing and improving the technological regimes of combustion processes, glass boiling and furnace construction. Studies have shown that in order to increase the technical and economic performance of glass furnaces, it is advisable to conduct additional thermal insulation of the furnace enclosures. The thermal insulation of the vault increases the efficiency of the furnace by 2–3 %, and the thermal insulation of the remaining areas of the furnace in total allows to increase the efficiency of the heating unit up to 3 %. Such measures improve the sanitary and technical working conditions of the staff in the machine-bath shop. Studies have shown that additional heating of the air used for burning fuel significantly increases the efficiency of the furnace. Thus, an increase in air temperature by 100 °C increases the efficiency of the furnace by approximately 2.5 %. However, such a measure is possible with a corresponding increase in the volume of regenerator nozzles. A significant increase in the efficiency of the furnace was achieved when additional electric heating was installed. This allows to reduce the total energy costs, and at the same time, the introduction of every 10 % of additional electric heating increases the efficiency of the furnace by up to 3 % and improves the quality of the glass mass. Such additional heating can be recommended in the amount of 20–30 % of the total heat consumption for the operation of the furnace. The analysis of the obtained results showed a fairly good convergence of the results, which indicates the acceptable adequacy of the models. The obtained process simulation results allow choosing the optimal design and operation parameters of the glass furnace. The results of the work can be used in practice for the design of efficient glass furnaces of various purposes and performance.

Design and construction of an electric heat treatment furnace using locally sourced materials

Design and construction of an electric heat treatment furnace using locally sourced materials

The non-religious and the European city in the nineteenth century: the development of crematories in Milan and Gotha

Abstract While our knowledge of the entanglements of cities and religions is growing, the ‘other’ of religion and its impact on the city has not received the same level of attention in research so far. This article explores how this lacuna could start to be filled. Its focus is on the history of modern cremation that unfolded with strong secularist leanings during the long nineteenth century. I will look into the history of the first European crematories that were built in Milan and Gotha, the construction of the first cremation furnaces and the infrastructures necessary to make them work. My hypothesis is that what I call ‘worldview technologies’ and related infrastructures changed the faces of cities and were in turn influenced by these cities’ histories and self-images.

Sustainable geopolymers from polyethylene terephthalate waste and industrial by-products: a comprehensive characterisation and performance predictions

Several researchers have recently worked to create sustainable building materials. One of the fundamental prerequisites for sustainable construction methods and environmental impact assessments is the use of green building materials and manufacturing processes. In this research study, geopolymer bricks were developed using polyethylene terephthalate waste and different industrial by-products (rice husk ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, red mud, construction, and demolition waste) and investigated their performances. The polyethylene terephthalate waste was used as a replacement for sand filler in the geopolymer brick up to 100%. Key findings include a workability decrease of 14.75% and a compressive strength reduction of up to 75% with 100% plastic waste replacement, attributed to increased voids and weak geopolymer matrix interaction. Dry density consistently decreases, and water absorption rises to 13.73% with full sand replacement, indicating a porous structure. Impact resistance improves with plastic waste inclusion, enhancing ductility and thermal conductivity by 57% at full replacement. Microstructural analyses reveal correlations between physical–mechanical properties and changes in porosity, microcracks, and bond strength. Machine learning, especially linear regression, proves effective for strength parameter prediction (up to 100% efficacy, R-square of 0.998). The promising results obtained could offer a substantial environmentally friendly solution to the building and construction industry in line with Circular Economy principles.

Gershom Bulkeley, “Saltbox Science,” and the Colonial New England Laboratory

This article investigates the prolific colonial New England alchemist and physician Gershom Bulkeley (1635/36–1713) and his late seventeenth-century household laboratory. First, I provide an updated bibliography and biography of Bulkeley and then engage an assemblage of surviving commonplace and account books, inventories, a vade mecum, and several books discovered to have been previously owned by Bulkeley. In order to understand Bulkeley’s laboratory, I coin the term “saltbox science,” arguing that his work combined European textual knowledge and temporal and material adaptations within the colonial household and town. I describe first his creative flexibility in regard to the construction of laboratory furnaces that were based on designs initially gained from Europeans. Thereafter, I demonstrate how his laboratory practice was embedded within his household and his town’s temporal rhythms and material networks. Bulkeley’s “saltbox science” is meant to serve as a template for understanding a certain domestic class of seventeenth-century colonial New England alchemists who, in general, leave behind little archival evidence of their laboratory activities.

The Impact of Charcoal Iron Production on the Landscape of the South Lakes, Cumbria (UK) During the Eighteenth Century Using Archival Material Combined with Remote Mapping Techniques

ABSTRACT The history of the charcoal iron trade in the Southern Lake District in Cumbria, England is well recognised, with activity controlled by a very small number of iron production companies intensifying during the eighteenth century. This activity, from the initial extraction of the ore, through the development of a transport infrastructure and the construction of furnaces, to the management of woodlands for charcoal production, has left its mark on the landscape. A wealth of untapped information is held in the region’s documentary archives, which provides data on the iron production companies themselves, primarily via account books and associated documents. These records include detail on the charcoal bought in—not only the dates and precise quantities, but the names of the source woodlands and even the names of the individual producers themselves. Using GIS, these sources have been examined in combination with remotely sensed data to provide new evidence of the impact of the iron trade on the woodlands of the Lake District. The results demonstrate that charcoal production was so vital to the iron industry that the woodlands were carefully and sustainably managed, the legacy of which we enjoy today.

Pages of the enterprise chronicle ‒ engineering solutions

The history of the Makeevka Metallurgical Plant is considered on the examples of the most important and striking technical decisions made by the engineers of the enterprise within the framework of the blast furnace, open-hearth and rolling industries. With regard to blast furnace production following developments are noted: enlarged assembly of blast furnaces and auxiliary units; the launch in 1929 of the largest blast furnace in the USSR with a volume of 842 m3, which served as a prototype for the design and construction of large furnaces at other enterprises; achievement of the best indicators in the country in terms of the useful volume utilization factor; launch in 1957 of blast furnace No. 5 with a volume of 1400 m3, the largest at that time in the USSR; realization of industrial use of coke oven gas in blast-furnace production. With regard to open-hearth production following achievements are noted: the first experience in the USSR in mastering a floor filling machine; the complex of solutions that ensured victory in the All-Union competition of metallurgists for the best quality and low cost of products; leadership in the development of chromium-magnesite domes and evaporative cooling of furnace elements; establishing of the world record for steel smelting at a 200-ton unit. In the field of rolling production, the development of the first Soviet blooming is noted. The current struc-ture of the plant is presented, which is currently based on the production of wire and long products on unique aggre-gates: a wire mill 150 and long products rolling mill 390. The role of the Donetsk National Technical University in the training of engineering personnel for the Makeevka Metallurgical Plant, from 1921 to the present, is noted

The effects of new technology on productivity: technological improvement and reallocation efficiency in the Japanese steelmaking industry

This paper analyzes the effect of new technology for steel refining—the basic oxygen furnace—on productivity growth using the productivity decomposition method. I employ a technique that decomposes productivity growth into four factors: operational improvement, within- and between-technology reallocation, and entry–exit effects. I demonstrate that the following two factors are both substantially important: (i) the rapid operational progress of new technology and (ii) between-technology reallocation both among existing furnaces and through entries. I also find that although the overall allocation efficiency improved, the within-new-technology allocation efficiency declined. The results suggest that government policies encouraged the construction of new furnaces by lowering the cost of introducing new technology, and firms were able to enjoy the high productivity gains from the new technology itself and its rapid growth.

Life Cycle Assessment for Substitutive Building Materials Using the Example of the Vietnamese Road Sector

Road construction usually relies on the utilization of natural aggregates as building materials. However, increasing pressure for sustainable roads highlights the importance of replacing natural materials with industrial byproducts. The scope of the present study was to identify feasible secondary raw materials for road subbase construction, and to investigate their environmental footprint in the context of Vietnam. This work examines road subbase alternatives such as manufactured sand (m-sand), granulated blast furnace slag (GBF), electric arc furnace slag (EAF), construction and demolition waste (CDW), and fly ash (FA). Based on the life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach, the environmental footprints of the alternative waste-based layers were compared with one another and with the corresponding conventional layers. The study comprises following working steps: (i) a comprehensive literature review of the respective materials, (ii) general chemical and soil mechanical analysis of road subbase substitutes, and (iii) LCA of the material alternatives in the context of the Vietnamese road construction sector. The results for the road subbase layer indicated that CDW and FA had lower impacts—particularly in the impact categories global warming potential and mineral resource scarcity. The overall LCA analysis for the road subbase layer highlighted that the greatest footprint contribution was involved in the construction material transportation processes. Thus, sourcing of materials closer to the site or the use of low-emission transport alternatives is needed.

Design and Construction of Heat Treatment Furnace Using Ant Hill

A heat treatment furnace using anthill has been designed and fabricated. Developing our local content in the production of heat treatment furnaces will be a major boost in the bid to take a prominent position in foundry and metallurgical engineering. It will contribute to checking the excess waste on the foreign scarce resources spent on the importation of heat treatment and crucible furnaces. Growing our technology is very important to promoting us into global recognition as producers instead of our unfortunate consuming nature which our nation is known for. The developed furnace has volume and height of 0.037m 3 and 0.188m respectively. It worked well when tested for about five hours.. It had an efficiency of 91.3% Keywords: Furnace, Design, heat treatment, foundry and Anthill DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/13-1-03 Publication date: March 31 st 2023

Mix design development of fly ash-GGBS based recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete

Concrete is the most extensively used building material across the world. It can accommodate huge volumes of industrial waste by-products such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and construction and demolition waste which are generated in massive quantities from thermal power plants, steel plants, as a by-product, and construction waste debris respectively. Lots of fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and construction and demolition waste are discarded, creating environmental and storage issues. The manufacturing of recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete is one of the cost-effective ways to dispose vast amounts of debris. The use of recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete as structural concrete is not encouraged due to lack of appropriate mix design methodology. The current study aims to develop a new mix design methodology by using fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag with 100% recycle aggregate, which is simpler and more consistent than previous procedures. The suggested process has been further validated by developing a range of concretes with alkaline activate content to binder ratios ranging from 0.3 to 0.8. According to the present study, by using fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag along with recycled aggregate in concrete, compressive strength of an order of nearly 60 MPa can be obtained at the curing age of 28 days. SEM and XRD analysis were also carried out to evaluate the processes of polymerization. The results suggest that fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag have a superior synergetic influence on recycled aggregate geopolymer concrete performance.

Ecological footprint and economic assessment of conventional and geopolymer concrete for sustainable construction

Cement is the binding material in conventional concrete which involves excess lime quarry and large volume of CO2 emission during its production. On the other hand, the geopolymer concrete is a cement-less concrete where materials such as fly ash, blast furnace slag, bottom ash, construction, and demolition waste etc. are utilized as binder (precursor) when activated with alkaline solution. In the present study, ecological footprint along with the mechanical properties and the incurred cost of the production of M30 conventional cement concrete prepared according to IS, ACI and DOE code of practices were assessed and compared with that of geopolymer concrete. Cement concrete prepared according to IS, ACI and DOE code of practice had the compressive strength of 41 MPa, 43 MPa and 32 MPa respectively at 28 days. The compressive strength of geopolymer concrete was found to be 48 MPa at 28 days which was higher than that of all the conventional concrete. But the ecological footprint and the cost of geopolymer concrete production was found to be lower than that of conventional concrete. The geopolymer concrete had the lowest ecological footprint or the bio-productive land requirement of 0.0224 gha/m3 when compared to that of conventional cement concrete. The conventional cement concrete prepared as per the IS code had the highest ecological footprint of 0.0546 gha/m3. Heat curing contributed to 44% and the material contributed to 46% in the total ecological footprint of geopolymer concrete. However, burden of energy incurred on heat curing can be further reduced by the use of non-conventional source of energy. The production of geopolymer concrete also provides a sustainable disposal option for industrial waste produced as a by-product. Therefore, geopolymer concrete could be seen as eco-friendly and economical alternate to conventional concrete in the era of sustainable development.

Development of prototype fritting furnace for small scale pottery producers in Nigeria

Frit is an essential material required in the composition of low temperature glazes. Unfortunately, up till the year 2020 appropriate furnace for local production of frit is scarce in Nigeria. This may be due to the prohibitive prices of customary refractory materials, exorbitant cost for construction of a standard frit furnace, and the epileptic power supply to run a frit producing plant. Consequently, previous attempts to produce frit locally ended up in losses and products froth with impurities. In this work, the continuous-flow frit kiln with a sloping floor design was modified and a prototype was constructed using locally sourced refractory. The working section was lined with highly corrosion resistance monolith produced with a ramming mass composed of zircon and kaolinite. It has a volume of 10.62 litre. The furnace runs on butane gas, it is fed with pre-treated precursor in granules form and capable of continuous production of 30 kg of frit per hour (kg/h) at 1100 oC. With the appropriate burner, the furnace achieved the optimum operation temperature of 1100oC within two hours. The design is suitable for private studio, research and educational institutions. It can also be scaled up for industrial uses.

The features of geopolymer concrete as a novel approach for utilization in green urban structures

Because of its unique qualities, concrete is the second most commonly utilized building material after water. However, there are significant downsides to the Portland cement manufacturing process, producing one ton of carbon dioxide per every ton of Portland cement. As a result, the usage of a Portland cement substitute appears to be required. On the other hand, the "waste-free" idea and the manufacturing of new materials with an environmental impact will be less important in future cities than the aims of sustainable development. To further develop environmentally friendly materials, it is vital to understand the environmental stimuli of novel materials as well as to assess the environmental effects of standard building materials. Geopolymers are ceramic-like materials with three-dimensional poly-compact structures that are made by chemically activating aluminum and silica-containing solids at low temperatures. Industrial wastes or by-products like coal combustion ash, smelting iron furnace slag, construction debris, or agricultural waste like rice husk ash can be utilized to make geopolymer concrete and construction. The present article reviews the studies on the use of geopolymer technology in sustainable materials to develop urban sustainability and reduce the emission of environmental pollutants with a life cycle assessment approach. Findings and results of studies show that geopolymer concretes have higher mechanical, chemical, and energy consumption properties than conventional concrete and offer significant environmental benefits.

Design and construction of gas and charcoal-fired crucible furnace

The technological progress of any country is gets and improved by the extent to which it effectively utilizes and transforms its mineral resources and furnaces have found their worthy place in the same. This work involves the design and construction of gas and charcoal-fired crucible furnace used in workshops and small foundries and can be easily used by undergraduate, postgraduate as well as PhD scholars. Exposing young minds to the development and application of the same imparts fundamentals materials processing such as melting and casting. Furnace casting, crucible furnace cover, burner housing, furnace cover stand, and burner are some important component of the designed furnace. Mild steel sheet was used for the construction, while the other components were selected based on process application. Post fabrication, the inside temperature of 1200 °C was obtained; a total mass of 10 kg of metal can be melted and the temperature was found to be enough to melt most of the commonly used engineering materials, and due to its low weight it can be transferred from one place to another.

A New Flexible and Economic Technology for the Low Pressure Sand Casting of Steel Alloys

Low pressure casting is a very well established process for the casting of aluminium alloys. In the field of ferrous materials, however, the process has so far only found a few applications. The crucial reasons for this are the low flexibility and poor economic efficiency of the existing technologies. Since 2016, a new technology has been developed at the Foundry Institute of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, in which an induction crucible furnace can be used as a melting unit and, in combination with a cover including a casting pipe, as a casting unit. The new technology stands out from existing low-pressure casting technologies for ferrous materials, particularly in terms of its flexibility and cost-effectiveness. The main focus of the activities was the development of a casting pipe as well as the verification of its lifetime, the elaboration and verification of process parameters and sequences as well as the upscaling of the technology for an industrial application. In all considerations, the focus was on both the technical feasibility and the economic efficiency of the process. The result is extensive expertise that can be used in the future to offer a finished product for industrial applications as a plug-and-play solution together with an induction furnace construction company.

Efficiency Criteria for Thermal Insulation Structures of Glass Furnaces

The optimal operation of high temperature reactors such as glass furnaces requires many factors to be considered. These are, for example, the duration of the campaign, operating costs, heat losses, trouble-free operation of units and many others, presented in the article. The aim of this study is to synthesize an efficiency criterion for optimizing the heat-insulating construction of a glass-melting furnace (HICGF), as well as obtaining the optimal values of the efficiency criterion for HICGF, which for the furnace under study are about 3.8 billion rubles. In the course of the study, the phenomenological heuristic-evolutionary optimization method by G. E. Kanevets (PHEOM.GEK), which has a number of advantages over other evolutionary methods. As the main generalizing criterion, taking into account the most significant production (volume, cost of the produced glass mass) and financial (costs for the construction and operation of the HICGF, the monetary equivalent of heat losses) indicators, the maximum gross income for the furnace campaign was adopted, which differs from prototypes in that it allows to take into account most fully the peculiarities of the work of the insulated side fence of the glass furnace. Using the software complex created on the basis of PHEOM.GEK complex systems for the side fence of a glass-melting furnace, the optimal set (sequence of location and thickness) of thermal insulation materials HICGF was determined, which allow maximizing the furnace campaign with minimal heat losses. The reliability of the data obtained is achieved by the correct use of the theory of heat and mass transfer and PHEOM.GEK. An efficiency criterion is proposed, which, by solving an optimization problem, made it possible to determine the optimal HICGF. The solution of the optimization problem in conjunction with the calculation of the duration of the furnace campaign makes it possible to form recommendations for the development of optimal HICGFs in the construction of new and cold repair of existing glass furnaces by specialized institutes and industrial companies

Design and Construction of a Laboratory-Scale Direct-Current Electric Arc Furnace for Metallurgical and High-Titanium Slag Smelting Studies

A novel direct-current electric arc furnace (DC-EAF) was designed and constructed in this study for experimentally investigating high-titanium slag smelting, with an emphasis on addressing the issues of incomplete separation of metal and slag as well as poor insulation effects. The mechanical components (crucible, electrode, furnace lining, etc.) were designed and developed, and an embedded crucible design was adopted to promote metal-slag separation. The lining and bottom thicknesses of the furnace were determined via calculation using the heat balance equations, which improved the thermal insulation. To monitor the DC-EAF electrical parameters, suitable software was developed. For evaluating the performance of the furnace, a series of tests were run to determine the optimal coke addition under the conditions of constant temperature (1607 °C) and melting time (90 min). The results demonstrated that for 12 kg of titanium-containing metallized pellets, 4% coke was the most effective for enrichment of TiO2 in the high-titanium slag, with the TiO2 content reaching 93.34%. Moreover, the DC-EAF met the design requirements pertaining to lining thickness and facilitated metal-slag separation, showing satisfactory performance during experiments.

Design and Construction of A 50kg Capacity Furnace

The design and development of a 50Kg charcoal fired crucible furnace for melting aluminium and its alloys are presented. Importance of Metal melting furnaces cannot be overemphasized in industrialized and under industrialized countries. A detailed designed analysis was conducted to determine the various component sizes of the crucible furnace so to pave way for its construction. Majority of the materials used for the furnace construction were obtained locally. The blower capacity was determined to be air to ratio of 400:1 and 0.05m 3 /min. The designed furnace of overall volumetric capacity of 0.57m 3 accommodates a crucible pot which had a height and volume of 0.577m and 0.0155m 3 respectively. The designed operating temperature of the furnace was 1200 o C and maintained a heat transfer rate of 494.2W/m 2 across the wall. The designed efficiency of the charcoal fired furnace was 59.35%. Keywords: Crucible, furnace, Charcoal, Volumetric capacity, Design, Efficiency DOI: 10.7176/ISDE/12-2-03 Publication date: April 30 th 2021