Experimental study and numerical modeling of the thermal behavior of an industrial prototype ceramic furnace: Energy and environmental optimization

Abstract

This article focuses on the experimental and numerical study of an industrial prototype furnace intended for the production of ceramics in order to improve the energy efficiency and therefore optimize the fuel consumption and the corresponding carbon dioxide emissions. In order to understand the thermal behavior from which stems the energy efficiency of the experimental prototype, we establish in this work, a simplified modeling allowing to establish a mathematical model describing the thermal behavior of the furnace. The model is able to accurately predict the spatial and temporal distribution of the temperature at each point of the furnace to control the firing of the refractory product so that the final product is of good quality in terms of resistance and hardness. In addition, the power consumed by the prototype must be optimized in order to reduce energy and environmental consumption. In particular, this efficient technology has allowed us to save 83% of energy used in the traditional furnace and to reduce 87.36% of the relative carbon dioxide emission. The simulation of the mathematical model made it possible to compare the numerical results with the experimental measurements obtained by the prototype as well as to validate the model and to adjust the heat transfer parameters.