Coupled simulation about the effect of enhanced radiation on heat transfer process in industrial furnace

The ethylene cracking furnace was studied to investigate the effect of enhanced radiation on heat transfer process in industrial furnace. Based on the computational fluid dynamics method, the coupled heat transfer process in the firebox radiation section was numerically simulated, from which details information of the flow field, fuel combustion and flue gas temperature field in the cracking furnace chamber were obtained. Standard k-ε turbulence model, discrete transfer radiation model and eddy-dissipation/finite-rate model were adapted in calculation. The numerical results show that, under the condition of the same fuel consumption, the average chamber temperature and heat transfer efficiency can be improved significantly by strengthening the furnace wall radiation heat transfer; the fuel quantity is reduced by 10% at the same heat absorption when the furnace wall thermal radiation is enhanced.