Javad Aminian - Process Simulation and Control Lab., Chemical Engineering Department, Iran University of Science and Technology
Shahrokh Shahhosseini - Process Simulation and Control Lab., Chemical Engineering Department, Iran University of Science and Technology

In this paper a three dimensional CFD simulation of an industrial steam cracking furnace has been carried out. A systematic study was conducted to identify the appropriate models for turbulence-chemistry interaction and radiative heat transfer (RHT) in the furnace. The calculation of the Damköhler number and optical-thickness showed the best approache for modeling of industrial combustion was to apply a fast-chemistry model for turbulence-chemistry interactions and the P-1 model for RHT. To investigate the predictability of the CFD model, the experimental dataavailable in the literature were applied. The results showed the model could reasonably predict the temperature distribution and flow-pattern of flue gas throughout the furnace. An alternative furnace design was also studied to evaluate the possibility of improving the furnace thermal efficiency. The simulation results demonstrated substantial improvements in the temperature distribution on the reactor tubes.

Combustion, CFD, Damköhler number, optical thickness, furnace