LES investigation of heat and mass exchange in channel induction furnaces

Induction channel furnaces (ICFs) are often used not only for copper and other non-ferrous alloy production but also for grey cast iron melting and holding. This equipment has high electrical efficiency but till now there are still open questions concerning melt overheat and such wear and tear damages like erosion, clogging and infiltration of the ceramic lining in the channel. In order to investigate and to improve the operation behavior of different designed ICFs the heat and mass transfer processes in the melt have been analyzed applying the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach. The simulation results are verified by flow velocity and temperature measurements, which were carried out using an industrial sized channel inductor operating with low temperature model melt. The verified numerical model is applied to industrial ICFs of different geometry and power scales used for cast iron holding.