Three Dimensional Transient Explicit Finite Difference Heat Transfer Modeling of Billet Transport

Abstract

In steel industries the billets are heated in reheat furnace. The billets coming out from reheat furnace are transported to the rolling mill. Prediction of billet temperature during transport is vital for several reasons, like energy optimization studies, process simulation, roll force calculation and quality of the final product. Inadequate temperature measuring instruments demands suitable model for billet temperature predictions. In the present work, conduction heat transfer within the billet is modeled using the explicit finite difference method. To solve three dimensional transient discretization equations, code has been developed and implemented in MATLAB ®. Validation of the proposed numerical model has been done using analytical solutions. The model predictions of billet temperature are shown to be in good concurrence with analytical results. The model is capable of predicting temperature distribution within the billet. The model is used to examine the effect of billet transport velocity on the temperature field of the billet. The objective of this work to apply simple simulation technique to high temperature industrial process for temperature field measurements. This type of simulation may be useful for temperature predictions, design and study of new or existing transport system for hot billet transport.