A Study of Optimal Distribution of Gas Temperature in Directly-Fired Reheating Furnace

Because the reheating furnace consumes a large amount of energy to heat up the slabs, it is very important to find an optimal temperature patterns in the furnace for energy saving as well as uniform target temperature at the exit of the furnace. In this study, the temperature profiles in the slab are determined by solving the transient one-dimensional heat conduction equation in conjunction with boundary conditions with total heat exchange factors. The optimal temperature patterns are obtained to minimize the fuel consumption with satisfying the predetermined constraint conditions. The design optimization is performed by using a genetic algorithm and the optimal results are validated with results obtained from the PIDO tool, called as P.I.A.n.O