Advanced Modeling of Cold Crucible Induction Melting for Process Control and Optimization

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” (ETU) have collaborated on development and validation of an advanced numerical model of the cold crucible induction melting (CCIM) process. This work was conducted in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management Technology and Engineering (EM-20) International Program. The model predicts quasi-steady state temperature distributions, convection cell configurations, and flow field velocities for a fully established melt of low conductivity non-magnetic materials at high frequency operations. The INL/ETU ANSYS© finite element model is unique in that it has been developed specifically for processing borosilicate glass (BSG) and other glass melts. Specifically, it accounts for the temperature dependency of key material properties, some of which change by orders of magnitude within the temperature ranges experienced (temperature differences of 500oC are common) in CCIM processing of glass, including density, viscosity, thermal conductivity, specific heat, and electrical resistivity. These values, and their responses to temperature changes, are keys to understanding the melt characteristics. Because the model has been validated, it provides the capability to conduct parametric studies to understand operational sensitivities and geometry effects. Additionally, the model can be used to indirectly determine difficult to measure material properties at higher temperatures such as resistivity, thermal conductivity and emissivity. The model can also be used to optimize system design and to predict operational behavior for specific materials and system configurations, allowing automated feedback control. This becomes particularly important when designing melter systems for full-scale industrial applications