Fluid flow in furnaces

A furnace is a thermal enclosure and is employed to carry out physical and chemical processing of raw materials at high temperatures. Each of the unit processes involves either movement of gas alone or gas and liquid at high temperatures. Air is the bulkiest raw material used in several unit processes like combustion, gasification, roasting, matte and reduction smelting and oxidation etc. In combustion, large quantity of air is used and large quantities of flue gases are produced. Fluid flow studies would be useful in the following:

1. The motion of flue gases within the furnace chamber controls the rate of heat transfer and thermal gradients in the furnace
   
2. Measurements of flow rates of fluid e. g. air and other liquids are required to control the process
3. In certain physical processing like heat treatment, a gaseous atmosphere is maintained. Uniformity in the composition of the atmosphere is required to design the flow rates and rate of movement of the atmosphere.