Design of a day tank glass furnace using a transient model and steady-state computation fluid dynamics

To design day tanks with energy efficiency and good operation standards, a detailed transient model that considers the melting, refining, cooling and working stages of the glass production process was developed. With the model, the required power input was determined, with glass coverage with batch (β) as parameter, for a furnace with a daily production of 1130 kg of soda-lime glass and 14 h for melting/refining. A detailed analysis of the energy balance with the model showed that during the daily cycle about 70% of the energy input is released with the flue gas. During the working stage most of the energy escapes through the doors. As the peak of energy consumption is during the refining process, the power requirement for this stage defines the global power requirement. Calculated energy efficiencies vary between 13% and 16% for β = 70% and 30% respectively. A steady state CFD simulation of the combustion chamber and glass tank shows that a side-fired burner configuration allows for lower gas velocities and temperatures close to the glass and the furnace walls while guaranteeing the same heat transfer characteristics to the glass than the more traditional end-fired (U-type) furnaces.