Reflector furnace

During the smelting process of the reverberatory furnace, the main heat absorption reaction is carried out on the material slope, followed by the exothermic reaction that generates slag. In the total heat balance of the smelting process, the heat released from the slag generation does not exceed 6% to 8% of the heat required for the smelting process. If the blown air is not preheated, 85% to 90% of the total heat required for the reverberatory furnace smelting comes from the combustion of fuel, and only a small part of the heat generated by fuel combustion is consumed by the melting of the furnace material. Most of it is carried away with the furnace gas and compensated for losses. The actual consumption of fuel during the smelting process is generally 2-3 times the theoretical demand.

The main heat source for reverberatory furnace smelting is carbon fuel, which burns in the furnace space composed of the furnace top, furnace wall, material slope, and molten pool surface. The large amount of high-temperature gas generated by fuel combustion serves as the main heat carrier to transfer heat to the furnace top, walls, material slopes, and surface of the melt pool. The continuous combustion of fuel generates gas that continuously flows from the heating end of the furnace to the tail of the furnace. During the flow process, heat exchange occurs between the gas, furnace material, furnace wall, furnace top, and molten pool. The main methods of heat transfer are radiation and convection, with radiation playing a dominant role. The furnace material and the surface of the melt pool receive heat from both the airflow and radiation from the high-temperature furnace top and upper furnace wall. Due to the low thermal conductivity of the furnace material, the heat transfer to the deeper part of the material layer is slow, so the surface of the material layer is quickly heated to the melting point. The melted surface layer of furnace material flows into the melt pool along the material slope, exposing the lower layer of material. It also receives heat from the airflow, furnace top, and upper furnace wall, and flows into the melt pool after melting. Therefore, the melting process of the furnace material in the reflection furnace is carried out in a relatively thin material slope surface layer, where the thin layer material continuously melts and flows into the melt pool in sequence.