Mathematical Modeling of a Long Finned Tube Heating and Cooling in a Multizone Furnace

Abstract

To support an effort to setup an industrial scale production facility to produce metal substrates coated with porous boiling surface (PBS) coating to enhance boiling heat transfer performance of these metal substrates, an axisymmetric transient heat transfer model with boundary conditions varying both in time and length dimensions has been proposed and solved to obtain the temperature evolution along the inner surface of a long finned tube heating and cooling in a multizone furnace. Experiments for finned tube heating and cooling were conducted using a single-zone batch furnace, and the experimental data obtained were compared with the simulation results to establish reasonable confidence in the proposed model and boundary conditions. A parametric study on several important operating parameters was conducted to gain better insights that can be used in making design and operating decisions. If required, the model can conveniently be extended to other types of substrates and furnace dimensions.