Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.
World aluminum production has been increasing incessantly due to its much desired properties, including its recyclability without any property loss. Aluminum production from the ore requires 15 to 20 times more energy compared to that from recycled metal. The recycled aluminum is melted in a variety of furnaces. The sidewell furnaces are commonly used for recycled beverage cans.
A general mathematical model has been developed for sidewell furnaces. The heat transfer model of the combustion chamber is presented in this paper. A parametric study has been carried out using this model. The results of the study are discussed. The heat transfer to metal surface and consequently the furnace performance could be improved via various changes in different parameters. The most important and practical one is the preheating of the combustion air.
