Combined Effect of Brick Surface Roughness and Lattice Setting Density on Brick Firing in Tunnel Kilns

Mosab Alrahmani, Issa Almesri, Jaber Almutairi and Hosny Abou-Ziyan
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Mosab Alrahmani: Mechanical Power Engineering Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, Kuwait City 70654, Kuwait
Issa Almesri: Mechanical Power Engineering Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, Kuwait City 70654, Kuwait
Jaber Almutairi: Mechanical Power Engineering Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, Kuwait City 70654, Kuwait
Hosny Abou-Ziyan: Mechanical Power Engineering Department, College of Technological Studies, PAAET, Kuwait City 70654, Kuwait

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: This paper investigates the combined effect of the kiln or brick surface roughness and the brick lattice setting density on the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in tunnel kilns. The flow uniformity, pressure drop, convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC), and pumping power are studied. A high-density setting (HDS), which comprises 768 bricks, and a low-density setting (LDS), which comprises 512 bricks, are tested for kiln boundaries and brick surface roughness levels of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mm. The investigation is conducted using a 3D-CFD model with the k-ω turbulence model. The surface roughness changes from 0 to 4 mm for either kiln walls or bricks while fixing the other. The results show that increasing the tunnel kiln surface roughness from 0 to 4 mm increases the pressure drop of both the HDS and LDS by about 13.5%. It also increases the established CHTC value of the LDS more than the HDS by about 23% for all tested roughness levels. Changing the brick surface roughness from 0 to 4 mm increases the pressure drop and CHTC value for the LDS more than for the HDS by about 10% and 12%, respectively. Additionally, the total heat transfer rate-to-pumping power ratio for the LDS is larger than for the HDS by 17.4% for smooth bricks and 23.1% for the brick roughness of 2 mm, i.e., the brick roughness provides a greater advantage to the LDS. The results confirm that the LDS for rough and smooth bricks loaded in tunnel kilns attains a better brick quality, a higher heat transfer rate, and a lower pumping power than the HDS.

Keywords: tunnel kilns; convective heat transfer; pumping power; lattice setting density; brick roughness; CFD-models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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