A novel fuel supplies scheme based on the retrieval solutions of the decoupled zone method for reheating furnace

The huge fuel consumption of gas-fired reheating furnace departs from the aim of carbon neutrality. It is imperative to gain better fuel supplies scheme to maximize the energy saving of the reheating furnace. For this purpose, a novel fuel supplies scheme (NFSS) model of reheating furnace based on the decoupled zone method (DZM) is proposed. The NFSS model directly determines the fuel supplies by the furnace temperature for the first time, and adopts a novel decoupling method to solve the multi-parameter coupling problem involved in the solution process, thereby avoiding the energy waste caused by the fuel supplies adjustment process in the traditional models. Comparison with the in-situ production data indicates that the NFSS model works well for the calculation of the fuel supplies of reheating furnace. The effects of the slab charging temperatures, delayed rolling and the fuel calorific value on the fuel supplies and the thermal behavior of the slab in the regenerative walking beam reheating furnace (RWBRF) are analyzed thoroughly. The results indicate that increasing the charging temperature can obviously reduce the section temperature difference of slab and the energy consumption of the reheating furnace. The delayed rolling has a larger effect on the fuel flow rates of the RWBRF and the thermal behavior of the slabs when the slabs are located near the slab charging position. The fuel supplies of the RWBRF decreases almost linearly with the increase of the fuel calorific value.