Numerical heat and fluid flow analysis of an electric continuous slag/matte settling furnace was carried out.The objective of this work was to optimize the design and the operating condition of the furnace in order to improve the separation of slag and matte,and to minimize the power consumption.Based on the distribution of Joule's heat generation obtained by the electric field calculation,heat and fluid flow of the melts were analyzed.For these calculations,3-D body fitted coordinate and finite volume method were applied.The developed numerical model was employed to simulate the flow pattern analysis by pulse input of a tracer element.It was found that the flow pattern of the furnace was significantly affected by the strong thermal convection of the molten slag around the electrodes due to the concentrated Joule's heat generation in a small area just under the eletrodes.The calculation results were compared with the obtained data of the plant test.
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