M.Ing. / The steelmaking process is briefly described with regard to process parameters and products influencing the fume extraction function of the water-cooled ducting. The flow distribution in the complex tubular network was determined by developing a software program based on parallel pass connections. A heat transfer analysis was performed on the specific problematic section referred to as the fixed elbow, with boundary conditions simulating the actual maximum operating conditions in an electric arc furnace. The temperature distribution was incorporated in a thermal stress analysis and a total stress profile was obtained for the radial as well as circumferencial positions. Areas of maximum stress were identified and the theory of fatigue failure due to cyclic operation was applied to these maximum stress conditions. The ABAQUS finite element program was used to model the behaviour of the material under the operating conditions using the sequencially coupled heat transfer and stress analysis routine. The results obtained correlates well with the actual failure of water-cooled ducting sections in operation and provides a platform for designing and optimising similar equipment for industrial applications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:10375 |
| Date | 14 September 2012 |
| Creators | Van Zyl, David |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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