Model for heat treatment of metal products in a vacuum electric resistance furnaces
The article presents the results of research made on the heating processes of metal pipes in the vacuum electric resistance furnace. The study is carried out using software written in C++, Matlab and implemented on the basis of a personal computer. The essence of the proposed model is to represent the entire furnace chamber as an array of points with specific physical and optical properties. Optical properties are considered as independent from the wavelength, and reflection as being diffusional. A mechanism of heat transfer through a homogeneous flat wall is used as a model of thermal conductivity. Numerical investigations of the resulting model show the difference in pipe's heating, depending on their number and position. The study of the uneven heating along the annealed products is presented, and suggestions are made to reduce it.