Effect of the Addition of a Fin on the Thermal Behavior of the Shell of a Rotary Cement Kiln

Abstract

This work consists of a numerical study of a thermally stressed rotary kiln shell part in a cement plant. The numerical simulations are performed by using the finite volume method for the discretization and the simple algorithm for resolution. The velocity air injection and its temperature are the main parameters under investigation. In the second step of this study, fins are inserted on the shell to examine their effect on cooling. The results analysis shows that the insertion of fins to the shell has a significant influence on the decrease in temperature of the shell’s external surface. The study shows that this decrease in temperature depends significantly on the air injection rate, not on its temperature. To avoid overloading our equipment, only four fins distributed around the kiln are added to explore their effect. The results obtained give a reduction of 35% in the temperature distribution for the case of a shell with fin compared to that without fin. What makes the proposal interesting and thus lead to the preservation of shell of our rotary kiln.

Keywords

• Rotary kiln
• Shell
• Natural convection
• Nusselt number
• Finite volumes.