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Design, construction and testing of a charcoal fired crucible furnace for melting of 10kg of aluminum

Design, construction and testing of a charcoal fired crucible furnace for melting of 10kg of aluminum

Title Page —————————————————————————————————- i Approval Page ———————————————————————————————— iii Acknowledgements —————————————————————————————— iv Dedication —————————————————————————————————– v Declaration ————————————————————————————————— vi Certification ————————————————————————————————- vii Table of Contents —— ———————————————————————————– viii List of Tables———————————————————————————————— xvi List of Figures———————————————————————————————- xvii List of plates ———————————————————————————————–xviii List of Abbreviations————————————————————————————– xix Abstract —————————————————————————————————- xxii

Chapter ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0INTRODUCTION————————————————————————————-1
1.1BACKGROUND OF THE WORK—————————————————————-1
1.2Statement of Research Problems——————————————————————- 3
1.3Aim and Objectives————————————————————————————3
1.4Significance of the Study——————————————————————————3
1.5Justification of the Work—————————————————————————–4
1.6Scope of the Work————————————————————————————-4

Chapter TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0LITERATURE REVIEW—————————————————————————- 5
2.1Crucible—————————————————————————————————6 viii
2.2Furnace————————————————————————————————— 7 2.
2.1Types of furnace—————————————————————————————- 7 2.
2.2Classification of furnace——————————————————————————–8 2.
2.3Crucible furnace—————————————————————————————–8 2.
3.0Fuels——————————————————————————————————-9 2.
3.1Types of fuels——————————————————————————————-10 2.
4.0Review of the past work on charcoal————————————————————-10 2.
4.1The charcoal fuel—————————————————————————————11 2.
4.2Types of charcoal————————————————————————————– 11 2.
4.3Uses of charcoal—————————————————————————————-11 2.
5.0Aluminum and aluminum alloys—————————————————————— 12 2.
5.1Aluminum———————————————————————————————–13 2.
5.2Cast Aluminum—————————————————————————————–13 2.
5.3Aluminum casting alloy——————————————————————————-13 2.
6.0Mode of heat Transfer—————————————————————————— 14 2.
6.1Conduction———————————————————————————————-15 2.
6.2Convection———————————————————————————————-17 2.
6.3Radiation————————————————————————————————18

Chapter THREE

SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

3.
0.0Material and methodology————————————————————————- 20 3.
1.0Materials and Material selections—————————————————————–20 3.
1.1Materials for the furnace unit————————————————————————-20 3.
1.2Materials for Blower———————————————————————————–21 3.
1.3Material for air pipe———————————————————————————– 21 3.
1.4Material used for insulators————————————————————————– 21 3.1.
4.1Asbestos———————————————————————————————- 21 3.1.4.1a Types of Asbestos———————————————————————————-21 3.1.4.1b Use of Asbestos———————————————————————————— 22 ix 3.1.4.1c Asbestos health hazards————————————————————————— 22 3.1.
4.2Clay sand——————————————————————————————— 22 3.1.
4.2Uses of clay soil————————————————————————————- 23 3.
1.5The charcoal fuel————————————————————————————– 23 3.1.
5.1Calorific value of the charcoal——————————————————————– 23
3.2Methodology——————————————————————————————- 24 3.
2.1Engineering design———————————————————————————–24 3.
2.2Design consideration———————————————————————————25 3.
2.3General layout of the furnace———————————————————————–25 3.
3.0Design Criteria and theories———————————————————————-25 3.
3.1Determination of the minimum thickness of the furnace wall——————————— 25 3.
3.2Determination of the maximum allowable working pressure for the furnace—————-25 3.
3.3Determination of the stresses setup in the furnace———————————————–26 3.
3.4Determination of the thermal stress set-up in the furnace wall——————————– 26 3.
3.5Investigation of the effect of internal pressure on the furnace dimension——————–26 3.
3.6The change in length of the furnace—————————————————————-26 3.
3.7The change in diameter of the furnace————————————————————-26 3.
3.8Change in volume of the crucible—————————————————————— 27 3.
4.0Combustion chamber——————————————————————————-27 3.
4.1The amount of fuel burnt per hour—————————————————————–27 3.
4.2Determination of the distance between the fire grate and the crucible port——————28 3.
4.3The thermal load of the combustion chamber—————————————————-28 3.
4.4Thermal load of the fire grate———————————————————————- 28 3.
4.5Determination of the design height of the combustion chamber—————————— 28
3.5Chemical Analysis of the fuel———————————————————————–29 3.
5.1The amount of air required per kg of the fuel for complete combustion——————— 29 3.
5.2Determination of the mass of the products of combustion ————————————-30 3.
5.3Determination of the CO2 content of the flue gas ———————————————–30 x
3.6Determination of the required Fan capacity—————————————————- 30 3.
6.1Determination of the power required to drive the fan——————————————-31 3.
6.2Determination of the peripheral discharge velocity——————————————— 31 3.
6.3Determination of the discharge velocity pressure ———————————————–31 3.
6.4Total dynamic head developed by the fan ——————————————————- 31
3.7Fan Design———————————————————————————————-31 3.
7.1Determination of the fan major diameter——————————————————— 31 3.
7.2Determination of the fan minor diameter ——————————————————– 32 3.
7.3Determination of the fan blade width major —————————————————–32 3.
7.4Determination of the fan blade width minor —————————————————– 32 3.
7.5Determination of the fan blade inlet angle ——————————————————- 32 3.
7.6Determination of the fan casing outlet velocity ————————————————- 32 3.
7.7Determination of the fan casing outlet area ——————————————————32
3.8Fan casing design calculation———————————————————————– 32 3.
8.1Fan casing inlet area ———————————————————————————32 3.
8.2Determination of the fan casing outlet diameter ————————————————-33 3.
8.3Determination of the fan casing inlet diameter ————————————————– 33 3.
8.4Determination of the fan case width ————————————————————– 33 3.
9.0Belt and pulley ————————————————————————————– 33 3.
9.1Pulley ————————————————————————————————–33 3.
9.2Types of pulley system —————————————————————————– 34 3.
9.3Belt —————————————————————————————————- 34 3.
9.4Uses of belt drive ————————————————————————————35 3.
9.5Types of belts —————————————————————————————- 35 3.
9.6Belt and pulley calculation ————————————————————————-36 3.
9.7Determination of the length of a open belt ——————————————————- 36 3.
9.8Determination of the angle of contact or lap —————————————————- 36 3.
9.9Determination of the velocity ratio of a belt drive ———————————————–36 xi 3.
9.10Determination of the peripheral velocity of the belt on the driving pulley——————37 3.
9.11Determination of the speed ratio —————————————————————– 37 3.
9.12Determination of the house power ————————————————————– 37 3.
9.13Determination of the torque ———————————————————————–37 3.
9.14Determination of the initial tension ————————————————————- 37 3.
10.0Thermal insulators for the furnace————————————————————37 3.
10.1Determination of the effectiveness of insulators ———————————————- 38 3.
11.0Determination of the melting heat————————————————————–39 3.
11.1Determination of the sensible heat of the metal ———————————————– 39 3.
11.2Determination of the enthalpy of fusion ——————————————————– 39 3.
11.3Determination of the super heat value ———————————————————–39 3.
11.4Heat transferred to the wall of the furnace ——————————————————39 3.
11.5Determination of the heat transferred to the crucible furnace ——————————–40 3.
11.6Determination of the total heat absorbed by the furnace components ———————–40 3.
11.7Determination of the total heat required for a melt ——————————————- 40 3.
11.8Determination of the total heat required to be supplied by the furnace ———————41 3.
11.9Determination of the total useful heat ———————————————————–41 3.
11.10Efficiency of the furnace ————————————————————————-41 3.
12.0Determination of the heat losses in the furnace———————————————-41 3.
12.1Loss from the heat carried by dry flue gas ——————————————————41 3.
12.2Loss due to evaporation of hydrogen ————————————————————41 3.
12.3Loss from the evaporation of fuel moisture —————————————————–42 3.
12.4Loss from moisture in the air ——————————————————————— 42 3.
12.5Loss due to unconsumed fuel ———————————————————————42 3.
12.6Radiation loss in the furnace ———————————————————————-42 3.
13.0Performance of the furnace———————————————————————-42 3.
13.1Theoretical thermal efficiency of the furnace ————————————————–42 3.
14.0The energy Balance——————————————————————————–43 xii 3.
14.1Heat balance in the furnace ———————————————————————–43 3.
15.0Design Calculations——————————————————————————–44 3.
15.1Calculation of minimum thickness of the furnace ———————————————44 3.
15.2Calculation of maximum working pressure of the furnace ———————————–44 3.
15.3Calculation of thermal stresses set up in the furnace walls ———————————–45 3.
15.4Calculation of change in the furnace dimension ———————————————–45 3.
15.5Calculation for Combustion chamber ———————————————————– 47 3.
15.6Calculation for the distance between fire grate and crucible ———————————48 3.
15.7Calculation for the thermal load of the combustion chamber ——————————–48 3.
15.8Calculation for the thermal load of the fire grates ———————————————48 3.
15.9Calculation for the height of the combustion chamber ————————————— 49 3.
15.10Calculation for the amount air required for complete combustion ———————— 49 3.
15.11Calculation for the mass of the products of combustion ————————————49 3.
15.12Determination of the total air flow required in the furnace ———————————50 3.
15.13Calculation of fan air discharge capacity —————————————————– 51 3.
15.14Calculation for the power required to drive the fan —————————————– 51 3.
15.15Calculation of the fan peripheral discharge velocity —————————————- 52 3.
15.16Calculation for the fan discharge velocity pressure —————————————– 52 3.
15.17Total dynamic head developed by the fan —————————————————–52 3.
16.1Calculation for the fan major diameter —————————————————— 52 3.
16.2Calculation for the fan minor diameter ———————————————————-52 3.
16.3Calculation for the fan blade width major —————————————————— 53 3.
16.4Calculation for the fan blade width minor ——————————————————53 3.
16.5Calculation for the fan blade inlet angle ———————————————————53 3.
17.1Calculation for the fan casing outlet velocity ————————————————54 3.
17.2Calculation for the fan casing outlet area ——————————————————- 54 3.
17.3Calculation for the fan casing inlet area ———————————————————54 3.
17.4Calculation for the fan casing outlet diameter ————————————————–54 xiii 3.
17.5Calculation for the fan casing inlet diameter ————————————————– -54 3.
17.6Calculation for the fan casing width ————————————————————-55 3.
18.1Calculation for the belt pitch ——————————————————————-55 3.
18.2Calculation for the angle of contact or lap ——————————————————55 3.
18.3Calculation for the velocity ratio of a belt drive ———————————————– 55 3.
18.4Calculation for the speed ratio ——————————————————————–56 3.
18.5Calculation for the initial tension in the belt —————————————————-56 3.
18.6Calculation for the torque transmitted ———————————————————–56 3.
19.0Calculation for the effectiveness of the insulator ——————————————-57 3.
20.1Calculation for heat required for melt of aluminum ——————————————-58 3.
20.2Calculation for heat required for melt of kilograms of aluminum —————————61 3.
21.0Calculation for the heat transfer to the furnace ——————————————–63 3.
21.1Calculation for the heat transferred to the crucible ——————————————–64 3.
21.2Total heat absorbed by furnace components ————————————————— 64 3.
21.3Heat for melt of nkg of aluminum ————————————————————— 64 3.
21.4Total heat supplied by the furnace ————————————————————— 65 3.
21.5Total used heat ————————————————————————————- 65 3.
21.6Number of calories needed for the melt ———————————————————65 3.
21.7Number of grams needed to give number calories of energy ——————————– 65 3.
22.1Heat supplied to the furnace by fuel ———————————————————-65 3.
22.2Heat output of the furnace ————————————————————————-66 3.
23.0Calculation of heat losses————————————————————————-66 3.
23.1Calculation for the loss of heat carried by dry flue gas —————————————-66 3.
23.2Calculation for loss of heat from evaporation of fuel moisture ——————————66 3.
23.3Calculation for loss of heat due to moisture in the air —————————————- 66 3.
23.4Calculation for loss of heat due to unconsumed fuel ——————————————67 3.
23.5Radiation heat loss in the furnace —————————————————————-67 3.
23.6Calculation for the uncounted heat loss ———————————————————67 xiv 3.
23.7Calculation for the furnace efficiency ———————————————————–68 3.
24.0Construction —————————————————————————————–70 3.
25.0Fabrication process———————————————————————————–7 3.
26.0Components assembling process—————————————————————-78 3.
27.0Comparison of the designed crucible furnace and conventional type———————–81 3.
28.0Testing of the furnace and operating procedure ————————————————82 3.
28.1Measurements of kilograms and temperature ————————————————– 82 3.
28.2The charcoal fuel ———————————————————————————- 82 3.
28.3Scrap aluminum ———————————————————————————— 82 3.
28.4Temperature Measurements ——————————————————————–82 3.
29.0Experimental procedure ————————————————————————-83 3.
29.1The environment ————————————————————————————83 3.
29.2Sequence of the testing process ——————————————————————-84 3.
29.3Starting the furnace———————————————————————————84 3.
29.4Furnace on testing ———————————————————————————-85 3.
30.0The amount of heat generated———————————————————————85 3.
31.0The amount of fuel used ————————————————————————– 85 3.
32.0Duration for complete melting of aluminum ————————————————— 86 3.
33.0Cost Analysis—————————————————————————————-87

Chapter FOUR

SYSTEM TESTING AND EVALUATION

4.
1.0Experimental Results ——————————————————————————–88

Chapter FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0Discussion of results————————————————————————————94
5.1No – load ————————————————————————————————94
5.2With load test ——————————————————————————————-94
5.3Continuous test method ——————————————————————————- 94 CHAPTER SIX
6.0Conclusion——————————————————————————————— 98 xv
6.1Recommendations———————————————————————————— 99
6.2References——————————————————————————————– 100
6.3Appendix I furnace pictures————————————————————————-103
6.4Appendix II experimental results tables———————————————————–106
6.5Appendix III working drawing ——————————————————————– 107

Project Abstract

This research work presents the design concept, construction and performance evaluation of a 10kg capacity portable crucible furnace which uses charcoal as fuel. The 10kg crucible furnace was designed, constructed using locally available engineering materials mild steel sheet of 3 mm, mild steel (angle iron) of 5 mm, scrap aluminum, asbestos, clay sand, stainless steel sheet of 2 mm, stainless steel pipe of 2 mm and wood charcoal. An electrical kitchen scale with model No ek5055 and thermocouple with model No Kane-may km 340 were used to measure the fuel consumption and heat generated respectively. The furnace produced the total heat QT = 67,943.16 kJ, and supplied the heat required to melt 10 kg of aluminum from room temperature to melting temperature QT = 35,859.13 kJ in a duration of 1hr 33min, the total heat absorbed by the furnace components was QFC = 25,425.44 kJ and the heat transferred to the crucible was QC = 14,118.72 xxii kJ. The efficiency of the furnace was achieved at 76% dividing heat used by total heat supplied and multiplied by 100. The furnace is suitable for use both in the rural and urban areas for casting of different types of aluminum. The furnace is environmental friendly without health hazards to the workers and can be moved from one place to another unlike the local one. The results of the test of the furnace performance show that it consumes 3kg of charcoal in 1hr 33mins to melt 10kg of aluminum.

Project Overview

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND. Foundry technology is practiced in both urban and rural areas of Nigeria; the local foundry man digs a hole on the ground to take the shape of an oven, using coal or charcoal as fuel and makes use of a clay or metal pot as the crucible. A blower is used to supply the air needed for the combustion process. Plate 1.1 shows the shape of the local furnace used in local foundries. PLATE 1.1 A typpical furnace. Source: Muchia market 4/11/2011 The local foundry people use the crucible furnace for making of casting of different objects such as machines parts, domestic cooking pots of different sizes, serving spoons, fraying pans, etc. The foundry people were having problems working with local type of crucible furnace such as excessive fuel consumption, excessive heat radiation to the operator, time consuming for operation and excessive heat lost in the system. An attempt has been made to improve on the local method of melting being practiced by local foundry men in Nigeria, considering availability of materials, high demand of their products, reduction of cost of production and attraction of youth to foundry practice. Kulla (2007) pointed out that due to inefficient burning and poor heat transfer; fuel wood that would have been sufficient for 10-33 years is consumed annually. Based on this and other reasons he conducted research on how to reduce the wood consumption in domestic cooking, this has indicated the need to improve the efficiency of the crucible furnace used in local foundries, 1 thus reducing the quantity of charcoal consumed. Another serious problem is the emission of combustion products which result in respiratory diseases (Kulla, 2004). Komolafe, (1992) improved on the crude method of melting by foundry men by designing and constructing a gas fired crucible type furnace making use of locally sourced materials. It is noticed that gas as a source of energy can be very hazardous and is not as common as coal or charcoal in use. The gas furnace is found in big industries only and ordinary foundry men do not know much about gas, and gas is not readily available and cheap in every part of the country compared to charcoal. The Industrial Development Centre Zaria foundry uses a gear driven blower to supply air needed for combustion to the coal or charcoal oven but since the oven or furnace is not covered, much heat is lost, as in the case of those used by local foundry men. Therefore there is need for improvement in the combustion efficiency and conservation of the heat generated. Charcoal is available in all parts of the country and is cheap. An improved furnace can be designed and fabricated to improve on the locally used furnaces. The charcoal fired crucible furnace will use a manually operated pulley driven blower. The crucible furnace is the oldest form of foundry technology which has been used and has varied with time. The designs reflect the purposes for which they are used and there are regional variations. The earliest crucible form derives from the sixth/fifth millennium B.C. (Roberts et al; 2009). A typical local crucible furnace is shown in Plate 1.2 PLATE 1.2 a typical old type crucible furnace used in the foundries. Source: Muchia Market 4/11/2011 2 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The major problems associated with the old type open crucible furnaces used in the local foundries are:- i. The foundry man is exposed to heat and combustion products which are harmful to his health. ii. More than half of the heat escapes due to the open nature of the local furnace. iii. These open crucible furnaces contribute to ecological problems, global warming and environmental degradation due to high demand of wood for charcoal production. iv. The process consumes large quantities of fuel (charcoal) due to its low combustion efficiency and high heat loss. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE WORK The aim of the work is to improve on the technology of local foundry men in the melting of aluminum. The research is expected to come up with a portable, safe and economical crucible furnace, which is going to be used in small scale casting industries with maximum efficiency (i.e. efficient use of heat energy with minimum loss of heat energy). Specific objectives of this research are as follows: i. To design a portable charcoal fired crucible type furnace that can melt 10Kg of aluminum. ii. To construct the furnace using local materials. iii. To test the furnace constructed. iv. To carry out performance evaluation of the furnace. 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The design and construction of a charcoal fired crucible furnace is significant in the following ways i. It will contribute significantly to the effort to convert scrap aluminum into useful products 3 ii. It will also contribute significantly to the effort in the development of indigenous technology especially in the production industries, iii. It will contribute significantly in the training of students in casting practice. iv. It will improve working conditions of foundry men and encourage youths to venture into the foundry work. 1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCH This field of research is very important to small scale industries, considering the number of people in the industry. Each shop has the capacity of 10 to 15 people in the industry. It is important to work on this topic to improve the working environment and provide safety to the operator (foundry man) by designing and constructing a safer crucible furnace. 1.6 SCOPE OF THE WORK The scope of the research work will be limited to: i. Designing of the essential components that make up the charcoal fuel crucible furnace for melting 10 kg of aluminum and these include; a. Crucible b. Furnace c. Safety cover d. Frame e. Blower and rotating mechanisms ii. Construction of these components. iii. Assembly of the various components including accessories. iv. Testing of the device on a load of 10 kg of aluminum and observing working conditions and the duration of the work. 4

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Design, construction and testing of a charcoal fired crucible furnace for melting of 10kg of aluminum

Table Of Contents

Chapter ONE

Chapter TWO

Chapter THREE

Chapter FOUR

Chapter FIVE

Project Abstract

Project Overview

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