Rotary Reheat Furnace Hearth Refractory and Mechanical Design Considerations

摘要

The paper discusses the refractory and mechanical design changes that were incorporated to address issues with a 100 foot diameter rotary reheat furnace. The issues arising from scale formation and subsequent heating and cooling of the furnace hearth refractory lining were observed to cause destruction of the hearth structure over time. Computational modeling and review of design changes since 1962 led to better understanding of the root cause. The hearth structure and refractory lining were redesigned with some novel features to resolve the observed issues. Physical property requirements of various refractory materials utilized in the newly engineered design are presented. The findings from inspection of the furnace after a few months of service are also included to emphasize the effectiveness of the new design.