Oxy-fuel technology has emerged in recent years as a well-accepted glass melting technology, and a large body of knowledge is being accumulated from numerous successful furnace conversions. In addition, increasing acceptance of oxy- fueltechnology has gone hand-in-hand with growing confidence in the ability of computer models to predict trends in furnace behavior. In this study, state-of-the-art models for both the combustion space and batch/glass melt are used to study the effects ofkey design parameters on oxy-fuel furnace operation. Coupled simulations provide complete, consistent representation of the transport phenomena processes occurring in the glass tank. The design and operation data from an existing oxy-fuel insulationfiberglass tank are used as a baseline case, and a comparison with measurements provides a validation of the simulation results. The impacts of crown elevation and exhaust port locations are investigated. The results show an important effect of the crownheight on heat flux to the glass surface and on crown temperature profile, suggesting the existence of an optimal height. The exhaust port location is also an important tank design parameter, and some of the advantages of sidewall locations as opposed tothe existing backwall location are presented.
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