A Modeling and Design Study on the Determination of the Most Influential Parameters on the Industrial Furnaces Performance

Modeling of heat and mass transfer of fired heaters for refinery use was carried out to determine the equipment efficiency as well as the process and flue gas temperature variations. Previous research involving non-computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of fired heaters modeled individual sections of the heater with little attention to the other. In this study, transfer models were developed and compiled in the MATLAB environment for validation. Upon which, simulations were run to determine the most influential parameters affecting the performance of fired heaters. Research papers referenced in this study developed models by incorporating correlations established in the early 1950s’. This study differs in a sense that the formulas used to develop the model are generally modified using common engineering sense to accommodate the dimensions of a refinery fired heater. Initially, the research involved the modeling of separate sections of the heater encompassing heat and mass balances of the flue gas. The models were solved by an iterative procedure with initial boundary conditions taken from the nominal parameters of the paper used to validate this study. Upon completion of the modeling phase, the model was compiled in MATLAB. The code was designed to be as flexible as possible. Users will enter nominal parameters of the heater on the dimensions as well as fuel and air characteristics. The parameters entered in the beginning of the code form the basis of variables manipulated in the search of the most influential parameters on the performance of fired heaters. The results obtained via the simulations examined at least five parameters selected based on the previous research utilizing fluid dynamics and differential boundary equations. The developed model validation was done against peer-reviewed papers to confirm the accuracy of the model. Once proven, the code can then be employed for the commercial use since the computing time and technical costs afforded by the utilization of CFD analysis are significantly reduced.