Modelling and Simulation of Low Pressure Carburizing Furnaces

Abstract In this paper, modelling of a low pressure carburizing furnace is developed. Acetylene is chosen as the reactive gas and its pyrolysis, described by a detailed kinetic mechanism is studied in a perfectly stirred tank reactor. Special attention is paid to the fluid-solid interactions; adsorption is described using a Langmuir approach and a first order surface reaction in acetylene is assumed. The diffusion of carbon in the steel is modelled by means of Fick’s second law and solved numerically using a finite volume method. All the simulations are performed using MATLAB environment. The numerical results provide the composition of the gas phase in the reactor as well as the spatio-temporal carbon profile in the steel, and are consistent with the experimental observations.