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Updated: Sep 9, 2025

A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
Published on: August 13, 2019
Numerical model of a top-blown rotary converter preheating and charge heating with an oxy-fuel burner
Sergey Semenov1, Patrick Namy1, Aditya Kale2
1SIMTEC, Grenoble, 38000, France.
Background:
The present work is conducted in the framework of the SisAl Pilot EU project, which aims to optimize silicon production in Europe by recycling materials and using carbon-emission-friendly technology. Silicon production experiments were conducted on laboratory and pilot scales in different types of furnaces, including top-blown rotary converters (TBRC) used as chemical reactors for molten slag-metal mixtures. In addition to experimental work, process optimization also relies on numerical modelling.
Methods:
In this study, COMSOL Multiphysics® was used for the numerical testing of a new thermal design of TBRC by simulating its preheating and charge heating owing to an external heat source provided by an oxy-fuel burner.
Results And Conclusions:
The risk of slag solidification in TBRC during the aluminothermic reduction of silica was assessed. The model predicts that, with a useful burner power of 600 kW, the empty TBRC can be preheated to 1650°C in less than 30 min. Based on this model, the optimum burner power for maintaining the TBRC charge in a liquid state was determined. The influence of the TBRC inclination angle and its rotation frequency was studied numerically.
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