Furnace flow modelling: physical and computational

An experimental and computational investigation of the flow field in a model furnace was carried out. Measurements included mean and turbulent velocities in three dimensions through the model, together with measured inlet conditions. The flow was swirling with some reverse flow, and was highly turbulent. Data were compared with a three-dimensional computational model by means of the k-ε turbulence model. Mean flows were found to be reasonably well predicted, but turbulence levels were significantly lower than measured. An adjustment of the modelled turbulence wall functions increased predicted turbulence at the walls, but not in the center.