1

FURNACE DESIGN
USMAN ABBAS ( 2012-CH-346)

Furnace

A furnace is a machines utilized for heating. Industrial furnace utilized

for numerous things, for example the extraction of metal from ore
(refining) or in oil refineries and other substance plants, for instance as
the hotness resource for fragmentary distillation sections.

Vibrant Thermal Engineering - Leading Manufacturer &

Supplier of Industrial Furnace Vibrant Thermal Engineering
- Leading Manufacturer & Supplier of Industrial Furnace
India

TYPES OF FURNACES

Bogie Hearth Furnace

Bell furnace

Pit Type Furnace

Forging furnace

Shell baking furnace

Nonferrous Melting furnace

Industrial Furnace

Laboratory Furnace

Industrial Driers

Box Type Furnace

Furnaces Spares Etc.

Vibrant Thermal Engineering - Leading Manufacturer &

Supplier of Industrial Furnace Vibrant Thermal Engineering
- Leading Manufacturer & Supplier of Industrial Furnace
India

DESIGNING METHODS

Method of Wilson, Lobo and Hottel

The Orrok Hudson equation

Wohlenburg simplified method

Method of Lobo and Evans

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace

calculations

Comparison of Designing
Methods
Method of Wilson,
Lobo and Hottel

Empirical method for

box type furnaces.

The Orrok Hudson

equation

Wohlen burg
simplified method

Old designing method. Empirical method .

7
Method of Lobo and
Evans

Theoretical method.

Heat flux 5000-30,000 Based on a lot of

assumptions.
Btu/hr-ft2

Useful only for coal

firing.

Useful for every type

fuel.

Excess air must be

from 5-80 %

Not used now a days

More accurate than

the Orrok-Hudson
equation.

The deviation in
results was 16 percent.

when the accuracy is

not required .

Accuracy is very low.

Accuracy is low but

better than OrrokHudson method.

Most accurate method

being used in all the
refineries.

SELECTION OF LOBO AND EVANS

Based on theoretical basis and is used extensively in refinery

and good fertilizer furnace design work.

The average deviation between the predicted and observed heat

absorption for 85 tests on 19 different refinery furnaces varying
widely in physical and operating characteristics was 5.3 %.

It makes us of over all exchange factor ,f and a StefanBoltzmann type equation.

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace
calculations

The maximum deviation was 16 percent.

Most accurate method being used in al the

refineries.

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace

calculations

LOBO AND EVANS METHOD

(Designing parameters)

1-

Assume

1
0

= 2*average flux , then obtain .

2- Assume a tube surface temperature, Ts and find Tg .

3- Heat liberated by fuel.
4- Required amount of fuel and air.
5- Total required amount of air

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace

calculations

5- The inlet heat by air

1
1

6- Amount of atomizing steam

8- Amount of heat associated by steam
9-Heat absorbed by the furnace wall
10-The heat of exhaust gases
11- Net heat liberated
12- Number of tubes required
process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace
calculations


13- Cold

plane surface area

1
2

14- Calculation of
15-Mean beam length.
16- Total exposed area, At
17-Effective refracting surface
18- Overall exchange factor, f
19- Obtain the new value of then go back to step (3) to obtain the
new value of gas temperature, TG
process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace
calculations

Required Designing Data:No.

Factors

Valus

1-

Total required heater

duty( Q)

271030.973 MJ
2.57 * 107 Btu/hr

2-

Air to fuel ratio

0.3455

3-

Temperature of inlet air

1112 0F

4-

Tubes outer Dia

D.Q kern

5 inch

5-

Exposed Tube length

D.Q kern

38.5 ft

6-

Average flux for both

radiant and convective
section ( q)

12000

1
3

1
4

No.
789-

Factors
ctc

D.Q kern

Efficiency

Fuel value

Valus
8.5 inch
70%
661.10 KJ/mol

1
5
Outlet
INLET
Component Composition
H2
0.0429
N2
0.185

Kmoles/hr

H2
N2

90.12

CO
CO2

388.64
0

0.0752

157.97

Ar

0.002

0.42

CH4

0.6948

1459.61

C2H6
total

0.0019
1

3.99
2100.75

H2O i.e
steam added

component composition

4063.9

0.605107
0.076178
0.10497

3087.08
388.64
535.52

Ar

0.099294
0.002

506.57
0.42

CH4

0.114368

583.47

C2H6

total
H2O i.e
steam out

5101.71

CO
CO2

inlet

(Furnace)

Mass(kg)
IN

114724.55

Out

114724.64

outlet

kmloes/
hr

2831.2

1
6

DESIGNING
CALCULATIONS

Radiant

heat flux( q):-

1
7

range of q = 10,000 -15,000 Btu/hr-ft2

Selected flux q =12,000 Btu/hr-ft2

As = 2 * average flux
= 2 * 12,000 Btu/hr-ft2 = 24,000 Btu/hr-ft2

Where = shows the actual heat transfer between hot and cold surface.
Acp = cold plane surface

process heat transfer by D.Q kern table # 19.2 to find q

Overall

f= 0.6

1
8

exchange factor (f) :range is usually 0.55 to 0.65

Now
= 24000/0.6 = 40,000 Btu/hr-ft

Let assume Ts =9000F

Now finding Tg from fig 19.14 D.Q kern
Tg =17800F

Industrial and Process Furnaces: Principles, Design and

Operation By Barrie Jenkins, Peter Mullinger

Heat liberated by fuel ( Qf ) :-

Qf =

1
9

= = 3.67* 107 Btu/hr

Amount

of fuel required :-

mfuel = = 58531.76 mol/hr

Multiplying with average Mol .weight of nat.gas , mfuel= 1197.73Kg /hr

unitrove.com/engineering/tools/gas/natural gas-calorific
value

2
0

Required

amount of air:-

mair * m fuel = * 1197.73kg /hr

=413.893 kg/hr
Total

amount of air:-

assuming 25 % excess air

mtotal air =1.25 * 413.893 Kg/hr =517.366 Kg/hr

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace

calculations

 Inlet

2
1

heat by air (Qair):-

Qair( Tair in- Tref)

= 517.366 Kg/hr * 1.11 kJ/kg-k ( 873K-288.5K)
= 3.35 *105 KJ/hr = 3.17 * 105 Btu/hr
Total

amount of atomizing steam :-

The amount o atomizing steam is 0.3 lb/lb fuel

So required atomizing steam = 0.3 mfuel

= 0.3 *1197.73 Kg/hr
=359.319Kg/hr

Heat

associated by steam:- ( Qsteam)

Qsteam( Tsteam in -Tref)

=359.319Kg/hr* 2.031 KJ/Kg-k * (633K -288.5K)
= 2.51*105 KJ/hr
= 2.38* 105 Btu/hr
Heat

absorbed by furnace wall ( Qwall ):-

usually

Qwall = 2% Qf
=0.02 (3.67 * 107 Btu /hr)
= 7.34 * 105 Btu/hr

2
2

 Heat

of exhaust gases( Qexhaust):-

2
3

Qexhaust = mfuel (1+ G ) Cp,average (Tg-520)

= 1197.73Kg ( 1+0.3455) 10.64kJ/Kg-k *(1244.11-520)
= 1.241 * 107 KJ/hr = 1.177 * 107 Btu/hr
Net

heat liberated (Q):-

Q= Qfuel +Qair+Qsteam Qwall Qexhaust

= 3.67* 107 Btu/hr + 3.17 * 105 Btu/hr + 2.38* 105 Btu/hr
- 7.34 * 105 Btu/hr - 1.177 * 107 Btu/hr
= 2.55 * 107 Btu/hr

Number

of tubes ( Nt) :Ntubes

=

= 42.1 almost 42
Cold

plane area (Acp):Acp = ctc *L*N

= 0.7083 ft * 38.5 ft * 42
=1145.38 ft2

2
4

 Calculation

of alpha () :-

= factor of comparison with 2 parallel planes

2
5

= 1
Refractory

surfaces :-

end walls = 611 ft2

bridge wall = 377ft2

side wall = 575 ft2

bottom wall=1575 ft2

At = 611 ft2 + 575 ft2 + 377ft2 + 1575 ft2

= 3138 ft2

Industrial and Process Furnaces: Principle's, Design and

Operation By Barrie Jenkins, Peter Mullingar

fig.19.11 process heat transfer by D.Q kern to find

Effective

refractory surface ( AR ):AR = At Acp

2
6

=3138 ft2 1* (1145.375 ft2)

=1992.625 ft2

now calculate,
= = 1.73

Mean

beam length( L):-

For dimension ratio 3: 2:1 = 38.5 : 20.46 : 14.92 approximately

process heat transfer by Donald Q kern ch-19 furnace

calculations table 19.1

So L = 2/3 *( volume)

0.333

= 2/3 * (38.5 * 20.46 * 14.92)

=15 ft

0.333

2
7

Gas emissivity ( G ):G of the natural gas fuel having our desired composition

G = 0.3
Overall exchange factor ( f):By using G and we can find f.

https://www.google.com/search?
q=gas+emmisivity+of+natural+gas&wdnwtto=1&gws_rd=s
sl

f= 0.55
Now find again
=

2
8

= 40479.17 Btu/hr-

Now with the help of and Ts we will find Tg

Tg = 1750 0F And that is vey close to 1780 0F that is assumed
value initially..
It means our assumptions are correct and design is valid.
fig 19.15 process heat transfer by D.Q kern to find f.
fig19.14 process heat transfer by D.Q kern to find Tg

Furnace

efficiency:-

*100
= *100
= 69.48 %

% Error :error = assumed value- calculated value

= 70 % - 69.48 %
= 0.52 %

2
9

Specification sheet
Identification
Item

Furnace

Item no.

H-1

Type

Vertical

Function

To reform the natural gas

Designing aspects

Heat duty

2.57 * 107 Btu/hr

Refractory material

Refractory brick

Number of tubes

42

Mean beam length

15ft

Flue gas temperature Tg

1750 0F

Tube dia

5 inch

Efficiency

69.48 %

Inlet temperature

1859 0F

Outlet temperature

14860F