A unified procedure for calculating heat transfer in electric arc and torch furnaces, fireboxes, and com bustion chambers has been developed proceeding from the discovered regularities pertinent to heat transfer in torch gas layers [1,2]. The resulting integral heat fluxes consisting of radiant fluxes falling on the heating surfaces from the torch, wall and arch lining, combustion products, and convective fluxes are all calculated according to this procedure. Innovative designs of torch furnaces and fireboxes have been developed proceeding from the discovered regulari ties, the use of which makes it possible to obtain a higher output from fireboxes, more uniform steam generation in tubes, more uniform heating of articles, and smaller consumption of fuel.The torch burning in a steam boiler firebox is pro duced by a few tens of burners. In what follows, we consider two cases of heat transfer (a simple and a more intricate one) in a torch furnace and in a steam boiler firebox. Figure 1 shows the schematic design of a regenera tive soaking pit, the chamber of which has the shape of a parallelepiped 5.2 m in length, 2.24 m in width, and 3.1 m in height. The torch occupies the lower half of this chamber and part of its upper part. The remaining part of this chamber is occupied by combustion prod ucts. The furnace laboratory space from the front wall to the rear wall accommodates eight 2.2 m high steel ingots (weighting 7 t each). Owing to regenerative heating of gas fuel and air up to 850°С, the soaking pit can operate on blast furnace gas and on a mixture of blast furnace and coke (or natural) gases (the heating value ≈ 5000 kJ/m 3 ). The following values of parameters have been selected for carrying out calcu lations: the fuel flow rate is 3500 m 3 /h, and the ingot final heating temperature is1200°С. The calculation results are shown in Fig. 2.
CALCULATION OF HEAT TRANSFER IN A TORCH FURNACEThe maximal heat fluxes falling on the ingot lateral surfaces are observed on the surfaces facing the soak ing pit lateral wall. Both the torch and the pit lateral wall radiate heat onto these surfaces. The highest tem peratures and the maximal ingot heating rates are noted here. The integral heat fluxes falling on the ingot lateral surfaces facing the pit longitudinal symmetry axis are smaller than the heat fluxes falling on the ingot lateral surfaces facing the soaking pit lateral wall.The distribution of integral fluxes over the upper horizontal surface of ingots was analyzed, and it was found from that analysis that the distribution pattern of their densities is significantly nonuniform in nature, varying from 22 kW/m 2 in the end ingots to 32 kW/m 2 in the middle ones. For the central ingots, the varia tion range of integral fluxes over the height of the ingot lateral surface facing the lateral wall surfaces is from 61 kW/m 2 in the ingot upper part to 80-85 kW/m 2 in the middle part and up to 68 kW/m 2 in the ingot lower parts. The similar indicators at the surface of ingots sit uated near the front wall are equal to 45, 70...