Numerical Study of the Free Convection Heat Transfer From an I-Beam Support Structure

In this study, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is used to numerically characterize the heat transfer from an I-beam support structure of an aluminum reduction pot, during the free convection cooling process. A slice of the I-beam structure is modeled on two different finite element commercial platforms, ANSYS (FLUENT) and StarCCM+, in a suitable domain of air. The K-epsilon Reynolds averaging technique is used to model the turbulence in both platforms. Validation of the modeling technique and parameters adapted is appropriately performed. The structure is segmented and space mean Nusselt numbers (Nu) characterizing the flow are calculated for each section, for Rayleigh number (Ra) ranges typically experienced by the respective section. Expressions correlating the free convection flow over this structure are deduced based on a regression analysis. To conclude, an application of the deduced correlation in modeling the free convection cooling of an aluminum reduction pot is presented.