Simulation study of the vertical stirring effect in 600 t/d float glass furnace

In float glass production, the homogeneity of molten glass significantly influences the product quality. Usually, stirrers are used to diminish the inhomogeneity of molten glass. In this study, the vertical stirring process in a float glass furnace was simulated and analysed using the ANSYS Fluent 14·0 software. The particle track method was used to qualitatively describe the stirring effect. The stretch rate was used to quantitatively evaluate the stirring effect. The influence of stirring on the waist backward flow was studied. The relationship between the stirrer insertion depth and the optimal rotational speed was obtained. The particles presented an S-shaped distribution after stirring. The rotation effect of the stirrer can bring the backward flow upward into the forward flow at a high rotational speed. The optimal rotational speed decreased with the insertion depth of the stirrer and presented a linear relationship. The physical simulation method was used to verify the correctness of the particle tracks obtained in the numerical simulation.