MELTING OF ALUMINIUM IN PULSED COMBUSTOR FIRED FURNACE

Abstract

The paper presents an experimental investigation of the use of a locally fabricated SNECMA-Lockwood type Pulsed combustor to fire a metallurgical furnace designed for melting low melting point metals. The fuel used for firing the combustor is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) sold in Nigeria. The working space of the furnace is 290mm by 290mm by 485mm. The exit port of the pulsed combustor was fired into the Metallurgical furnace. Results showing the variation with time of the Furnace space Temperature and inner wall temperature of the furnace when loaded with aluminum scraps and when it is not loaded are presented. Also presented is the variation with time of the pulsed combustor exit port temperature. Temperature of 680°C was attained in the furnace when it was empty while a maximum temperature of 667°C was attained when it was loaded with aluminum scraps. The aluminum scrap was melted in about thirty-five minutes and the molten aluminum was used to cast two small objects. The result shows that a metallurgical furnace fired with pulsed combustor could be used to melt low melting metals like Aluminum and Lead.