Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhanced Convective Heat Transfer in Pyrolysis Furnaces via Impeller-Induced Stirring

Hongyun Bai^1,2, Jianxin Xu^1,2,*, Wenbo Shi^1,2, Xiaowei Ma³, Jun Ma³, Shaoyin Zhu³, Hua Wang^1,2

1 State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, School of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
2 Faulty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
3 Hongta Tobacco (Group) Co., Ltd., Yuxi, China

* Corresponding Author: Jianxin Xu. Email:

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2026, 22(2), 6 https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2026.076265

Received 17 November 2025; Accepted 09 February 2026; Issue published 04 March 2026

Abstract

Optimizing pyrolysis processes is critical for improving the efficiency of pyrolysis furnaces. This study presents a strategy to enhance heat transfer through agitation, employing Fluent for detailed numerical simulation of the thermal behavior. The simulation results show strong agreement with experimental measurements of localized fluid temperature rise. Forced convection induced by impeller rotation significantly improves heat transfer between the fluid and the furnace walls, effectively reducing thermal stratification. At an impeller speed of 240 RPM, the axial temperature difference decreases from 200 K to 50 K compared with stationary conditions, while the average heat transfer coefficient increases by approximately 50% throughout the heating process. The swirl flow generated by impeller motion disrupts the thermal boundary layer, achieving a more uniform temperature distribution and faster thermal response.

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Keywords

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