Topics for Theses
The department offers topics for Bachelor’s and Master’s theses as well as student research projects. If noted in the respective examination regulations, the thesis can be written in either German or English in agreement with the examiner.
Energy-intensive thermal processes (e.g., heating, preheating, annealing) can be electrified to reduce the use of fossil fuels. To transfer electricity “from the outlet” into the material being heated (e.g., strips or bil-lets) in the form of heat, electric resistive heating elements are used. These elements work similarly to a toaster, where wires glow due to electrical resistance.
Energy-intensive thermal processes (e.g., heating, preheating, annealing) can be electrified to reduce the use of fossil fuels. To transfer electricity “from the outlet” to the material being heated (e.g., strips or billets) in the form of heat, technologies classified under the term electric heating are used. This includes any method that uses electricity to generate heat for thermal processes. Prominent examples are electric arc furnaces and resistive heating elements, the latter being familiar from household appliances like toast-ers.
Energy-intensive thermal processes (heating, preheating, annealing, etc.) can be electrified to reduce fossil fuel consumption. To transfer electricity “from the socket” into the material to be heated (e.g., strips or billets) in the form of heat, electrical resistance heating elements are often used. This thesis will focus on heating elements that are exposed to a process gas and primarily transfer heat convectively to this gas, which then in turn transfers the heat to the material. Typically, heating elements are constructed with conductive wires spirally wound around a ceramic support rod. This design was patented over 100 years ago; your task will be to lay the groundwork for developing a new, optimized design.
Electric heating can be implemented into an industrial furnace by the use of electric resistance heaters. There are many options regarding operating principle, geometry and available power. A farely new option is the HoneyComb heating element by Sintex used for the heating of process gases. These heating elements are based on metal powder extrusion using high-temperature alloys. The aim of this work is to investigate the heating elements with regard to heat transfer and fluid flow. Therefore, a numerical model is to be developed which should provide insights into the local and integral heat transfer coefficients, local temperature distribution of the heating elements and gas, and the pressure drop caused by the heating element.
The submerged arc furnace is an electric melting and reduction unit which has been used on an industrial scale for decades, for example for ferronickel, ferrochrome or phosphorus. Due to the increased restrictions regarding the CO2 footprint of products and the likewise increased costs for CO2 emissions, alternative process routes to the blast furnace route are also being sought in steel production. The Submerged Arc Furnace represents one option for smelting direct-reduced iron and is favored by some large steel companies. In this work, an existing CFD model of a ferrochrome SAF will be further developed. Basic process understanding will be obtained by visiting the SAF at Outokumpu in Tornio (Finland) at the beginning of the work.
