Evaluation of Turbulent Heat Transfer Enhancement in Steam-Cracking Furnace Tubes with Modified Internal Textures

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Ethylene is a valuable chemical product essential to Canada's chemical and plastics industries. It is produced by reacting ethane gas and steam at very high temperatures in a steam cracking furnace. An undesirable by-product of the reaction is the gradual deposition of amorphous coke on the reactor walls. The deposits degrade the efficiency of the furnace and result in periodic shut downs of the steam cracking process to remove the coke deposits. Increasing the heat transfer rate from the reactor walls to the gases flowing inside the furnace can reduce the rate of coke formation. Unfortunately, conventional methods for increasing the heat transfer rate also increase the frictional pressure losses in the furnace, which translates into higher operational costs. This research project will investigate new methods for increasing heat transfer rates in ethylene production furnaces that yield only a minimal increase in frictional losses. In collaboration with Quantiam Technologies Inc., researchers from UBC Okanagan and University of Alberta will investigate heat transfer enhancement by placing patterned textures on the inner walls of the reactor. The textures protrude into the turbulent boundary layer and modify the turbulent motions that are responsible for mixing heat and momentum in the gas flow. By using high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics simulations and experimental measurements of the heat transfer and turbulent velocity field, the research project will evaluate the impact of various texture patterns on the heat transfer and frictional losses. The research will advance the current state of fundamental knowledge of turbulent flows with heat transfer. Commercial application of the research findings by Quantiam Technologies Inc. will help reduce the energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions associated with ethylene production.