Mark L. Weaver

Alternative Coolants and Cooling System Designs for Safer Freeze Lined Furnace Operation

Water coming in contact with liquid metal is well understood in the metallurgical industry to be an extreme hazard and historically has been at the root cause of many fatal incidents world wide. A wide range of alternative heat transfer fluids exist, which can be used to replace water in both common and special high performance applications. These fluids have a range of physical characteristics leading to different process performances, which can be improved by changes in the configuration and design of the cooling system and furnace cooling elements. This article will examine a number of coolants including natural and synthetic organics, silicones, fluorinated oils, and lead-bismuth eutectic alloy. Peak transient heat fluxes (often where significant damage occurs), Critical Heat Flux and other key copper cooler design parameters will be discussed. Safety tests to determine the suitability of new fluids for use as furnace coolants are discussed and proposed.