Mathematical Modelling of Turbulent Combustion and Conjugate Heat Transfer in Rotary Kilns

This dissertation presents the development, validation, and application of an integrated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver, which is built upon the opensource OpenFOAM framework, to predict and ultimately reduce thermal nitric oxide (NO) formation in industrial rotary kilns without sacrificing process productivity. The work is structured into three parts: theoretical foundations, solver implementation and validation through increasingly complex case studies, and final conclusions and recommendations.

The theoretical part of the dissertation established a comprehensive mathematical framework for simulating the complex interactions within rotary kilns, focusing on turbulent combustion, conjugate heat transfer (CHT), and thermal NO formation. Each part of this multi-physics problem is highlighted with a discussion of one or more available models to resolve it, which is often a trade-off between computational speed and accuracy....