Slag Ternary Diagramming Tool

Feb 6 11 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In this post I introduce and demonstrate a ternary diagramming tool to calculate and analyse metallurgical slag properties, such as viscosity, liquidus temperature, etc. In short, this could be used to calculate slag liquid viscosity, and then to calculate and plot contours on a ternary diagram. It is also possible to import property values from a .csv file as a function of the varied components plotted on the diagram, and then to calculate and plot the contour values.

The ternary diagramming tool can be found here. This software was again based on the Microsoft Silverlight technology, which make it possible to have rich internet application inside your browser, or to easily install the software on your computer. More on this can be found in a previous post. The ternary diagram software component was developed in a way to easily be used in other applications as well.

Smelting furnace refractory and freeze lining heat transfer model

Dec 11 10 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In this post I would like to illustrate how to model heat transfer through the refractory of a smelting furnace, and how to estimate the thickness of a freeze lining on the hot face. This is targeted at readers familiar with smelting furnaces, and would like to utilize measured data to evaluate the heat transfer performance, or alternatively to investigate refractory options. Although complex phenomena exists in the furnace influencing heat transfer and the formation of freeze lining which are in some cases largely unknown, a simple approach is demonstrated to model the most important effects observed.

A tool to calculate slag liquid viscosity using Silverlight

Nov 8 10 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In this blog I present and discuss a tool to calculate metallurgical slag liquid viscosity. This tool has been developed using the Microsoft Silverlight technology, which will also be discussed in a bit more detail than was done in the previous post. The calculations have also been developed as user defined functions compiled into a Microsoft Excel add-in, available on request.

Kohonen Self Organizing Maps for Process Applications, using Silverlight

Nov 6 10 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In this blog I will discuss Kohonen self organizing maps (SOM), and how it could be applied to process engineering problems. I will also illustrate its use with a typical example, and then with a process engineering example. For this application I have used the Microsoft .NET framework, writing code in C# with the examples having Silverlight frontends. This blog will be focussed on the concept and application, rather the details on exactly how it is programmed. To follow first is short overview of what SOM’s are, a broader explanation can be found on Wikipedia.

Finite difference heat transfer analyses in Excel

Oct 30 10 under Uncategorized | Leave a comment

In this first blog (after the hello world one) I’m tackling something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. That is setting up and solving a simple heat transfer problem using the finite difference (FDM) in MS Excel. The aim is to solve the steady-state temperature distribution through a rectangular body, by dividing it up into nodes and solving the necessary equations only in two dimensions. I’m going to illustrate a simple one-dimensional heat flow example, followed two-dimensional heat flow example, all programmed into Excel.

Finite difference analyses (FDA’s) are generally performed to predict the values of physical properties at discrete points throughout a body. In the case of a stationary body where heat transfer is primary phenomena, the temperature could be determined throughout as a function of heating or cooling on the boundaries, and the physical properties (heat transfer coefficient) of the material.

Hello world

Oct 28 10 under Uncategorized | Comments Off

This is the first post on the algoNess blog!

Through this we will be sharing interesting thoughts relating to algoNess’s mission, illustrating how to apply engineering principles and methodologies in a way to assist decision makers. The focus will always be on following well thought through solutions that are applied as simple as possible.

Thank you for taking interest in this blog, and we would like to encourage anyone reading it to participate by sharing your comments, recommendations, and questions. Suggestions on solving interesting challenges you are facing are also always welcome.