Enhancement of energy efficiency in a paint curing oven via CFD approach: Case study in an air-conditioning plant

An oven has been commonly employed to cure powder painted on metal parts for an air-conditioning production. There are many options to improve efficiency in fuel use for the paint curing oven; however some options need deep understanding to prove the possibility of thermal performance. In this work, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling and simulation have been applied to study the temperature distribution and the flow pattern in the paint curing oven on a large scale. The CFD model has been validated against real data. The validated CFD model is used to investigate the temperature distribution and the flow pattern for two proposed options: eliminating stored heat and rearranging airflow. Results demonstrate that both cases provide temperature increase of 1.9 and 1.3 °C for air compared to the present paint curing oven. It can be concluded that the two proposed options are applicable for further implementation to the present paint curing oven.