DEVELOPMENT OF 30KG

CRUCIBLE FURNACE
BY
ORE-ARUWAJI OLUWASEYI
13/ENG06/027

SUPERVISED BY
ENGR. DR. A. O. ADEODU
 AIM AND OBJECTIVES

• The aim of this work is to develop a 30kg capacity cast iron

crucible furnace for use in industrial applications. The
proposed objectives of this project include:
• Design the cast iron crucible furnace.
• Fabricate the furnace using locally sourced materials.
• Performance evaluation of the furnace.
 JUSIFICATION
• Due to the availability of scrap metals usually from
unused machines, excess metals lie to waste if they
are not recycled.
• Need to convert scrap metals from one form to
another to enable production of machine components
and spare parts.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
S/N AUTHOR STRENGTH RESEARCH GAP

1 Folayan (2001) Design of a coal fired Research Limited to coal

crucible type furnace firing.

2 Sani (2015) Design, construction and Research limited to coal

testing of a charcoal fired firing and aluminum
crucible furnace for
melting 10kg of
Aluminum

3 Suresh (2016) Construction and This furnace uses

performance analysis of biodiesel
pit furnace using biodiesel
WORKING DRAWINGS
 MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY
THE MATERIALS INVOLVED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THIS PROJECT INCLUDES
Serial Number Material Description Function

1 Mild Steel sheet 7mm thick sheet Used for housing the furnace, constructing
the furnace cover and handle.
2 Sodium Silicate 10 liters Used to make the furnace wall lining.

4 Kaolin Sand 20 bags Used to make the furnace wall lining.

5 Thermocouple 1 piece Used measure heating element

temperature.
7 Iron bars 2 pieces Used for making tongs.
8 Mild steel plate 2mm thick Used for making tank stand

9 Hacko pipe 1 piece Used for making furnace cover support

 BEME
S/N Component Quantity Cost (N)
1. 3mm Mild Steel Plate 1½ 32,000

2. ⌀50 Hacko Pipe 1m 3,000

3. ⌀50 Mild Steel Rod 1m 5,000
4. U-Channel 0.5m 1,400
5. 1” Angle Iron 4 Nos 7,600
6. Lining Material 12,000
7. Sodium Silicate 10 litres 10,000
8. ⌀12 Rod 3 Nos 5,000
9. Blower 20,000
10. Burner 5,000
11. Oil Tank & Control Valve 16,000
12. Sintering Process 2,000
13. Crucible Pot 35,000
14. Transport 20,000
15. Workmanship 20,000

TOTAL N 194,000
 METHODOLOGY

• It involved cutting, rolling and welding operations in the construction

of the furnace and its cover.
• It involved surface finishing of the fabricated furnace.
• It also involved mixing the kaolin sand with sodium silicate to make
furnace wall lining.
 MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS
Heat required to melt the cast iron
Efficiency of furnace = x 100
Heat used to melt the cast iron
• Energy content required to raise temperature of metal to melting point,mCp∆ϴ = 30 x 0.4605 x
1185 = 16,371 KJ
• Energy content required to superheat to 1400°C,
mCp∆ϴ = 30 x 0.754 x (1400-1200) = 4,524KJ
• Energy content required to change metal from solid to liquid
mL = 30 x 126 = 3,780 KJ
• Total energy content of Cast iron = 16,371 + 4524 + 3780 = 24765KJ
• Total amount of energy used by the furnace = 5 x 30,217.39 = 151, 087KJ
Heat energy theoritical
• Hence, Efficiency = x 100
Heat energy experimental
24765
x 100 = 16.39%
151,087
Therefore, the furnace is about 84% efficient.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Time (min) Temperature attained (°C) Heating Rate (°C/min)

5 115 23.00

10 296 29.60

15 405 27.00

20 525 26.25

25 690 27.60

30 750 25.00

35 880 25.14

40 771 24.28

45 1195 26.50
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Time Graph to Continous Melting Method
1400

1200

Temperature (°C)
1000

800

600

400

200

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time (mins)

Heating Rate for Continous Melting

40
35
Heating Rate (°C/min)

30
25
20
15
10
5
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
Temperature (°C)
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
• It can be deduced that as melting time increases, the temperature
increases.
• The heating rate for continuous melting fluctuates as the temperature
increases. The average heating rate observed is 26(°C/min).
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
• Although the crucible furnace was used to melt cast iron, it can be
used to melt metals that fall with the melting points of 0°C to 1200°C
• The furnace proved to be effective and efficient in operation yielding
suitable results.
• The furnace is suitable for use in small scale foundries, tertiary
industries etc.
Recommendations
• From the design of the crucible, it can be made mobile by
incorporating caster wheels or trolley system. This is feasible since
other components of the furnace are movable.
 CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE
• This project is expected to prove that locally sourced raw materials
can be used to design a functional heating equipment that can provide
the basis upon which our small and medium scale foundry enterprises
can thrive in order for them to be able to produce spare parts and
machine components which hitherto could have been imported.