MEAM 22 Modelling and Simulation How fast does a massive industrial workpiece heat up inside a high-temperature furnace, and how can this thermal process be modeled as a first-order dynamic system in MATLAB/Simulink?

Question

A 100 kg metal workpiece at 20 °C is inserted into a furnace maintained at 800 °C. Heat transfer occurs only by convection, and the workpiece temperature is assumed uniform. Derive the governing differential equation using energy balance, determine the thermal time constant, and build a Simulink model to simulate temperature rise over time. Verify that after one time constant the temperature reaches 63.2% of its final value, and analyze how doubling the mass changes the heating curve.

Neeta Dsouza · Accepted Answer

The workpiece temperature rises exponentially from the initial value toward the furnace temperature. After one time constant TTT, it reaches about 63.2% of the total temperature change. Increasing mass increases TTT, so heating becomes slower while the final temperature remains the same.

MEAM 22 Modelling and Simulation How fast does a massive industrial workpiece heat up inside a high-temperature furnace, and how can this thermal process be modeled as a first-order dynamic system in MATLAB/Simulink?

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