Enhancing Combustion Efficiency and Temperature Uniformity via Optimization of Burner Inlet Structure in Regenerative Heating Furnaces

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High energy consumption and uneven heating in reheating furnaces have severely limited the green transformation of the iron and steel industry. Accordingly, a coaxial-swirl burner with central air and peripheral fuel is proposed based on regenerative and swirl combustion technologies. The influence of gas intake structure on velocity, temperature, component distribution, combustion efficiency and pollutant emission was investigated by numerical simulation. Results show that radial intake promotes rapid fuel-air mixing and shortens the jet distance. The jet end of Case 1 is at X = 4.5 m, while Cases 2, 3 and 4 are shortened to within X = 1.8 m. Case 4 presents the most uniform temperature, with axial fluctuation within 50 K and the temperature distribution factor reduced by 73% compared with Case 1. It achieves the highest combustion efficiency, with 0.98 at the burner outlet and 0.86 at the chamber outlet. Meanwhile, Case 4 suppresses pollutant emissions effectively, with NO mass fraction 0.0012 and CO mass fraction 0.036 at the outlet. Considering overall performance, Case 4 is the optimal gas intake structure. This study clarifies the regulation mechanism of swirl combustion in reheating furnaces and provides theoretical support for the application of regenerative-swirl synergistic technology.