Comparative analysis between methodologies and their software realizations applied to modeling and simulation of industrial thermal processes

The current paper presents a comparative analysis between numerical computer based methods applied towards modeling of thermal processes. The processes that are analyzed concern equipment based on electrical resistance heating - such as chamber resistive, blast and through furnaces. The study applies computer based modeling, using the finite element method (FEM) and the system of ordinary differential equations (SODE) method in order to solve different problems involving technological thermal processes such as: controlled heating for quenching, melting, forced cooling and others. Modeling capabilities for temperature control trough hysteresis and PID regulation are shown. Results from using FEM and SODE for solving those different tasks are combined to form a uniform comparative study that formulates recommendations for selecting the most appropriate modeling method for the specific thermal process.