Advances in Temperature Field Simulation of Vacuum Furnaces

Temperature field simulation is a key method for studying the temperature uniformity in a vacuum furnace, which significantly influences the stress and microstructure of workpieces. In this paper, we first review the methods of temperature measurement, and then summarize the usual finite element meshing and their applicable scenarios. A comparison of commonly used radiation models and their characteristics is conducted, summarizing the factors that influence the temperature field of the furnace. In future studies, more efforts should be focused on the following aspects: 1) Multiphysics coupling simulation and experiments are adopted to construct an integrated design database of ‘structure-temperature field-workpiece performance’. 2) The combination of the temperature field simulation and the neural network algorithm is implemented to achieve real-time temperature prediction and intelligent optimization. 3) To improve temperature uniformity, the modular approach should be adopted in the design of vacuum furnaces by optimizing the layout of the heating modules and enhancing the precision of the temperature monitoring/controlling modules.