Development of a 30Kg Aluminium Oil-Fired Crucible Furnace Using Locally Sourced Materials

A crucible furnace is a piece of equipment used in the foundry industry for melting metals for casting operations. This research work focuses on the design of a 30-kilogram capacity aluminium crucible furnace that is fired with diesel fuel. The furnace drum has an overall combustion capacity of 0.1404m 3. It is fitted with a chimney to allow for the easy escape of combustion gases. The air blower discharges air into the furnace at the rate of 0.3m 3/s with an air/fuel ratio of 400:1. The aluminium crucible furnace is designed to consume 4 litres of diesel fuel with a rating of 139000kJ/gallon which is required to completely melt 30-kilogram of aluminium over a period of 18 min. The designed operation temperature range of the aluminium crucible furnace is 500°C to 800°C. The cost of the aluminium crucible furnace is one hundred and eighty-two thousand nine hundred naira (N182, 900.00).