An efficient and accurate numerical simulation method for the paint curing process in auto industries

Abstract

Complex heat transfer phenomena occur in auto paint curing ovens. Due to the complexities in the geometry, boundary conditions and the heat and fluid flow fields, analysis of the heat exchange and the curing process is difficult and numerical simulation is urgently needed. However, development of a computationally affordable yet sufficiently accurate analysis method is not an easy task. In this paper a number of subtleties associated with an appropriate physical and numerical model for the paint curing process in auto industries are discussed. An efficient computational algorithm is then introduced which allows to numerically model the paint curing process of a three dimensional body in a convective oven. The proposed algorithm employs a geometry modeler, a mesh generator, a flow solver, heat transfer correlations, visualization tools and a number of specifically written master computer programs to achieve the goal. Computational results are presented which show that the method is computationally efficient and simulates a real paint curing process with sufficient accuracy.