Fluent platform was used to simulate the heat insulation

natural convection and forced air cooling of a sponge titanium reactor with capacity of 13 t

as well as the temperature field distribution and variation curves of the reactor under different feeding rates. The results indicate that under the condition of heat insulation and natural convection

the temperature in reaction zone is increased with the increase of the feeding rate

where the rate of 705 kg/h is 180 K higher than that of 505 kg/h. At forced air cooling

the temperature field with feed rates of 405

505

605

705 and 805 kg/h is similar to that with 405 kg/h under natural convection

which effectively controls and improves the temperature distribution. The simulation results reveal that the temperature is increased rapidly firstly

and reaches the peak value of 1 358 K at 500 kg/h for 3.44 h

which is stable at 1 262 K after 16.67 h. When feeding rate is 705 kg/h

the temperature reaches the peak of 1 434 K after 1.67 h

and then becomes stable at 1 307 K after 15.28 h.