Numerical Investigation of Cooling Strategy for Reducing Blast Furnace Hearth Erosions

Hearth wearing is the key limit of a blast furnace campaign life. Hot metal flow pattern and temperature distributions are the two key variables to determine the rate and style of the hearth wearing. There are several strategies to control and reduce the hearth erosion, such as changing cooling water temperature and changing the heat transfer coefficient. In this paper, both cooling strategies are investigated using a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, which was developed specifically for the simulation of blast furnace hearth. That program can predict the liquid flow patterns and temperature distributions of the hot metal as well as temperature profiles in the hearth refractory materials under different conditions. The results predicted by the CFD code were compared with actual industrial operation data. The cooling strategies are evaluated based on the energy analysis and effect on the hearth erosion.

Download Full-text

Dynamics of dead-man coke and hot metal flow in a blast furnace hearth.

ISIJ International ◽

10.2355/isijinternational.30.208 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 208-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Kouichirou Shibata ◽

Yoshio Kimura ◽

Masakata Shimizu ◽

Shin-ichi Inaba

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth ◽

Dead Man

Download Full-text

Influence of Hot Metal Flow on the Heat Transfer in a Blast Furnace Hearth

Tetsu-to-Hagane ◽

10.2355/tetsutohagane1955.71.1_34 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 34-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jiro OHNO ◽

Masaharu TACHIMORI ◽

Masakazu NAKAMURA ◽

Yukiaki HARA

Keyword(s):

Heat Transfer ◽

Blast Furnace ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth

Download Full-text

Numerical Investigation on Cooling Strategies in a Commercial Blast Furnace Hearth

Volume 2, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/ht-fed2004-56259 ◽

2004 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Anil K. Patnala ◽

Chenn Q. Zhou ◽

Yongfu Zhao

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Cooling Water ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Cfd Modeling ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth ◽

Campaign Life ◽

Parametric Effects ◽

Flow Heat

A blast furnace is the predominant iron-producing process in the U.S. It is widely believed that the blast furnace hearth refractory is the most dominant factor affecting the campaign life of a blast furnace. The hearth, where the liquid metal is collected, is made of carbon bricks. Cooling water is normally applied to the outside wall of the hearth. Wear of the carbon refractory occurs primarily because of erosion, which is related to the operating conditions of the hearth, such as the liquid flow in the hearth and the heat duty to the walls. Evaluation of fluid flow, heat transfer, and erosion patterns in the hearth are critical to the extension of the campaign life of a blast furnace, leading to the increase of productivity and saving of costs significantly. Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling techniques make it possible for providing detailed information on furnace conditions and parametric effects on performance. In this research, the blast furnace No. 13 at U.S Steel has been simulated using a comprehensive CFD model. The model was validated using the temperatures measured by thermocouples in the wall refractories of the furnace. The effects of cooling water on the temperature distributions as well as erosion patterns were evaluated. The results provide useful information for the furnace operations.

Download Full-text

Numerical Investigation on Hot Metal Flow in Blast Furnace Hearth through CFD

ISIJ International ◽

10.2355/isijinternational.48.1182 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 48 (9) ◽

pp. 1182-1187 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Chen-En Huang ◽

Shan-Wen Du ◽

Wen-Tung Cheng

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Numerical Investigation ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth

Download Full-text

Validation of CFD Model for Hot Metal Flow and Heat Transfer Simulation in a Blast Furnace

Energy Conversion and Resources: Fuels and Combustion Technologies, Energy, Nuclear Engineering ◽

10.1115/imece2004-59424 ◽

2004 ◽

Author(s):

Fang Yan ◽

Chenn Q. Zhou ◽

D. Huang ◽

Pinakin Chaubal

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Flow Pattern ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Sensitivity Study ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Flow And Heat Transfer ◽

Temperature Distributions ◽

Campaign Life ◽

Key Variables ◽

Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd

Hearth wearing is the key limit of a blast furnace campaign life. Hot metal flow pattern and temperature distributions are the two key variables to determine the rate and style of the hearth wearing. And the shape, structure and position of the deadman are the three major variables to assign the fluid flow pattern and temperature profile in the hearth. In this paper, a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program which was developed specifically for the simulation of blast furnace hearth was extensively evaluated using actual industrial operation data. That program can predict the liquid flow patterns and temperature distributions of the hot metal as well as temperature profiles in the hearth refractory materials under different conditions. Sensitivity study has also been performed to investigate the effect of the production rate on refractory temperature distribution.

Download Full-text

Physical modelling of hot metal flow in a blast furnace hearth

Scandinavian Journal of Metallurgy ◽

10.1034/j.1600-0692.2001.300405.x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 225-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Matti Juhani Luomala ◽

Olli Juhani Mattila ◽

Jouko Juhani Harkki

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Physical Modelling ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth

Download Full-text

Numerical Modeling of Hot Metal Flow and Heat Transfer in a Blast Furnace

Volume 2, Parts A and B ◽

10.1115/ht-fed2004-56151 ◽

2004 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fang Yan ◽

Chenn Q. Zhou ◽

D. Huang ◽

Pinakin Chaubal

Keyword(s):

Blast Furnace ◽

Flow Pattern ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Flow And Heat Transfer ◽

Temperature Distributions ◽

Campaign Life ◽

Shape Structure ◽

Key Variables ◽

Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd

Hearth wearing is the key limit of a blast furnace campaign life. Hot metal flow pattern and temperature distributions are the two key variables to determine the rate and style of the hearth wearing. And the shape, structure and position of the deadman are the three major variables to assign the fluid flow pattern and temperature profile in the hearth. In this paper, a new method for deadman description was put forward and a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code was described, which was developed specifically for the simulation of blast furnace hearth. That program can predict the liquid flow patterns and temperature distributions of the hot metal as well as temperature profiles in the hearth refractory materials under different conditions. The results predicted by the CFD code were evaluated by comparing with actual industrial operation data.

Download Full-text

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of 3D Hot Metal Flow Characteristics in a Blast Furnace Hearth

Journal of Thermal Science and Engineering Applications ◽

10.1115/1.4002195 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Chenn Q. Zhou ◽

D. (Frank) Huang ◽

Yongfu Zhao ◽

Pinakin Chaubal

Keyword(s):

Fluid Dynamics ◽

Computational Fluid Dynamics ◽

Blast Furnace ◽

Metal Flow ◽

Measurement Data ◽

Operating Conditions ◽

Hot Metal ◽

Furnace Hearth ◽

Blast Furnace Hearth ◽

Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis

The campaign life of an iron blast furnace depends on hearth wear. Distributions of liquid iron flow and refractory temperatures have a significant influence on hearth wear. A 3D comprehensive computational fluid dynamics model has been developed specifically for simulating the blast furnace hearth. It includes both the hot metal flow and the conjugate heat transfer through the refractories. The model has been extensively validated using measurement data from Mittal Steel old, new IH7 blast furnace and U.S. Steel 13 blast furnace. Good agreements between measured and calculated refractory temperature profiles have been achieved. It has been used to analyze the velocity and temperature distributions and wear patterns of different furnaces and operating conditions. The results can be used to predict the inner profile of hearth and to provide guidance for protecting the hearth.

Download Full-text