Effects of Operational Parameters on Particle Movement and Distribution at the Top of a Bell‐Less Blast Furnace Based on Discrete Element Method

Abstract

In blast furnaces, the chute is the key device determining burden distribution. The effects of the chute's geometric and operational parameters on burden distribution have seldom been studied. Herein, the top of a bell‐less blast furnace is modeled based on the discrete element method to investigate the effects of chute length, stock‐line level and chute angle on particle movement, and radial burden distribution. The results indicate that burden particles are more likely to slide toward the opposite to the rotating direction as the chute length or angle increases. The burden distribution segregation is mainly caused by the segregation of particle velocity on the chute and the percolation of pellet on the chute. The burden tends to aggregate with increases in chute length and disperse with increases in stock‐line level or chute angle.

Modelling of phenomena affecting blast furnace burden permeability using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) – A review

“…The interplay of these forces determines the bulk behavior of the flow in the chute, specifically how compact/dilute the flow is at the chute outlet. When it comes to point (2), researchers have researchers have studied the effect of chute design [45] and operation [46,47] on the stream width and thickness, and how these factors affect segregation during layer build-up. These aspects are discussed later, in Section 2.3.…”

“…As the tilting angle and length increase, the particles' residence time on the chute becomes longer and therefore, the particles experience centrifugal and Coriolis forces for longer times. Consequently, the material stream will tend to move along one side of the chute and, according to Hong et al [47], this tendency increases with the chute angle and length. Fig.…”

“…16 illustrates how three performance indicators (stream width, thickness and main striking point or MSP) for characterizing the burden distribution during charging are defined. Kou et al [45] and Hong et al [47] studied the effect of, among other factors, the chute angle, speed and length on these performance indicators. Despite using the same system, particles, particle sizes, interaction parameters, mass flow rate, amount of material and definitions of performance indicators, Hong et al reported that the stream width increases with the chute angle, while Kou et al reported the opposite.…”

“…An important aspect of material model calibration is to include the flow conditions which are expected in the actual application in the calibration test. Considering the sheer size of industrial blast furnaces, the magnitude of flow velocity upon burden surface impact is expected to be in the order of 10 m/s [47]. Hence, models developed for predicating phenomena affecting the burden distribution should be calibrated against high-velocity experimental data.…”

Influence of Charging Parameters on the Burden Flow Velocity and Distribution on the Blast Furnace Chute Based on Discrete Element Method

“…They compared the experimental results with numerical results from DEM, the results showed that the particle simulation of the charging process is highly reliable for predicting the particle trajectories in the BF. Hong et al [14] established a 1:1 DEM model to investigate the effects of chute length, stock-line level, and chute angle on the movement of particles and their radial distribution.…”