Analyses of solid flow in latest design COREX shaft furnace by physical simulation

Abstract

The present investigation was aimed at elucidating solid particle behaviour in a new design COREX shaft furnace using a new technique called areal gas distribution (AGD). The measurement of solid flow profile was performed with a semi-cylindrical model. To guarantee similarity of conditions, a modified Froude number was taken into consideration in the physical model constructed. The solid flow characteristics in this new furnace with different blast volumes were analysed, and the effect of discharge rate as well as abnormal conditions on solid flow behaviour have also been investigated. The work reveals that solid flow profile in the shaft furnace model progresses through a Flat→Wave→W shape profile as the burden descends. Blast volume has little influence on solid particle behaviour. However, increasing the discharge rate has an effect of decreasing the quasi-stagnant zone size and with the increasing discharge rate, the cross-section of AGD channel increases. For asymmetric flow, particles descend from the top and move to the discharging outlet and a very big stagnant zone is formed on the opposite side of the discharging outlet.

Keywords:

• COREX shaft furnace
• Physical simulation
• Solid flow
• AGD

Acknowledgements

Project (No. 2011BAE04B02) supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program during the ‘12th Five-Year Plan’, China and Project (No. 51174053) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China are acknowledged.