Dead-Man Behavior in the Blast Furnace Hearth—A Brief Review

Abstract

The blast furnace campaign length is today usually restricted by the hearth life, which is strongly related to the drainage and behavior of the coke bed in the hearth, usually referred to as the dead man. Because the hearth is inaccessible and the conditions are complex, knowledge and understanding of the state of the dead man are still limited compared to other parts of the blast furnace process. Since a number of publications have studied different aspects of the dead man in the literature, the purpose of the current review is to compile the findings and knowledge in a comprehensive document. We mainly focus on contributions with respect to the dead man state, and those assessing its influence on the hearth performance in terms of liquid flow patterns, lining wear and drainage behavior. A set of common modeling approaches in this specific furnace area is also briefly presented. The aim of the review is also to deepen the understanding and stimulate further research on open questions related to the dead man in the blast furnace hearth.

Erosion Behavior and Longevity Technologies of Refractory Linings in Blast Furnaces for Ironmaking: A Review

“…[ 44,45 ] Many scholars have studied the flow of molten iron in the hearth during tapping using experiments and numerical simulation. [ 29,46–49 ] Komiyama et al [ 29 ] built a three‐dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of Kembla No. 5 BF.…”

Optimization of high alumina slag practice in blast furnace ironmaking: an industrial approach (PART 1: fundamental aspects)

“…For continuous tapping of slag and molten metal in huge blast furnaces having many tapholes, slag, and metal discharge simultaneously [15]. The molten metal on account of higher density and lower viscosity can easily flow to the taphole through a 'coke-free' path [16] while the slag has to go through the hearth coke bed and experience additional flow resistance. This phenomenon might result in slag accumulation below the taphole area even if the taphole appears dry enough.…”

“…The slag tap-to-tap time is directly associated with slag viscosity which highlights the importance of always maintaining a slag with high fluidity for improving productivity and fuel consumption. Slag viscosity is also described as a property that links the slag flow behaviour to the reaction kinetics and the degree of reduction of the final slag [16]. The slag viscosity impacts gas permeability, heat transmission, and the reduction of SiO 2 , FeO, and other elements [18].…”

Graphitization and Performance of Deadman Coke in a Large Dissected Blast Furnace

“…The deadman occupies 70% of the volume of the blast furnace hearth. 3,4 The performance of hearth coke directly determines the hearth activity, production capacity, and longevity potential of the blast furnace. 5−9 Therefore, it is necessary to study the performance of the hearth coke, particularly its graphitization degree and consumption pathway.…”

“…It takes a long time for coke to be renewed in the blast furnace hearth, so the accumulation of coke for a long time leads to the formation of deadman. The deadman occupies 70% of the volume of the blast furnace hearth. , The performance of hearth coke directly determines the hearth activity, production capacity, and longevity potential of the blast furnace. − Therefore, it is necessary to study the performance of the hearth coke, particularly its graphitization degree and consumption pathway. The degree of coke graphitization and consumption pathway are influenced by the target annealing time and temperature, which can reflect the renewal time of the blast furnace.…”