Review on Modeling and Simulation of Blast Furnace

Abstract

The design and control of blast furnace (BF) ironmaking must be optimized in order to be competitive and sustainable, particularly under the more and more demanding and tough economic and environmental conditions. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the complex multiphase flow, heat and mass transfer, and global performance of a BF under different conditions. Mathematical modeling, often coupled with physical modeling, plays an important role in this area. This paper reviews the recent developments in this direction. The emphasis is given to mathematical models for different BF regions from the top charging system, body, and finally down to raceway and hearth. The needs for the further research and developments are also discussed.

Model-Based Analysis of Factors Affecting the Burden Layer Structure in the Blast Furnace Shaft

“…The behavior of burden descent in the BF has been studied extensively and intensively in the literature [1,3,6,11,12,[27][28][29][30][31]. The path lines of the solid in the BF can be generally assumed as depicted in Figure 2, where plug flow is the main solid flow pattern in the upper and middle zones (i.e., lumpy zone), while a slight convergent flow and a dead man zone dominate in the lower bosh zone.…”

“…As a consequence, most of the studies on the conditions of the burden in the lumpy zone have been based on laboratory-scale experiments or mathematical modeling. Such studies have, e.g., [3][4][5], presented correlations between the charging pattern and the burden structure in the lumpy zone. However, since direct measurements of the layers in the shaft are lacking, the modeling results have usually only been verified for the top layers in the throat or indirectly through gas temperature and composition measurements in the throat.…”

“…However, since direct measurements of the layers in the shaft are lacking, the modeling results have usually only been verified for the top layers in the throat or indirectly through gas temperature and composition measurements in the throat. Compared with physical experiments, mathematical modeling [3] has gained popularity due to its lower cost and higher flexibility. The mathematical modeling approaches [4,5] regarding the BF burden distribution (corresponding to the bell-less charging system) can basically be categorized as volume-based simplified models or classical (continuum) force models [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14], data-driven models [15,16], or hybrid models [17,18], as well as the more computationally expensive models based of the discrete element method (DEM) [19][20][21][22][23].…”

Numerical investigation of mixed layer effect on permeability in a dynamic blast furnace

“…The formation of mixed layers is a significant phenomenon in a BF because the porosity at the interface regions is of major importance in the definition of nonuniform flow through the stack region of a BF. Laboratory‐scale experiments, scaled burden descent models as well as industrial measurements have been conducted to examine mixed layer formation. These studies revealed that the mixed layer usually has much lower gas permeability compared with the individual layers.…”

Structure of the Optimal Management System for Raw Materials, Fuel and Energy Resources in Blast-furnace Production

“…Such task is to be solved based on development and application of new methods and algorithms [1][2][3][4][5]. The mathematical models of technical processes and production [6][7][8] represent the intellectual core of such system.…”