A hydrodynamic model of U-type reduction chamber for iron ore suspension roaster

Abstract

U-type reduction chamber plays a significant role in the suspension roaster which has been proven to be one of the most highly efficient and clean magnetization equipment to utilize complex refractory iron ores. In the present work, a hydrodynamic model has been developed for the operation that the materials in the fluidization chamber are fluidized while the particles in the supply chamber are in a moving packed bed. Through fluid dynamic analysis, a hydrodynamic model including four equations has been established, whose solution results in the solids concentration in the fluidization chamber and materials' height in the supply chamber. Meanwhile, the effects of operating conditions such as fluidizing gas velocity and delivery rate on solids concentration in the fluidization chamber and materials' height in the supply chamber were studied by a combination of model analysis and experiments. The experiments were carried out in a U-type reduction chamber cold test apparatus with alumina particles. The model predictions showed good agreement with the experimental data, giving average errors below 6.28% and 4.96% respectively.