Abstract
In industrial processes, a semi-cavity area formed by airflow wherein the particles circulate is called a “raceway”. In a blast furnace, the role of the raceway is particularly important. To understand and predict the evolution and physical characteristics of the raceway, a three-dimensional transient Eulerian multiphase flow model in a packed particle bed was developed. In the model, it was assumed that the gas and solid (particle) phases constitute an interpenetrating continuum. The gas-phase turbulence was described as a k–ε dispersed model. The gas-phase stress was considered in terms of the effective viscosity of the gas. The solid-phase constitutive relationship was expressed in terms of solid stress. It was found that the evolution process of the raceway can be divided into three stages: (1) rapid expansion, (2) slow contraction, and (3) gradual stabilization. When the blast velocity was increased from 150 m/s to 300 m/s, the surface area of the raceway increased from 0.194 m2 to 1.644 m2. The depth and height of the raceway increased considerably with velocity, while the width slightly increased.
Highlights
In a blast furnace (BF), the raceway is formed by airflow wherein the particles circulate.The combustion of coke and injected fuels in the raceway supplies gas and heat for the critical endothermic reduction of iron ores and for iron smelting [1]
Raceway evolution is an important phenomenon, reblowing, which occurs after a temporary wind break in an ironmaking BF
The evolution process of the raceway can be divided into three stages: (1) rapid expansion, (2) slow contraction, and (3) gradual stabilization
Summary
In a blast furnace (BF), the raceway is formed by airflow wherein the particles circulate. The phenomenon of raceway hysteresis was explained, together with the effects of chemical reactions, blast velocity, material layer porosity, particle diameter, and other factors This method treats the raceway as a circle or a sphere and disregards the force between the particles. Hilton et al [24] and Lichtenegger et al [25] used the CFD-DEM method to investigate the effect of particle properties on the evolution of the raceway in. These approaches did not facilitate quantitative analysis of the raceway or the investigation of raceway physical characteristics. The depth, height, width, and surface area of the raceway were predicted, providing detailed information and theoretical guidance for the process of gas injection into packed beds in industrial processes
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