Improvement of blast furnace production using digital technology

Abstract

The role of mathematical models in the improvement of the blast furnace smelting technology is shown. Examples include the new developments of the Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the field of digital models of blast furnace production, in particular, two-dimensional and three-dimensional mathematical models of the thermal state of various zones of the blast furnace, including analysis and forecast of phe-nomena of gas dynamics, heat exchange, recovery in blast furnace using a complex of mathematical models; monitoring of refractory lining state and hearth filling using three-dimensional mathematical model of thermal processes; forecast of silicon content and other elements in cast iron and slag based on neural network technologies; optimization of the composition and improvement of metallurgical characteristics of iron ore agglomerate and coke in order to increase the efficiency of blast furnace melting and analysis of the efficiency of blast furnaces based on the calculation of the minimum consumption of coke. These models are based on the consideration of physical, chemical and thermal phenomena occurring in the blast furnace, taking into account their two-dimensional nature implicit in the problem statement. The developed complex of models includes balance (equilibrium) model, models of gas dynamics, heat exchange, reduction, cohesion zone. New developments in the field of analysis and control of thermophysical and physicochemical phenomena occurring in different zones of the blast furnace allow to raise the technology and methods of blast furnace melting to a fundamentally new level, which saves fuel and energy resources. The possibility of using a digital model in tempo with a process using sensor readings through the blast furnace department management system of the enterprise is shown.