Two-dimensional Simulation on the Gas Flow and Heat Transfer in the Blast Furnace

Abstract

This paper deals with two-dimensional gas flow in the blast furnace which has a complicated bed structure by the application of the finite element method. Besides this, simultaneous analysis on the gas flow and heat transfer is also carried out for the simplified conditions in which solid flow is approximated reasonably to potential flow.As for the gas flow, multi-dimensional Ergun's equation is solved together with the equation of continuity by using the variational principle. However, heat balance equation for gas and solid is solved on the basis of the Galerkin method. In order to consider the layered structure and also the properties of cohesive and raceway zones in the blast, furnace, the finite elements for the numerical computation are corresponded to the ore and coke layers.Computed results indicate that the drastic changes in gas flow occur around the cohesive and raceway zones which have extremely different properties of gas flow. Zig-zag flow of gas appears in the lumpy region which is caused by the different permeability of ore and coke layers and also by the inclination of the layers. Computed results for the simultaneous analysis on gas flow and heat transfer show that the bed structure principally governs not only gas flow pattern but also temperature distribution.