DEM simulation of burden distribution in the upper part of COREX shaft furnace

Abstract

The role of COREX shaft furnace plays is similar with that of lump zone in blast furnace, but there are still some differences existed between them, especially the burden distribution. However, the research on burden distribution in COREX shaft furnace is quite few. Therefore, a three dimensional model is established in present work based on Discrete Element Method (DEM), after validated by industrial experiments, the model is used to investigate the burden profiles and distribution along radius in the upper part of COREX shaft furnace, the studied parameters include the distributor angle, rotating speed and length, and the stock line. The results show that the distributor angle affects the burden profile most, stock line is next, while rotating speed and length of distributor are least. The small particles segregate more intensively than large and medium particles. Additionally, it is better to reduce the distributor length and stock line in order to obtain a stable burden distribution along radius. © 2013 ISIJ.