Premium
Numerical Simulation of Liquid Iron Flow and Heat Transfer in the Hearth of COREX Melter Gasifier during Tapping Process
Author(s) -
Du Kaiping,
Wu Shengli,
Kou Mingyin,
Shen Wei,
Zhang Zhekai
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
steel research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.603
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1869-344X
pISSN - 1611-3683
DOI - 10.1002/srin.201300104
Subject(s) - hearth , wood gas generator , coke , metallurgy , blast furnace , erosion , materials science , heat transfer , buoyancy , porosity , environmental science , mechanics , waste management , geology , engineering , composite material , coal , paleontology , physics
The service life of COREX melter gasifier mainly depends on the hearth refractory erosion which is strongly affected by the liquid iron flow and the heat transfer. In the present work, a three‐dimensional mathematical model at steady state which takes fluid buoyancy force and turbulence model into consideration is introduced to describe the flow and temperature distribution in the hearth in detail. The accuracy of the model is evaluated using plant operational data. The results show that the position of serious mechanical erosion gradually shifts from the hearth pool bottom to the sidewall, as the coke bed position changes from “floating” on the liquid iron to “sitting” on the hearth pool bottom during one tapping cycle under the condition of stable tapping. The second peak of liquid iron flow, which is a noticeable feature of COREX melter gasifier in comparison with blast furnace, could result in more serious mechanical erosion of sidewall and severer thermal erosion of refractory on hearth pool bottom. The effective countermeasures of the second peak of liquid iron flow are proposed in this work. In addition, the effects of porosity of fine coke region and refractory erosion are further discussed. The results can be used to predict the inner profile of hearth and to provide guidance for protecting the hearth refractory.