Numerical study on the influence of pellet proportion on burden distribution in blast furnace

Abstract

A mathematical model of the upper part of a 1080 m³ bell-less top blast furnace is established. The influence of the mass proportion of pellet on burden distribution and packed bed structure is analysed by the discrete element method. The results show that the radial segregation of the charge is affected by the pellet ratio: when the proportion of pellets increases from 20% to 40%, the angle of the pile decreases from 32.3° to 27.3°, while the bottom width of the pile increases, and the height and top width of the pile tend to decrease. Furthermore, with the increase of the proportion of pellets, the porosity of the packed bed tends to decrease. For the packed bed within 1 m from the furnace wall, the porosity tends to decrease from the edge to the centre.