Numerical Investigation of the Radial Ore-to-Coke Ratio in the Blast Furnace Throat during Nonuniform Burden Descent

The burden descent in the blast furnace throat affects the radial ore-to-coke ratio, which is directly related to the gas distribution and chemical reactions in the furnace. Herein, the layer structure and the radial ore-to-coke ratio of the burden bed under uniform and nonuniform burden descent are studied numerically by the discrete element method. Two kinds of nonuniform descent are considered, where the descent rate in the furnace center is greater than the descent rate at the wall or vice versa. The descent is realized by deleting particles in virtual boxes of different sizes at the lower end of the simulated domain. The results show that the ore-to-coke ratio decreases where the descent rate is low and increases where the descent rate is high. For a burden profile of the "platform + hopper" type, a faster burden descent in the center has a much stronger influence on the radial ore-to-coke ratio distribution than the case with faster descent at the wall. The size difference between the ore and coke particles and the charging matrix are also found to play a role in the influence of the burden descent on the distribution of the ore-to-coke ratio.