Title: Numerical study of gas-fines flow characteristics in a packed bed with the presence of internal blocks

Authors: V.V. Gunjal, M.R. Lollchund, G.S. Gupta

Addresses: Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560 012, India. ' Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560 012, India; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, Mauritius. ' Department of Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore – 560 012, India

Abstract: It is well-known that pulverised coal injection in an iron-making blast furnace improves the furnace productivity and stability. However, with increase in the injection rate of the pulverised coal, some amount of coal remains unburnt. In the form of powder, the unburnt coal flows along with the gas and under certain conditions accumulates in the lower part of the blast furnace. This results in deterioration of the permeability and decreases the production rate. This work focuses on the mathematical modelling of a packed bed in a view to study the aerodynamics of gas-fines flow which is essential to understand the interaction between the phases and improve the furnace performance. In the model, blocks are inserted to represent typical cohesive zones in a blast furnace. The gas decreasing velocity condition is employed as it represents the flow behaviour in a blast furnace more accurately and it has not been considered in published work. The model provides a clear picture of the gas-fines flow characteristics in the packed bed.

Keywords: packed bed; turbulent flow; cohesive zone; decreasing gas velocity; gas-fines flow; pulverised coal injection; blast furnaces; permeability; production rate; mathematical modelling; aerodynamics; furnace performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESMS.2010.038139

International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation, 2010 Vol.2 No.4, pp.204 - 210

Published online: 19 Jan 2011 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article