Reducing process of sinter in COREX shaft furnace and influence of sinter proportion on reduction properties of composite burden

In order to reduce the materials cost of COREX ironmaking process,sinter has been introduced into the composite burden in China.This work explored the reducing process of sinter in COREX shaft furnace to clarify its reduction properties change and then the effect of sinter proportion on metallurgical performance of composite burden was investigated.The results show that the reducing process of sinter in COREX shaft furnace was basically same with that in blast furnace but sinter seems like breaking faster.Under reducing condition simulated COREX shaft furnace,sinter possessed the worst reduction degradation index(RDI)and undifferentiated reduction index(RI)compared with pellet and iron ore lumps.Macroscopic and microscopic mineralogy changes indicated that sinter presents integral cracking while pellet and lump ore present surface cracking,and no simple congruent relationship exists between cracks of the burden and its ultimate reduction degradation performance.The existence of partial metallurgical performance superposition between composite and single ferrous burden was confirmed.RDI_(+6.3)≥70%and RDI_(+3.15)≥80%were speculated as essential requirements for the composite burden containing sinter in COREX shaft furnace.

DPM-CFD simulation of powder motion in the burden distribution process of COREX shaft furnace

Single off-gas outlet devised by one-step COREX shaft furnace will ultimately lead gas distribution to segregate,furthermore the distribution of powder on charge level is non-uniformity.DPM-CFD model was employed to simulate the pellet minus sieve powder motion in the burden distribution process,in order to quantitative description the non-uniformity distribution.The results showed that,the non-uniformity distribution is increasing with the melting rate increased.The powder segregates to the fourth quadrant where off-gas outlet lies is 2.4 or 2.5 fold of any other quadrant,while the melting rate is 130 t/h or 180 t/h.The best method to resolved the problem adds an symmetry off-gas outlet.

Mathematical simulation of burden distribution in COREX 3000 shaft by discrete element method

The distribution of reducing gas in a shaft furnace dominates the temperature profile,gas utilization ratio,metallization degree and is the overwhelming factor for stable,high productivities and low-energy-consumption operation.At the same time,the distribution of gas flow is mainly determined by the position of gas inlet,the packed bed porosity distribution as well as its change due to the difference on the mode of top charge and bottom discharge.When injecting position of the process is fixed,the charge mode is the only means for regulating the gas flow distribution.In this paper,a numerical simulation model of burden distribution in the shaft furnace of COREX 3000 has been developed to analyze the porosity distribution under the different charge modes by means of Discrete Element Method(DEM).The effects of the particle size and its distribution under conditions of different charge batches,chute angle,stoke line on the burden surface shape and burden bed particle size distribution and segregation were investigated,and then the porosity distribution in the shaft of corresponding charging pattern was quantitatively accessed.Therefore,the results can be used to optimize the charge patterns base on required gas distribution.

Effect of screw casing structure on descending of burdens in COREX shaft furnace

COREX shaft furnace（SF）is a typical screw feeder with a storage container coupled with eight screw casings and screws.The structure of screw casing plays an important role in the moving behavior of burdens,stress distribution,abrasive wear of screws,and energy consumption during the operation of SF.Therefore,a three-dimensional semi-cylindrical model of actual size of COREX-3000 SF was established based on discrete element method to investigate the influences of screw casing structure.The results show that the increase in the gap between the outside of screw flight and screw casing is beneficial for the smooth operation of SF,resulting in uniform descending velocity along the radius of SF in the lower part,decreasing the size of recirculation region,and alleviating stress concentration in the screw casing.Moreover,raising the gap appropriately is also beneficial to weaken screw abrasive wear,decrease energy consumption,and then prolong the service life of the screws.However,enlarging the gap also leads to more undesired high temperature reduction gas into the SF from melter gasifier,thereby deteriorating the operation of SF.Thus,an ideal distance exists between the outside of the screw flight and the screw casing,which is suggested to be equal to the average of particle diameter.

DEM Simulation of Solid Flow Including Asymmetric Phenomena in COREX Shaft Furnace

Based on the principles of the discrete element method （DEM）, a scaled-down model was established to analyze burden descending behavior, including asymmetric phenomena, throughout an entire COREX shaft furnace （SF）. The applicability of the DEM model was validated by determining its accordance with a previous experiment. The effects of discharge rate and abnormal conditions on solid flow were described in terms of solid flow pattern and microscopic analysis. Results confirmed that the solid flow of the COREX SF can be divided into four different flow regions; the largest normal force exists at the top of the man-made dead zone, and the weak force network exists in the funnel flow region. The basic solid flow profile was identified as a clear Flat→U→W type. Increasing the dis- charge rate decreased the quasi-stagnant zone size, but did not affect the macroscopic motion of particles or the shape of patterns above the bustle. For asymmetric conditions, in which particles were discharged at different rates, the solid flow patterns were asymmetric. Under an abnormal condition where no particles were discharged from the left outlet, a sizeable stagnant zone was formed opposite to the working outlet, and ＂motionless＂ particles located in the left stagnant zone showed potential to increase the period of static contacts and sticking effect.