Numerical study of gas-solid flow in the raceway of a blast furnace

This paper presents a numerical study of gas-solid flow in a blast furnace raceway using a 2D slot cold model. Numerical experiments are conducted by combining the discrete element method for the solid phase with computational fluid dynamics for the gas phase. The motion of particles caused by lateral gas blasting under conditions similar to that in the blast furnace process is examined at a particle scale. Combustion and associated solids movement around the raceway are simulated by extraction of particles from the bottom of the bed. The effect of bed height or solid pressure is considered by imposing a downward force on the top layers of particles in the bed. It is shown that depending on the gas velocity, the bed can transit from a fixed bed to a fluidized bed or vice versa. Two zones can be identified in such a bed: a stagnant zone in which the particles remain at their initial positions, and a moving zone in which particles can move in various flow patterns. In particular, if the gas velocity is in a certain range, the moving zone is formed just in front of the gas inlet, giving the so-called raceway in which the particles can circulate. The effects of gas velocity, solid pressure and solid extraction are quantified. The fundamentals governing the gas-solid flow and the formation mechanisms of a raceway are discussed in terms of particle-particle and particle-fluid interaction forces.