Reliability study of super-ellipsoid DEM in representing the packing structure of blast furnace--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Xia, X., Zhou, L., Ma, H., Xie, C., & Zhao, Y. (2022). Reliability study of super-ellipsoid DEM in representing the packing structure of blast furnace. Particuology, 70, 72-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2022.01.010

Reliability study of super-ellipsoid DEM in representing the packing structure of blast furnace

Xiuhao Xia ¹, Lianyong Zhou ¹, Huaqing Ma, Changhua Xie, Yongzhi Zhao

Institute of Process Equipment, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

10.1016/j.partic.2022.01.010

Volume 70, November 2022, Pages 72-81

Received 23 September 2021, Revised 16 December 2021, Accepted 7 January 2022, Available online 19 January 2022, Version of Record 31 January 2022.

E-mail: yzzhao@zju.edu.cn

Highlights

• Reliability of super-ellipsoid particles in DEM simulation of blast furnace (BF) is analyzed.

• Super-ellipsoid particles can reasonably reproduce the particle behaviors in BF.

• Microscale behaviors of super-ellipsoid packing structure are revealed.

• Effect of the super-ellipsoid shape on BF burden structure is analyzed.

Abstract

In industrial blast furnaces (BFs), the investigations involving the flow behaviors of particles and the resultant burden structure are essential to optimize its operation stability and energy consumption. With the advance of computing capability and mathematical model, the discrete element method (DEM) specialized in characterizing particle behavior has manifested its power in the investigation of BFs. In the framework of DEM, many particle models have been developed, but which model is more suitable for simulating the particle behaviors of BFs remains a question because real particles in BFs have large shape and size dispersity. Among these particle models, the super-ellipsoid model possesses the ability to change shape flexibly. Therefore, the focus of this study is to investigate whether the super-ellipsoid model can meet the requirement of authenticity and accuracy in simulating the behaviors of particles with large shape and size dispersity. To answer this question, a simplified BF charging system composed of a hopper and a storage bin is established. The charging process and the final packing structure are analyzed and compared between experiments and simulations with different shape indexes. The results show that super-ellipsoid particles have prominent advantages over spherical particles in terms of representing the real BF particles, and it can more reasonably reproduce the flow behaviors and packing structure of experimental particles. The computation cost of super-ellipsoid particles is also acceptable for engineering applications. Finally, the micro-scale characteristics of packing structure is analyzed and the single-ring charging process in industry-scale BF using super-ellipsoid particles is conducted.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Blast furnace; Discrete element method (DEM); Super-ellipsoid model; Non-spherical particle; Packing structure

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