Protection Layer in the Blast Furnace Hearth
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Numerical Model to Simulate the Ti(C,N) Protection Layer in the Blast Furnace Hearth Keisuke Matthew Komiyama A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Laboratory for Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems School of Materials Science and Engineering Faculty of Science January 2014 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission in my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the projects design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ ii ABSTRACT ABSTRACT It is well understood that the erosion of the hearth refractories is by part a major limitation of the longevity of the blast furnace. Addition of titania via burdening or tuyere injection increases the titanium content in the molten pig iron and is believed to promote the so-called titanium-rich scaffold on the hearth surface, to protect the hearth from subsequent erosion. However, control of the titanium-rich scaffold is challenging as furnace operating condition makes it impossible to visualise and make direct measurements of the complex process. Aimed to elucidate the complex in–hearth transport phenomena during titania addition and to improve operational control, this thesis presents a series of numerical models to simulate the transport of titanium carbide particles in the blast furnace hearth during titania addition. Firstly an improved three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model is developed to simulate the flow and heat transfer phenomena in the hearth of BlueScope’s Port Kembla No. 5 Blast Furnace (PK5BF). Model improvements involve various rigorous CFD practices and better justified input parameters in turbulence modeling, buoyancy modeling, wall boundary conditions, material properties and modeling of the solidification of iron. The model is validated by comparing the calculated temperatures with the thermocouple data available, where agreements are established within 3 %. The flow distribution in the hearth is discussed for intact and eroded hearth profiles, for sitting and floating coke bed states. It is shown that natural convection affects the flow in several ways: for example, the formation of a) stagnant zones preventing hearth bottom from eroding or b) the downward jetting of molten liquid promoting side wall erosion, or c) at times, a vortex like peripheral flow, promoting the ‘elephant foot’ type erosion. A significant influence of coke bed permeability on the macroscopic flow pattern and the refractory temperature is observed. Secondly a 2D two-phase multi-component model is used to simulate the complex transport phenomena associated with the formation and dissolution of solid particles in the hearth during titania addition via burdening. Based on the results gained, iii ABSTRACT it is found that the isotherm of the equilibrium temperature of the incoming hot metal solution can be used as an excellent indicator to locate the extent of titanium compound particles. The particles can be managed by controlling the location of this isotherm. This can be conducted by either (a) altering the titanium dosage or (b) altering the hot metal pool temperature. The effects of these parameters on the solid holdup along the hearth linings are investigated. The equilibrium temperature isotherm concept may provide a better way to control titanium based particles for furnace operators during titania addition. Finally, a 3D multi-component CFD model is developed to simulate the transport of titanium carbide particles in the blast furnace hearth. The model is an upgrade of the previous non-buoyant 2D model where it enables transient 3D simulations of flow, heat and mass transfers including phase change and natural convection through a valid simplified model framework. The effects of various key operational parameters are investigated during the practice of titania addition via burdening and tuyere injection. For the practice of titania injection, the following recommendations are made regarding the selection of titania injecting tuyere. To protect the side walls, titania injecting tuyere located upstream from the hot spot location, by an offset angle as proposed, should be selected. To protect the hearth bottom corner, titania injecting tuyere should be selected such that the hot spot location is between the active taphole and tuyere are around 60° apart. A light weighted and user friendly program that instantly presents graphical images of the TiC particle distribution along the bottom surface of the hearth of PK5BF of any operational conditionn set by the user is developed. The models developed in this work contribute comprehensive understanding of titanium behaviour in the hearth and provide reliable information for furnace operators during the practice of titania addition into the blast furnace. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank my supervisors Prof. Aibing Yu, Dr. Baoyu Guo, Dr. Habib Zughbi, and Dr. Paul Zulli for their continuous support and guidance throughout the preparation of this thesis. I would like to thank members of the Iron and Steelmaking research team from BlueScope Ltd. including Dr. Daniel Maldonado, Dr. XueFeng Dong, Dr. Mark Biasutti, Dr. Bryan Wright, Dr. David Pinson, Dr. Peter Austin, Dr. Sheng Chew, Dr. John Mathieson and Dr. Ian Bean for their valuable advice and suggestions through discussions. I would like to thank my colleagues, especially the members of SIMPAS. Through discussions and exchange of ideas and knowledge, they have provided me encouragement, motivation and inspiration during my preparation of this thesis. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family for their continuous support and always been there for me in tough times. v LIST OF FIGURES TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1.1 THE IRON MAKING BLAST FURNACE ........................................................ 1 1.2 THE BLAST FURNACE HEARTH ................................................................... 3 1.3 ADDITION OF TITANIA FOR PROTECTION OF THE HEARTH REFRACTORY ................................................................................................... 4 1.4 NUMERICAL MODELLING OF THE HEARTH ........................................... 7 1.5 AIM OF THIS THESIS ........................................................................................ 9 1.6 NAVIGATION OF THIS THESIS ...................................................................... 9 1.7 NOMENCLATURE ............................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................... 15 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 15 2.2 FLOW AND HEAT TRANSFER OF HOT METAL IN THE HEARTH .... 15 2.2.1 Models Neglecting Natural Convection ..................................................... 15 2.2.2 Models Considering Natural Convection ................................................... 26 2.3 DETERIORATION OF THE HEARTH REFRACTORY ............................. 37 2.3.1 Wear Mechanism ....................................................................................... 37 2.3.2 Models to Predict the Inner Hearth Profile ................................................ 39 2.4 TITANIUM CARBONITRIDE SCAFFOLD FORMATION IN THE HEARTH ............................................................................................................ 42 2.4.1 Discovery of Titanium Bear during Dissection Studies ............................. 42 2.4.2 Mechanism of Ti(C,N) Protection Layer Formation ................................. 45 2.4.3 Chemical Thermodynamic Studies Regarding the Formation of Ti(C,N) . 50 2.4.4 Plant Trials of Insertion of Titanium Bearing Materials into the Blast Furnace ...................................................................................................... 53 vi LIST OF FIGURES 2.4.5 Operational Adversities due to the Addition of Titanium Bearing Materials ................................................................................................................... 62 2.4.6 Models to Predict the Titanium Compound Distribution in the Blast Furnace Hearth .......................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 3 3D CFD MODEL TO PREDICT THE FLOW AND TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTIONS IN A BLAST FURNACE HEARTH .......... 73 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 73 3.2 MODEL DESCRIPTION ................................................................................... 77 3.2.1 Geometry and Coke Bed State ................................................................... 77 3.2.2 Mathematical Model .................................................................................