A Microscopic Numerical Simulation of Carbon Dissolution in Different Coke Shapes in the Dripping Zone of Blast Furnace

The carbon dissolution of coke pieces in hot metal mainly influences the carbon content and carbon saturation temperature in the ironmaking process. The liquid metal and slag start to drop down in the dripping zone (DZ) which is located the lower part of blast furnaces. The dissolution of carbon in liquid metal and slag droplets passing the stagnant hot gas flow in the fixed coke bed of the dripping zone were observed by a multi-droplet model based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The uniform-coke pattern was set in the model following the preferred distribution of a one-layer packed bed from a water droplet experiment. The different coke shapes relating to the shape factor from 0.75-1.0 were observed in a 40mm-coke bed. For one-time drainage, the carbon dissolution slightly increased after flow in the coke bed zone and showed a high percentage on the coke surface. The concavity and convexity of coke pieces have more effect on the interaction between liquid and coke surface. Besides, the carbon dissolution can be investigated to approach the coke consumption in one coke channel and estimate the carbon content and carbon saturation temperature of liquid metal after draining.