• Kempton, Leela
• Pinson, David J.
• Chew, Sheng
• Yu, Aibing
• Zulli, Paul

Abstract

A limitation in numerical modelling of the ironmaking blast furnace is the lack of ability to quantify the effects of particle deformation and subsequent loss of porosity arising from the softening and melting of ferrous materials. Previous attempts to consider deformation focussed solely on the macroscopic effects such as resistance to gas flow, with an assumed decrease in porosity proportional to temperature. Instead, it is proposed to approximate particle scale deformation using a modified subparticle Discrete Element Method approach, where each 'ore' particle is represented using an agglomerate of discrete elements with temperature dependent properties. Cohesive forces binding the agglomerate were obtained from standard models (Linear Hysteretic and a simplified Hertz-JKR). This paper considers the limiting case of a two-particle agglomerate, in order to assess how physically realistic the behaviour is under external force conditions including uni-axial tension and rotation. Future work will extend this approach to larger scale agglomerates to simulate the shape change of materials as they undergo softening-melting.

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• simulation
• porosity
• discrete element method