Computer simulation of temperature field of blast furnace's air tuyere

Study of work of heating equipment is an actual issue because it allows determining optimal regimes to reach highest efficiency. At that it is very helpful to use computer simulation to predict how different heating modes influence the effectiveness of the heating process and wear of heating equipment. Computer simulation provides results whose accuracy is proven by many studies and requires costs and time less than real experiments. In terms of present research, computer simulation of heating of air tuyere of blast furnace was realized with the help of FEM software. Background studies revealed possibility to simulate it as a flat, axisymmetric problem and DEFORM-2D software was used for simulation. Geometry, necessary for simulation, was designed with the help of SolidWorks, saved in .dxf format. Then it was exported to DEFORM-2D pre-processor and positioned. Preliminary and boundary conditions were set up. Several modes of operating regimes were under analysis. In order to demonstrate influence of each of the modes and for better visualization point tracking option of the DEFORM-2D post-processor was applied. Influence of thermal insulation box plugged into blow channel, with and without air gap, and thermal coating on air tuyere's temperature field was investigated. Simulation data demonstrated significant effect of thermal insulation box on air tuyere's temperature field. Designed model allowed to simulate tuyere's burnout as a result of interaction with liquid iron. Conducted researches have demonstrated DEFORM-2D effectiveness while using it for simulation of heat transfer and heating processes. DEFORM-2D is about to be used in further studies dedicated to more complex process connected with temperature field of blast furnace's air tuyere.