Estimation of Refractory Wear and Solidified Layer Distribution in the Blast Furnace Hearth and Its Application to the Operation

Abstract

A method of estimating thermal conditions of a hearth has been developed, by using boundary element method for thermal analysis and experimental regression analysis for optimization. This method can evaluate hearth conditions in a reasonable computing time and supply useful information, such as heat flux distribution and effective volume of a hearth, which are closely connected with the operation.
The erosion line estimated by the method is in good agreement with the one measured by boring in the hearth of Mizushima No. 1 blast furnace blown out in 1982. The solidified layer distribution is changed to a great extent by the operation which has an effect on the thermal load to a hearth. In order to make the operation stable and to protect hearth refractories, it is important to continually monitor and control the hearth condition.