Experimental Study and Numerical Simulation on Dust Concentration Distribution of Chute at Enclosed Stockyard of Steel Works

Abstract

To clarify the dust concentration distribution of chute at the enclosed stockyard in steel works during the discharging process of materials, the experimental model based on the similarity principle was established in the laboratory, and the effects of the moisture content of materials, the height of chute, as well as the discharging amount of materials on the dust concentration of the selected four materials (MLG-S, ONM-N-F, MLC-N, and ONM-N) were experimentally investigated. Simultaneously, the dust concentration distribution and the motion trajectory of particles were numerically simulated by FLUENT software based on the gas-solid two-phase flow theory. The results showed that a large amount of dust are generated during the discharging process of materials at the enclosed stockyard, and the dust concentration is negatively depended on the moisture content of materials, while that is positively correlated with the height of chute. As the height of chute is increased from 2.2 m to 3.1 m, the concentration of dust generated by the MLG-S is accelerated from 7335.1 mg/m3 to 8881.1 mg/m3, and the concentration of dust produced by the ONM-N is increased from 1286.7 mg/m3 to 1964.3 mg/m3. Meanwhile, the higher dust concentration is from the materials with smaller particle sizes and more fine particles. Furthermore, the dust concentration in the chute space is gradually increased from the top to the bottom, and the bottom of the chute is the key area for controlling dust pollution.