Thermal Stress Analysis of Blast Furnace Hearth with Typical Erosion Based on Thermal Fluid-Solid Coupling

Abstract

The life of the hearth is the main limiting link of the campaign of a blast furnace. As the equipment for holding molten iron in the furnace, the high-temperature molten iron is in direct contact with the refractory, which makes the refractory have a larger temperature increase. If the temperature gradient inside the refractory is large, it generates large thermal stress and causes the refractory to crack. Blast furnace gas and molten iron intrude into the gap, which directly causes melting erosion and other chemical erosion with carbon bricks. It aggravates the erosion degree of the furnace and seriously affects the production life of the furnace. Therefore, the furnace often occurs with different types of severe depression erosion in the late service of the blast furnace. In this study, the calculation model of the thermal fluid-solid coupling considering the molten iron flow and the solidification of molten iron was established. This calculation model was applied to study thermal stresses in the furnace with severe erosion. Based on the calculation model, the effect of blast furnace production parameters and deadman condition on thermal stresses in the furnace with severe depression erosion were analyzed, including tapping productivity, tapping temperature, cooling intensity, and deadman geometry. The research results are of great significance for prolonging the safe production life of blast furnaces.