DEM simulation of powder phase movement in coke packed bed generated by scanning particles of a blast furnace

The rational movement and distribution of the powder phase play a significant role in promoting energy efficiency and low carbon emissions in blast furnace (BF) ironmaking. Precise description of the shape of ore is vital for simulating the solid phase motion in a BF. In this study, the shapes of actual particles were captured using a highly accurate 3D scanner, followed by a comparison of the geometric shape characterization of the regular and real particles. A detailed analysis was conducted on the characteristics of the packed bed formed by particles of various shapes and the movement process of the powder phase within the packed bed by using discrete element method (DEM). The distribution and hold-up of the powder phase in the polyhedral and spherical-polyhedral packed beds closely resembles that in the real packed bed. Given the computational time and simulation accuracy, polyhedral or spherical-polyhedral particles could potentially replace the spherical particles typically used in packed beds. This substitution is particularly relevant for applying the DEM to large-scale BF simulations.