CFD Modeling of Skull Formation in a Blast Furnace Hearth

The formation of the protective layer of solidified metal (skull) is critical to the blast furnace hearth operation. Enhancement of the formation of the skull layer could extend the hearth lining life and blast furnace campaign. In this paper, a CFD model that consists of solidification, flow, heat transfer has been utilized to simulate the skull formation phenomena in a blast furnace hearth. The heat transfer characteristics and temperature distribution of the skull and refractory brick has been investigated. The simulated results are comparable with operating experience of U. S. Steel blast furnaces. Parametric study includes lining property and structure, cooling water temperature and flow rate, hot metal (HM) temperature and the production rate, as well as cast practice.