MODELING THE DISCONTINUOUS LIQUID FLOW IN A BLAST-FURNACE

This article presents a mathematical model to describe the discontinuo us flow of an isothermal liquid in packed beds, simulating in part the flow condition in and below the blast furnace cohesive zone. The mode l is developed based on a force balance approach to describe the discr ete liquid flow and a stochastic treatment to take into account the co mplex packing structure. The interaction between gas and liquid flows has also been included in the governing equations, so that the localiz ed liquid flow in a packed bed can be modeled with or without gas flow . The difference between the microscopic and macroscopic approaches is discussed, and it is argued that at this stage of development, liquid flow modeling should be conducted at the macroscopic level. Technique s for numerical solution are provided. The validity of the proposed mo del is demonstrated by comparing model predictions with measurements o btained using a two-dimensional cold model apparatus under different g as and/or liquid flow conditions.