A mathematical model to characterise effects of liquid hold-up on

bosh silicon transport in the dripping zone of a blast furnace

S.K. Das

, Amrita Kumari, D. Bandopadhay, S.A. Akbar, G.K. Mondal

National Metallurgical Laboratory, Council of Scientic and Industrial Research, Jamshedpur 831 007, India
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 26 March 2010
Received in revised form 8 February 2011
Accepted 23 February 2011
Available online 15 March 2011
Keywords:
Mathematical model
Blast furnace
Liquid hold-up
Dripping zone
Bosh silicon
Conservation equations
a b s t r a c t
A rst principle based mathematical model has been developed to characterise the effect of
total liquid hold-up on the bosh silicon distribution behaviour in the dripping zone of a
blast furnace. Two specic cases of hold-up behaviour have been investigated, namely,
hold-up in the absence and in the presence of counter current gas ow conditions. The
model exemplies coupled phenomenon of chemical kinetics, transport processes and
liquid hold-up to characterise the silicon behaviour in the dripping zone. The present mod-
elling investigation shows that the bosh silicon level diminishes with the enhanced liquid
hold-up in the dripping zone. Further, the inuence of counter current gas ow on the
hold-up is not signicant. However, it has been observed that the liquid phase temperature
reduces with increased liquid hold-up in dripping zone under steady state operating con-
ditions. The model predictions of bosh silicon distribution have been validated with the
published literatures (bulk values) and found to be in good agreement.
2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
With the demands placed on quality iron and steel production, the technology associated with the blast furnace (BF) has
acquired new dimensions. Quality steel production at low cost demands superior hot metal quality with low silicon and sul-
phur. In addition, silicon content decides the charge balance in the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) during steelmaking. Unifor-
mity and prior knowledge of silicon content in the hot metal provides better stability in BOF operations [1]. Hence, there
have been concerted efforts to estimate and lower the silicon content in the hot metal.
The transfer of silicon is one of the most vital reactions in the blast furnace operation. The degree of silicon transfer not
only determines the silicon content of hot metal but also affects other slag metal reactions such as the desulphurisation reac-
tion and the reduction of manganese oxide [2]. The primary source of silicon in the hot metal is silica, which enters the fur-
nace through the burden. Silica is reduced by carbon at the high temperatures prevailing at the bosh and hearth of the blast
furnace. The extent of reduction of silica depends on the blast pressure and temperature, slag composition, and partial pres-
sure of SiO (g) and gasication rate of silica to SiO (g) in the raceway [37]. In principle, higher metal temperature implies
presence of higher level of silicon in the hot metal.
Reduction of silica present in the coke and injected coal ash in the raceway zone leads to generation of SiO (g), which
invokes the gas- metal reaction in the bosh region. The SiO
2
content in ores may vary considerably but those in coke and
coal ash are closely similar. The formation of SiO (g) from fuel ash and slag in the blast furnace followed by its reduction
to transport silicon in the hot metal is considered as the major route for the silicon transfer in the blast furnace. Fig. 1 shows
a schematic of various zones in an operating blast furnace.
0307-904X/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apm.2011.02.045

Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 0657 2345085; fax: +91 0657 2345213.
E-mail address: skd@nmlindia.org (S.K. Das).
Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Applied Mathematical Modelling
j our nal homepage: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ apm
1.1. Mechanism of silicon transfer
The silicon transfer from the burden to the metal takes place through two majors routes i.e. (i) direct route in which sil-
icon from molten slag is transferred to molten metal (through slag-metal reaction) and (ii) indirect route where Si gets trans-
ferred predominately from coke ash to gas phase as SiO, and then from gas phase into the hot metal. Many investigations
List of symbols
A
gs
effective interfacial area between gas and solid (m
2
m
3
bed
1
)
A
gw
effective interfacial area between gas and wall (m
2
m
3
bed
1
)
A
gm
effective interfacial area between gas and metal (m
2
m
3
bed
1
)
A
ms
effective interfacial area between metal and solid (m
2
m
3
bed
1
)
C
pg
specic heat of gas (J kg
1
K
1
)
C
ps
specic heat of solid (J kg
1
K
1
)
C
pm
specic heat of metal (J kg
1
K
1
)
D
p
diameter of the coke particle (mm)
P
d
pressure drop in non-irrigated bed (Pa)
P
w
pressure drop in irrigated bed (Pa)
F
SiO
2
constant value of SiO
2
conc. in ash of coke (mol-SiO
2
kg
1
coke)
G
g
mass velocity of gas (ms
1
)
g acceleration due to gravity (m s
2
)
h
to
total liquid hold-up in the absence of counter gas ow (%)
h
s
static liquid hold-up (%)
h
d
dynamic liquid hold-up (%)
h
tg
total liquid hold-up in the presence of counter current gas ow (%)
DH
1
heat of reaction for the 1st reaction (kJ mol
1
)
DH
2
heat of reaction for the 2nd reaction (kJ mol
1
)
P
SiO
partial pressure of SiO (Pa)
R universal gas constant (g mol
1
K
1
)
R
1
rate of reaction in the dripping zones (kmol m
3
s
1
) Eq. (1)
R
2
Rate of reaction of 2nd reaction (kmol m
3
s
1
) Eq. (2)
T
g
temperature of gas (K)
T
s
temperature of solid (K)
T
m
temperature of metal (K)
T
w
temperature of the wall of the furnace (K)
V
m
descending velocity of metal in the melting zone (ms
1
)
V
l
supercial liquid velocity based on empty column (ms
1
)
V
!
velocity vector (ms
1
)
V
g
velocity of gas (ms
1
)
d
e
liquid diameter (m)
X
p
parameter related to pressure loss (Pa m
1
)
X
Si
concentration of Si (wt.%)
Z longitudinal distance along the dripping zone (m)
X
k
weight fraction of kth component
P
W
Pressure in wetted bed (N m
2
)
Greek symbols
e void fraction (fraction)
l
1
viscosity of liquid (Pa s)
q
l
density of liquid (kg m
3
)
r
t
surface tension (N m
1
)
/
s
shape factor of particle
r
m
surface tension of metal (N m
1
)
l
m
viscosity of metal (kg m
1
s
1
)
r
c
surface tension of carbon (N m
1
)
h contact angle between solid and liquid (Radian)
l
g
surface tension of gas (N m
1
)
l
g
viscosity of gas (kg m
1
s
1
)
q
g
density of gas (kg m
3
)
e
g
voidage (fraction)
r
t
surface tension of liquid (N m
1
)
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4209
[1,4,6,810] have been carried out to clarify the mechanism of the silicon transfer in the blast furnace. Such researches in-
clude laboratory experiments, theoretical studies pertaining to thermodynamics and kinetics of silicon transport, statistical
analysis of plant data from commercial and experimental blast furnaces. These studies indicate that the rate of silicon trans-
fer through gas-metal reaction is the predominant route for silicon transfer, and which is a strong function of temperature.
1.1.1. Gasmetal reactions
The reaction of SiO (g) with carbon saturated iron is primarily responsible for silicon transfer in the hot metal. In the race-
way zone SiO(g) is generated from the reaction of carbon in coke/coal with silica present in the ash. Subsequently, the SiO (g)
reacts with carbon saturated iron droplets as it ascends through the bosh zone of the furnace. The following reactions depict
the gas-metal mode of silicon transport.
SiO
2coke
C
coke
SiO
g
CO
g
; 1
SiO
g
C
Fe
Si
Fe
CO
g
: 2
1.1.2. Slagmetal reactions
Silica present in the slag combines with the carbon dissolved in metal [6,11] according to the following reactions:
SiO
2slag
C
Fe
SiOg COg: 3
At the gasmetal interface, SiO reacts with the dissolved carbon and gets reduced to silicon.
SiOg C
Fe
COg Si
Fe
: 4
It has been established that SiO generation rate from SiO
2
in slag is to the extent of less than 3% of that generated from the
coke [1].
1.2. Effect of liquid-hold-up on the silicon pick-up
Understanding of liquid ow in the dripping zone is imperative to characterise the hold-up and its effect on silicon trans-
fer to the hot metal. In packed beds irrigated with liquid, the counter-current gas ow leads to complex interactions between
gas and liquid phases. As the gas ow rate increases under a given liquid ow rate, the liquid hold-up remains almost con-
stant initially, and then it begins to increase substantially after the gas ow exceeds a critical value determined by hydro-
dynamic conditions. Some investigations [12,13] have been reported pertaining to the effect of top gas pressure, SiO
concentration and of raceway ame temperature on the overall silicon transport behaviour. However, reported quantitative
investigation of the effect of dripping zone liquid hold-up on the behaviour of silicon transfer is rather scarce. As liquid metal
Fig. 1. Schematic of different zones in the blast furnace.
4210 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
holdup has substantial inuence on silicon transport, an analytical modelling investigation has been carried out to charac-
terise the effect of dripping zone liquid hold-up on the bosh silicon transfer. The dripping zone is immediately below the
cohesive and melting zone (top position) and the metal droplets move downward the raceway zone (bottom) and subse-
quently to the hearth.
2. Mathematical model
A mathematical model has been proposed to predict the effect of liquid hold-up in the dripping zone on the bosh silicon
transport process. The theoretical formulation of silicon transfer incorporates effects of hold-up on the silicon transfer phe-
nomenon using rst principle based conservation approach through a multi-physics coupling of the heat transfer, liquid
ow, species transport and chemical kinetics processes.
2.1. Liquid hold up analysis
Liquid hold-up plays a key role in the hydrodynamics, transport processes and in the chemical reactions in packed bed
reactors. It is an upper bound measure of the passive liquid volume fraction in the packed bed reactors. It is typically char-
acterised in terms of both static and dynamic components. Static liquid hold-up is an outcome of the balance between grav-
ity force, which tends to chase the liquid out of the porous medium, and capillary force, which on the contrary opposes to it.
Dynamic holdup represents the fraction of owing liquid that is suspended in the gas stream in the packed beds. Static hold-
up is typically more signicant than dynamic hold-up, thus, contributing more strongly to the change in bed voidage and
permeability to gas ow. The liquid contributing to hold-up remains stagnant and covers a fraction of the packed bed, thus
impending transport of the uid, reactant and species during their movement. The key differences between the liquid ow
conditions in the typical packed bed chemical reactor and the blast furnace are as follows:
Slag/coke and metal/coke systems in the blast furnace are non-wetting while wetting conditions exist in the chemical
processes.
The supercial velocities of molten slag and metal in the blast furnace are very low ($0.06 to 0.08 mm/s) compared to
chemical reactors.
The packing material in the dripping zone of the blast furnaces is crushed coke, while articial packing with much higher
porosity is commonly used in chemical systems.
The liquids are more than two times heavier as the packing (coke) in the furnace, while the packing are usually heavier
than the liquids in the conventional chemical reactor.
In view of the above factors, liquid ow and hold-up behaviour in the melting and the dripping zones of the blast furnace
are far more complex than conventional chemical reactors. Therefore, estimation of hold-up in blast furnace is usually
accomplished through semi-empirical approach [3,9,14].
2.1.1. Hold-up in the absence of gas ow
Total liquid hold-up in the dripping zone of a blast furnace may be expressed as the sum of static and dynamic liquid
hold-up in the absence of gas ow [1316]. The effect of liquid properties like surface tension, viscosity, density and the
shape of the packing materials inuence the liquid hold up. In the cohesive and dripping zones, liquid phases (liquid iron
and slag) are generated and which leads to the complex multiphase ow in the lower part of the furnace. It is extremely
difcult, if not impossible, to quantify such ow behaviour because of complex interactions of solid, liquid, gas and the com-
plicated packing structure.
A comprehensive ow mapping to characterise liquid ow in the blast furnace [17] necessitates multi-phase computa-
tional uid dynamics (CFD) solution of the following complex momentum conservation equation:
r q
l
e
l
~
u
l
~
u
l
e
l
r
l
P
l
e
l
l
l
r
~
u
2
l
F
S
l
e
l
q
l
~
g: 5
The interaction term between solid and liquid is given by the modied Darcy equation as follows:
F
s
l
180
e
2
s
l
l
/d
p

2
e
t
~
u
l
: 6
CFD analysis of the complex multi-phase liquid ow phenomenon in the dripping zone of the furnace is a formidable task
because of several interaction parameters for which accurate data is not always available. Moreover, the liquid ow in
the lower part of the furnace, particularly within the cohesive and dripping zones, is not continuous and exhibits discreet
ow characteristics [1820].
In general, liquid hold-up is a phase property, dependent on the local physical and chemical conditions of the liquid and
other phases, particularly gas and packed solids. As such, liquid hold-up usually estimated from the correlation derived from
experiments under simulated conditions. A more practical approach to estimate hold-up is to utilise appropriate semi-
empirical correlations. Some typical hold-up correlations have been reported, which may not be directly applicable to a blast
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4211
furnace and other pyro-metallurgical processes [21]. In this context, correlation reported by Fukutake and Rajakumar [11] to
quantify the hold up in the dripping zone of the blast furnace has been utilised incorporating following assumptions:
(i) The cross sectional mean liquid velocity is very small.
(ii) No coke is wetted by the liquid.
(iii) The liquid phase (slag and metal) is considered to have uniform properties such as viscosity and density.
The present model uses two correlations for static and dynamic hold-up incorporating physical properties of both liquid
and packed bed, which are reported [14,19] to be based on extensive experimental work in the absence of gas ow.
Equation for static hold-up:
h
s
20:5 0:263
q
l
gu
2
s
d
2
p
r
t
1 cos h1 e
2
_ _
1
: 7
Equation for dynamic holdup:
h
d
6:05
q
l
v
l
d
p
/
s
1 el
l
_ _
0:648
q
l
gd
3
p
/
3
s
1 e
3
l
2
l
_ _
:485
q
l
gd
3
p
/
2
s
1 e
2
r
t
_ _
0:097
1 cos h
0:648
: 8
And the total hold-up is given by the following equation:
h
to
h
s
h
d
: 9
2.1.2. Hold up with counter current gas ow
The inuence of the gas ow on the total holdup [13] is addressed with incorporation of the following modications per-
taining to gas pressure. The following assumptions need to be invoked:
Axial dispersion of gas and solid is neglected.
Voidage in the bed is uniform.
The volume ow rate of solid particles remains invariant.
The modied hold-up correlation in the presence of gas ow is described as follows:
h
tg
h
to
f1 0:679X
2
p
g; 10
where X
p
is given by the following expression:
X
p

dP
w
dzq
l
g
q
l
gd
2
p
/
2
s
r
T
1 e
2
_ _
0:3
1 cos h
0:5
: 11
In order to calculate X
p
in the above expression, the gas pressure drop needs to be estimated from the following pressure
drop analysis. Tables 16 showthe calculated values of static and dynamic hold-ups for both slag and metal phases as a func-
tion of particle sizes and angle of contact without and with counter-current gas ow conditions.
2.1.3. Gas pressure drop analysis
The pressure drop of gas through dry packed bed as applicable to a typical blast furnace dripping zone is expressed by the
following generic vectorial form of Erguns equation [14].
rP
d

~
Vf
1
f
2
j
~
V
g
j; 12
where
f
1
150
1 e
2
l
g
e
3
g
d
2
p
and f
2
1:75
1 e
g
q
g
e
3
g
d
p
: 13
Table 1
Static hold-up for slag in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Static hold-up for slag (%) for different contact angles h = 0 3.19 2.76 2.39 2.07 1.79 1.56 3.19 2.76 2.39
h = 45 4.33 3.8 3.25 2.73 2.29 1.92 1.62 1.38 1.18
h = 90 3.62 2.74 2.04 1.54 1.18 0.93 0.74 0.61 0.51
h = 125 4.41 3.93 3.42 2.92 2.48 2.11 1.8 1.54 1.33
4212 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
The one-dimensional form of Erguns pressure drop equation along the longitudinal direction of the dripping zone without
liquid hold-up is given as:
dP
d
dz
150
1 e
2
l
g
e
3
g
d
2
p
V
g
1:75
1 e
g
q
g
e
3
g
d
p
V
2
g
: 14
The gas pressure drop with irrigated liquid is greater than that without the liquid in the packed bed because the effective
space for gas ow is reduced and the surface area per unit bed volume increased. Thus, one-dimensional pressure drop equa-
tion along the longitudinal direction of the dripping zone with liquid hold-up has been appropriately modied for the wet
bed as: [11]
dP
w
dz
150
1 e
2
l
g
e
g
h
tg

3
d
2
p
V
g
1:75
1 e
g
q
g
e
g
h
tg

3
d
p
V
2
g
: 15
Eq. (15) can further be modied to incorporate the shape factor of particles
Table 2
Static hold-up for metal in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Static hold-up for metal (%) for different contact angles h = 0 4.40 3.92 3.40 2.90 2.46 2.09 1.78 1.52 1.31
h = 45 4.27 3.69 3.11 2.58 2.13 1.77 1.49 1.25 1.07
h = 90 3.50 2.58 1.89 1.41 1.07 0.84 0.67 0.54 0.45
h = 125 4.35 3.83 3.28 2.77 2.33 1.96 1.65 1.41 1.21
Table 3
Dynamic hold-up for slag in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Dynamic hold-up for slag (%) for different contact angles h = 0 0.28 0.22 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10
h = 45 0.23 0.18 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.09
h = 90 0.12 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.065 0.06 0.05 0.045 0.04
h = 125 0.26 0.20 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.10
Table 4
Dynamic hold-up for metal in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Dynamic hold-up for metal (%) for different contact angles h = 0 0.43 0.33 0.28 0.24 0.22 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.16
h = 45 0.36 0.28 0.23 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.15 0.14 0.13
h = 90 0.18 0.14 0.12 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.07 0.07
h = 125 0.40 0.31 0.26 0.23 0.20 0.18 0.17 0.16 0.15
Table 5
Total hold-up without counter current gas ow in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Total hold-up without counter current gas ow (%) for different contact
angles angles
h = 0 9.56 8.48 7.39 6.36 5.44 4.66 4.01 3.46 3.01
h = 45 9.19 7.96 6.74 5.65 4.73 4.00 3.36 2.87 2.47
h = 90 7.43 5.56 4.14 3.12 2.41 1.91 1.54 1.27 1.07
h = 125 9.41 8.27 7.12 6.07 5.15 4.37 3.73 3.21 2.78
Table 6
Total hold-up with counter current gas ow in the dripping zone at different contact angles.
Particle diameter (mm 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Total hold-up with counter current gas ow (%) for different contact
angles
h = 0 10.04 8.60 7.43 6.38 5.45 4.67 4.01 3.47 3.01
h = 45 9.76 8.08 6.78 5.67 4.74 4.01 3.36 2.87 2.47
h = 90 7.72 5.62 4.15 3.13 2.42 1.92 1.54 1.27 1.07
h = 125 9.88 8.39 7.17 6.08 5.15 4.38 3.74 3.21 2.78
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4213
dP
w
dz

150
1eh
t
de
_ _
2
l
g
V
g
1:75
1eht
de
q
g
V
2
g
_ _
e h
tg

3
; 16
where d
e
is dened by the following expression
d
e
1 e h
tg

1 e
d
p
u
s

h
tg
d
l
_
; 17
where d
l
is the virtual diameter of a liquid drop given by:
d
l

1

q
l
g=r
t
_ 6:828

X
p
0:891
_ _ _2
0:695
_ _
; 18
where X
p
is a function of pressure loss given by Eq. (11).
2.2. Silicon transport model
An one-dimensional model is formulated along the longitudinal direction of the furnace in the dripping zone based on
conservation principles in a one-dimesional control volume. Silicon transfer represented by chemical Eqs. (1) and (2), is con-
sidered in the present model. Conservation equations for mass, enthalpy and species (SiO and Si) are developed to incorpo-
rate the effects of liquid hold-up in the formulation. The following assumptions are invoked for the present model:
(i) Any radial variation of the process variables is ignored.
(ii) Silicon transfer is assumed to occur only through indirect route (through SiO (g)) and the source is considered to be the
available SiO
2
present only in the fuel (coke ash and pulverised coal (PC).
(iii) Any interfacial silicon transport between carbon saturated molten iron and slag under dynamic conditions is neglected
[18].
(iv) Reverse reaction and other reactions having low contributions have also been neglected.
(v) Velocity of metal in the dripping zone is assumed to be uniformand followplug owcondition. For calculation of pres-
sure drop as a function of liquid ow velocity, only the linear velocity term in the Ergun pressure drop equation will be
considered (Eqs. (15) and (16)).
(vi) Reaction mechanism for the silicon transport is assumed to be similar for both coke and PC.
(vii) The solid phase is considered to be an uniform mixture of ore and coke with weighted average isotropic thermo-phys-
ical properties.
(viii) For the liquid phase, no distinction between the slag and metal is made.
(ix) It is assumed that the SiO (g) is completely reacted during silicon transport. Consequently, initial concentration of the
silicon at the beginning of the dripping zone is considered to be zero.
2.2.1. Mass conservation equations
2.2.1.1. Gas phase. The conservation equation in the dripping zone is:
dG
g
dZ

i
b
k;ij
R
i
: 19
In the above equation, i represents one of the two reactions: (i) SiO gas generation, (ii) Si adsorption by the molten iron, j
refers to phases, namely, the gas and liquid, and k represents the three reacting components given in the reactions (Eqs.
(1) and (2)).
k,i
represents mass of k component transferred from phase j by the reaction i.
The transport equation for Gaseous species is:
dX
k
dZ

i
b
k;ij
R
i
X
k

i
b
k;ij
R
i
_ __
G
g
: 20
2.2.1.2. Metal phase. The conservation equation for the metal phase (Si species) in the dripping zone is:
dX
Si
dZ

b
Si
R
2
q
l
h
tg
V
m
; 21
where H
m
is the liquid metal hold-up in the dripping zone, the rate of reactions are given as follows:
R
1
k
1
F
SiO
2
61 e
pd
3
p
_ _
; 22
R
2
k
2
A
gm
P
SiO
: 23
4214 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
In the above expressions, k
1
and k
2
are given as:
k
1
2:0 10
4
exp
69000:0
RT
S
_ _
; 24
k
2
1:22 10
2
exp
58000:0
RT
g
_ _
; 25
P
SiO
, A
gm
, A
ms
, and A
gw
have been estimated using expressions from the published literature [19,20,22] which is not repeated
here.
2.2.2. Thermal conservation equations
The thermal transport equations for gas, solid and metal (liquid) phases are as follows:
2.2.2.1. Gas phase.
dT
g
dz
h
gs
A
gs
T
g
T
S
h
w
A
gw
T
g
T
W
R
1
DH
1
=C
Pg
G
g
: 26
2.2.2.2. Solid phase.
dT
S
dz
h
gs
A
gs
T
g
T
s
h
ms
A
ms
T
m
T
s
R
1
DH
1
=C
Ps
G
s
: 27
2.2.2.3. Metal phase.
dT
m
dz
h
ms
A
ms
T
m
T
s
R
1
DH
1
=C
Pm
h
tg
V
l
q
l
: 28
3. Numerical solution and code development
The initial data (initial conditions) at the start of dripping zone for integrating the equations has been taken from liter-
ature and RIST diagrams which incorporates necessary blast furnace reaction kinetics [6,8,23]. The coke rate and PC rate are
504 kg and 33 kg per ton of hot metal (THM). The operating data used for calculation of rate expression are as follows: (i)
blast rate = 1407 Nm
3
/THM, (ii) blast temperature = 1273 K, (iii) humidication of blast = 2200 kg/h and (iv) oxygen enrich-
ment = 2%. The initial data for the solid, liquid and gas temperatures at the top of the dripping zone are 1680 K, 1580 K, and
2100 K, respectively [6,8,23]. Other pertinent input data namely particle size, average voidage in the packed bed, coke and PC
composition have been incorporated from the published literature [19,22,23]. The dripping zone height is assumed to be
2.5 m. and a typical value of V
l
= 0.035 m/s has been considered [3] for numerical calculations.
The governing Eqs. (7)(11) for the liquid hold-up have been solved using a modied NewtonRaphson iterative proce-
dure. The pressure drop value is computed fromEq. (16) and incorporated in Eq. (11). The total liquid hold-up is calculated as
a linear combination of static and dynamic hold-ups. The iterative process is implemented and the following convergence
criterion is used.
jX
n1
p
X
n
p
j 6 10
3
: 29
n and n + 1 represent nth and (n + 1)th iterations, respectively in the numerical scheme. The system of coupled conser-
vation differential equations (19)(21), (26), (27), (and) (28) along with associated algebraic equations have been solved
using a 4th order RungeKutta in conjunction with AdamsBashforthMoulton predictorcorrector algorithms. The afore-
said numerical procedure has been implemented in a C++ computer code for simulation runs.
4. Result and discussion
Figs. 2 and 3 show the variation of percent of total liquid hold-up as a function of harmonic mean particle diameter for
different solidliquid contact angles, namely, 0, 45, 90 and 125 in the absence of counter current gas ow. The liquid
hold-up predictions as a function of particle size have been veried with the published literature [3,17,18] and found to
be in good agreement. In these gures, it may be noted that total liquid hold-up decreases monotonically as a function of
increasing harmonic mean particle diameter. Further, as the solidliquid contact angles increases the hold-up tends to de-
crease up to contact angle of 90 However, the liquid hold-up again continue to increases with obtuse contact angle. The
hold-up behaviour exhibits a nearly linear behaviour at lower contact angles but becomes increasingly non-linear at higher
contact angles.
Fig. 4 shows gas pressure drop characteristics in the dripping zone as a function of gas velocity for typical harmonic mean
particle diameter of 10 and 20 mm, respectively. The lower particle size in the dripping zone causes relatively greater pres-
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4215
sure drop. Figs. 5 and 6 show the predicted total liquid hold-up as a function of harmonic mean particle diameter for various
contact angles, i.e. 0, 45, 90 and 125 in the presence of counter current gas ow. The overall behaviour of the liquid hold-
up as a function of particle size are found to be similar for both the cases (in the absence and presence of gas ow) for same
contact angles. However, the magnitude of total liquid hold-up is higher for counter current gas ow. In essence, total liquid
hold-up gets enhanced by almost 5% under the inuence of the gas ow. The predictions are found to be realistic and con-
sistent with literature information [14,15,22].
The effect of total liquid hold-up in the dripping zone on the bosh silicon transfer behaviour has been characterised by
parametric sensitivity analysis. Fig. 7 shows the variation of the gas, liquid metal and solid temperatures, as a function of
dripping zone height along the longitudinal direction with 5% liquid hold-up and the prediction are consistent with the tem-
perature silicon functional relationship as prevalent in an operating blast furnace. This means that elevated temperature
favours more decomposition of silica and formation of SiO gas which augments silicon level in the hot metal. Fig. 8 illustrates
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
T
o
t
a
l

l
i
q
u
i
d

h
o
l
d
-
u
p

(
%
)
contact angle = 0 deg.
contact angle = 45 deg.
contact angle = 90 deg.
Harmonic mean particle diametre (mm)
Fig. 2. Variation of total liquid hold-up as a function of mean particle size without counter current gas ow (contact angles = 0, 45 and 90).
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Harmonic mean particle size (mm)
T
o
t
a
l

l
i
q
u
i
d

h
o
l
d
-
u
p

(
%
)
Fig. 3. Variation of total liquid hold-up as a function of mean particle size without counter current gas ow (contact angle = 125).
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1
Gas velocity (m/sec)
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

d
r
o
p

(
K
P
a
/
m
)
Avg particle size = 10 mm
Avg particle size = 20 mm
Fig. 4. Variation of pressure drop as a function of gas velocity in the dripping zone for different particle size.
4216 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
the variation of liquid metal temperature along the dripping zone height for different liquid hold-up, namely, 5%, 7% and 9%,
respectively. It is observed that there is a signicant variation in the liquid metal temperature with the increasing liquid
hold-up in the dripping zone. Liquid hold-up has resulted in temperature drop. This is attributed to the fact that large liquid
hold-up increases the liquid residence time near the cool bosh wall, thus increasing the heat transfer and consequently metal
temperature decreases for a given steady state operating conditions.
Fig. 9 shows the variation of SiO (g) as a function of dripping zone height for total liquid hold-up of 5%. The concentration
of SiO (g) decreases in a linear fashion along the dripping zone height. This is attributed to the reaction of SiO gas with the
falling metal droplets during the upward motion of the gas. Fig. 10 shows the variation of silicon concentration along the
dripping zone height with liquid hold-up 5%, 7% and 9%, respectively. The rate of silicon transfer is also a strong function
of the temperature of the metal. The silicon pickup in the liquid metal decreases with enhanced liquid hold-up with deple-
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
Harmonic mean particle diametre (mm)
T
o
t
a
l

l
i
q
u
i
d

h
o
l
d
u
p

(
%
)
contact angle = 0 deg.
contact angle = 45 deg.
contact angle = 90 deg.
Fig. 5. Variation of total liquid hold-up as a function of mean particle size with counter current gas ow (contact angles = 0, 45 and 90).
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Harmonic mean particle size (mm)
T
o
t
a
l

l
i
q
u
i
d

h
o
l
d
-
u
p

(
%
)
Fig. 6. Variation of total liquid hold up as a function of mean particle size with counter-current gas ow (contact angle = 125).
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2100
2200
2300
2400
2500
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Dripping zone height (m)
T
e
m
p
r
a
t
u
r
e

(
K
)
Gas temperature
Solid tempearture
Liquid temperature
Fig. 7. Temperature distribution of gas, metal and solid along the dripping zone height (2.5 m) with 5% liquid hold-up.
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4217
tion in the temperature in the dripping zone. Thus lower solidliquid contact angle may favour lesser silicon pickup for the
blast furnace operations. The predictions are found to be in good agreement with the published data (bulk values) [3,6,8].
However, no detailed published information is available on the longitudinal spatial distribution of bosh silicon in the drip-
ping zone of a blast furnace. Further, higher dripping zone height is expected to favour bosh silicon pick-up in the hot metal.
Fig. 11 shows the 3-D visualisation of variation of the SiO gas concentration with respect to gas temperature and dripping
zone height (m). It may be noted that for a variation of about 200 C in the gas temperature during its rise upward, concen-
tration of SiO drops down from 0.2 (mol/mol bed-s) to almost 0. Fig. 12 shows the 3-D map of variation of silicon content in
the hot metal with the ascending SiO gas concentration along the dripping zone height. The initial concentration of the SiO
gas at the top of dripping zone is negligibly small ($0 mol/m
3
-s). It may be observed that for depletion of SiO from 0.2 to 0
(mol/m
3
bed-s), has been manifested with a bosh silicon pickup in the hot metal from 0% to 0.86%. In addition, the variation
1660
1680
1700
1720
1740
1760
1780
1800
1820
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Dripping zone height (m)
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e

o
f

m
e
t
a
l

(
K
)
5% Holdup
7% Holdup
9% Holdup
Fig. 8. Distribution of metal temperature along the dripping zone height for different liquid hold-up.
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0.16
0.18
0.2
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Dripping zone height (m)
S
i
O

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
(
m
o
l
/
m
3

b
e
d
.
s
)
Fig. 9. Distribution of SiO concentration along the dripping zone height for different liquid hold-up.
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Dripping zone height (m)
B
o
s
h

s
i
l
i
c
o
n

(
%
)
5% Holdup
7% Holdup
9% Holdup
Fig. 10. Si distribution along the dripping zone (for total liquid hold up 5%, 7% and 9%).
4218 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
Fig. 11. 3D visualisation of SiO (mol/m
3
bed s) distribution as a function of dripping zone height and gas temperature.
Fig. 12. 3D visualisation of silicon distribution as a function of dripping zone height and SiO concentration.
S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221 4219
of SiO and Si depicted in this gure reects realistically the situation that depletion of concentration of SiO gas leads to the
enhanced concentration of silicon in the metal along the dripping zone height. This is attributed to the depletion of SiO as a
consequence of reaction given by Eq. (2). Fig. 13 depicts a 3-D plot of simultaneous variation of temperature of hot metal and
silicon along the dripping zone height. The initial value of hot metal temperature at the start of dripping zone height is con-
sidered to be approximately 1700 C. It may be observed that elevated metal temperature from 1683 C to 1790 C, has
shown a consistent trend of monotonic rise of silicon level in the hot metal from 0% to 0.86%. In principle, higher metal tem-
perature favours greater transfer of silicon to the metal.
5. Conclusion
A mathematical model has been developed to investigate the inuence of liquid hold-up on the bosh silicon transfer
behaviour in the dripping zone of blast furnace. The hold-up analysis comprises of quantication of total hold-up with
and without counter current gas ow using appropriate functional correlations including both static and dynamic compo-
nents. In order to investigate the inuence of counter current gas ow on the liquid hold-up, Erguns pressure drop equation
in an liquid irrigated packed bed has been employed in conjunction with the hold-up correlation. The concluding remarks are
as follows:
Counter current gas owdoes not have any dominant inuence on the enhancement of liquid hold-up under a stable blast
furnace operating conditions.
Silicon transfer to the hot metal gets depleted with higher total liquid hold-up in the dripping zone. However, reported
information in the open literature is very scanty.
The silicon pickup in the bosh zone and its axial distribution as a function of dripping zone height decreases as the liquid
hold-up gets enhanced in the same zone.
The liquid metal temperature in the bosh depletes with enhanced hold-up which may be attributed to circumferential
heat transfer. The bosh silicon pick-up is found to be consistent with the thermal state of the liquid metal under the inu-
ence of hold-up in the dripping zone.
Fig. 13. 3D visualisation of silicon distribution as a function of dripping zone height and metal temperature.
4220 S.K. Das et al. / Applied Mathematical Modelling 35 (2011) 42084221
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratitude and further acknowledge the nancial support provided by the Steel Development
Fund (SDF), Ministry of Steel, and Government of India for undertaking this investigation.
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