Evaluation of the permeability of the dripping zone and of flooding phenomena in a blast furnace

In the current scenario of quality impoverishment of the raw materials charged into blast furnaces, it becomes fundamental to understand the phenomena that directly affect the operational stability of these reactors. This paper evaluated a relationship between pressure drop and irrigation density with the intention of associating them to the flooding phenomena that occur in the dripping zone of a coke blast furnace. It was not possible to clearly obtain a relation between the operational instabilities and the occurrence of flooding phenomena, because there is not a clear separation between the days with and without the operational instabilities. However, over a defined range in the diagram, it is noticeable a higher occurrence of instabilities. Analyzing the parameters, the one with greater influence on the permeability of the dripping zone is the size distribution of the coke, evaluated by the calculation of the harmonic diameter. (C) 2017 Brazilian Metallurgical, Materials and Mining Association. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.