Heat Transfer Modelling of a Blast Furnace Hearth

This paper describes the development of a heat transfer model with the purpose of studying the heat flows in the hearth of an operating blast furnace. Temperature profiles were calculated for a period of time to study the transition from steady blast furnace operation to an unsteady period, and back to a steady period. This total time period had the highest lining temperatures registered since the beginning of the current campaign. It was concluded that no part of the lining had an inner temperature higher than the critical temperature of 1150 degrees C. Thus, no refractory could have been in direct contact with slag or iron. The corner between the wall and the bottom was identified to be the most sensitive part of the lining. It is suggested that thermocouples are installed in this area, to improve the temperature control.