The Extented Discrete Element Method (XDEM): An Advanced Approach to Model Blast Furnace

Abstract

The blast furnace iron making is the oldest but still the main method to produce liquid iron through sequential reduction processes of iron ore materials. Despite the existence of several discrete and continuous numerical models, there is no global method to provide detailed information about the processes inside the furnaces. The extended discrete element method known as XDEM is an advance numerical tool based on Eulerian–Lagrangian framework which is able to cover more information about the blast furnace process. Within this platform, the continuous phases such as gas and liquid phases are coupled to the discrete entities such as coke and iron ore particles through mass, momentum and energy exchange. This method has been applied to the shaft, cohesive zone, dripping zone and hearth of the blast furnace. In this chapter, the mathematical and numerical methods implemented in the XDEMmethod are described, and the results are discussed.