Development of a Simulation Model of the Heat Transfer Process in the Hot-Blast Stove Checkerwork

The blast furnace hot-blast stove is a regenerator where the checkerwork heating and cooling processes take place in series. Several hot-blast stoves combined into a block are used for continuous hot air supply to the blast furnace. Every hot-blast stove in the block has unique characteristics. The characteristics can be taken into account in synchronous operation within the blast furnace unit to increase the heat output and the temperature of the hot air blown into the blast furnace. Uncontrolled checkerwork degradation occurs during the hot-blast stove process. This leads to the necessity of adjusting the operating modes of every hot-blast stove. Adjusting assumes changing the periods time of the hot-blast stove process while heating and blast. It is necessary to continuously assess the hot-blast stove thermal efficiency by indirect characteristics due to impossibility to control the checkerwork state. The simplified simulation model of the heat transfer process in hot-blast stove checkerwork is proposed. The simulation model is preliminarily adapted to a new hot-blast stove. Continuous comparison of blast parameters from the real hot-blast stove with parameters calculated in the simulation model of the heat transfer process makes it possible to evaluate the efficiency of every hot-blast stove throughout its lifetime. The simulation model using in the switching control system makes it possible to adj ust heating and blast for every hot-blast stove in the block in order to obtain the maximum temperature of hot air supplied to the blast furnace, which will reduce specific coke consumption during cast iron smelting.