The Numerical Analysis of Heat Transfer and Thermal Stresses of Refractory Bricks on the Tap Hole of a Blast Furnace during the tapping process

The objective of this thesis is to create a 3D model of the tap hole of a blast furnace by means of the CAD software and then import it into the Finite Element Method software " COMSOL Multiphysics" to simulate the problem of transient heat transfer and thermal stresses of carbon bricks on the tap hole during the tapping process.irst, numerical solutions for a 2D circular disk of a single-layer material will be simulated, which compare with analytic solutions obtained by the theory of elasticity. Second, geometry will be extruded from the 2D circular disk to a 3D cylinder. Moreover, the single-layer material is replaced to multi-layer materials in the 3D simulation. Then, the 3D geometry on the tap hole of a blast furnace followed by the physical model is constructed. Distribution of temperature and thermal stresses at carbon bricks on the tap hole of a blast furnace will be evaluated and further discussed. Next, sensitivity analysis is performed for undetermined material parameters. In order to investigate the variation of materials, different carbon bricks will be applied for comparison with the original material. As a matter of fact, with time passing by, the hearth carbon bricks of a blast furnace will be worn gradually. Hence, the thickness of hearth carbon bricks is reduced to a half and a quarter case contrasted with original thickness of them.his paper looks forward to evaluating the real stress state on a tap hole of a blast furnace by the results of simulation, and it can be the suggestion for choosing the carbon bricks of a blast furnace in the future.