Modelling of titanium compound formation in blast furnace hearth

In a blast furnace. Titanium from titania addition can react with carbon and nitrogen in molten pig iron to form titanium carbonitride, giving the so-called titanium-rich scaffold on the hearth surface, to protect the hearth from further erosion. The current paper uses a mathematical model based on computational fluid dynamics to simulate the liquid metal flow, heat transfer and formation of solid particles. The model considers the fluid/solid flow through a packed bed, conjugated heat transfer, species transport and thermodynamic of key chemical reactions. A region of high solid particle concentration is predicted at the hearth bottom surface. Regions of solid formation and dissolution can be identified which depend on the local temperature and chemical equilibrium. The model provides an insight into the fundamental mechanism of solid formation in the blast furnace hearth.