Modeling and simulation of heat front propagation in the iron ore sintering process

The aim of this work was to develop a model for the iron ore sintering process with special focus on heat front propagation through the packed bed and to provide a powerful tool ("SinterSim v1.1") for the simulation of the sintering process. Special interests were paid to the sub-models of fluid flow through the packed bed, oxidation of carbon monoxide, coke combustion, melting and solidifying of the bed material and the thermal decomposition the of ore components. Base case calculations were done showing very good agreement compared to values gained in test runs of the sintering process in a sinter pot. Numerous calculations with varied parameters were carried out to evaluate the behavior of the sintering process in means of a sensitivity coefficient for the specific variation. For duration of the sintering process and height of the sintering zone the most sensitive parameters turned out to be the mean diameter of the sinter mix material, void fraction inside the packed bed, the amount of coke breeze in the bed, the humidity of the green sinter mix and the amount of Fe2O3 in the ore.