Effect of the charging sequence of iron-bearing burden on burden distribution during the charging process of blast furnace based on discrete element method

During the charging process of the blast furnace, the charging sequence of the iron-bearing burden directly determines the mixing uniformity of sinter, pellet and lump ore in the throat. In this study, according to four different charging sequences commonly used in the production of a 5500 m(3) blast furnace in China, the influence of the charging sequence of the iron-bearing burden on the uniformity of burden basicity distribution is analysed by Discrete Element Method simulation. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The trend shown by the sinter, pellet and lump ore mass fractions during the hopper discharging process is determined by the hopper structure and the initial burden distribution in the hopper. (2) The trend of the iron-bearing burden mass fraction from the wall region to the centre region of the throat is consistent with the trend of the iron-bearing burden mass fraction during the hopper discharging process.