Abstract Uniform particle packed-bed permeability facilitates a smoother operation and a higher energy efficiency of the blast furnace ironmaking process. Two types of bell-less top charging systems, namely, serial and parallel type hoppers, are widely applied in practical production to distribute the burden particles into the furnace throat. The emergence of particle segregation behaviors directly influences permeability in radial and circumferential directions. In this work, after mapping 40 blocks with equal areas in the furnace throat, quantitative methods are proposed to characterize and compare mass and size segregation behaviors when binary-sized particles are charged from serial and parallel type hoppers. Based on the results obtained from discrete element method simulation, the average particle velocity in the horizontal x–y plane at the exit of the rotating chute under the serial type hopper is approximately 0.3 m/s greater than that under the parallel type hopper, which causes the difference in mass segregation in the radial direction. Furthermore, the velocity in the z-axial direction demonstrates a cosine-like curve under the parallel type hopper during the entire discharge process, which results in its mass segregation in the circumferential direction. The particle flow on the rotating chute concentrates with a narrower width under the serial type hopper, so, the small particles aggregate in the smaller central area. By contrast, the wider particle flow width under the parallel type hopper helps distribute the small particles into the larger central area. Moreover, the effect of particle size and chute inclining angle on the difference in the above segregation behaviors between the serial and parallel type hoppers are further investigated.

中文翻译：

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高炉无钟罩顶装系统串并联式料斗二元颗粒质量及粒度偏析定量比较

摘要 均匀的颗粒填充床渗透率有利于高炉炼铁过程的平稳运行和更高的能源效率。实际生产中广泛采用串联式和并联式两种无钟罩顶部装料系统，将炉料颗粒分配到炉喉。颗粒偏析行为的出现直接影响径向和圆周方向的渗透率。在这项工作中，在对炉喉中 40 个具有相等面积的块进行映射后，提出了定量方法来表征和比较从串联和并联型料斗装入二元颗粒时的质量和尺寸分离行为。基于离散元法仿真得到的结果，串联式料斗下旋转溜槽出口处水平x-y平面内的平均颗粒速度比并联式料斗下大约0.3 m/s，导致径向质量分离的差异。此外，在整个卸料过程中，在平行式料斗下，z轴方向的速度呈余弦曲线，导致其在圆周方向上的质量偏析。旋转溜槽上的颗粒流在串联式料斗下方以较窄的宽度集中，因此小颗粒聚集在较小的中心区域。相比之下，平行式料斗下方更宽的颗粒流动宽度有助于将小颗粒分布到更大的中心区域。而且，