Molten slag is a critical material generated during blast furnace (BF) ironmaking. Slag flow behavior in the lower part of BF is closely related to the selection of charge materials, coke packed bed permeability, process stability, productivity, and hot metal quality. To better understand slag flow behavior, a numerical approach was applied to characterize the slag flow through a coke funnel analog and further, in a packed bed. The funnel analog was used to represent the flow of molten slag through the inter-particle voids of a coke packed bed. A critical funnel neck size, through which no slag flowed was experimentally established and confirmed by numerical modeling. The effect of wettability on slag flow shows the existence of an optimal contact angle for smooth slag flow in a funnel. The model was then applied to provide a deeper understanding of molten slag flow behavior in a packed bed, e.g., visualization of accumulation, coalescence, and breakup of slag at a particle scale. Specifically, the results show that the flow characteristics of discrete slag droplets in the packed bed require a particular quantitative approach for estimating the slag holdup. Packing structure, including pore size and particle shape, significantly affects the occurrence of slag blockage and droplet size, even when overall bed porosity is maintained constant. Slag flow along the vertical direction of the packed bed has a pseudo-steady percolation velocity. These results highlighted that this numerical approach is very helpful to understand the slag flow behavior at a particle scale, providing insight into the general features of slag flow as droplets or rivulets.

熔渣是高炉 (BF) 炼铁过程中产生的一种关键材料。高炉下部的渣流动行为与炉料选择、焦炭填充床渗透率、工艺稳定性、生产率和铁水质量密切相关。为了更好地了解渣流行为，应用了数值方法来表征通过焦炭漏斗模拟物并进一步在填充床中的渣流。漏斗模拟用于表示熔渣流过焦炭填充床的颗粒间空隙。没有炉渣流过的临界漏斗颈尺寸通过实验建立并通过数值模型确认。润湿性对渣流的影响表明存在一个使漏斗中渣流顺畅的最佳接触角。例如，在颗粒尺度上对渣的堆积、聚结和破碎进行可视化。具体而言，结果表明填充床中离散熔渣液滴的流动特性需要特定的定量方法来估计熔渣滞留量。填料结构，包括孔径和颗粒形状，会显着影响熔渣堵塞和液滴尺寸的发生，即使总床层孔隙率保持不变。沿填充床垂直方向的渣流具有伪稳态渗流速度。这些结果强调，这种数值方法非常有助于在颗粒尺度上理解渣流行为，从而深入了解渣流作为液滴或小溪的一般特征。