Nodal wear model: corrosion in carbon blast furnace hearths

Criterions developed for the Nodal Wear Model (NWM) were applied to estimate the shape of the corrosion profiles that a blast furnace hearth may acquire during its campaign. Taking into account design of the hearth, the boundary conditions, the characteristics of the refractory materials used and the operation conditions of the blast furnace, simulation of wear profiles with central well, mushroom and elephant foot shape were accomplished. The foundations of the NWM are constructed considering that the corrosion of the refractory is a function of the temperature present at each point (node) of the liquid metal-refractory interface and the corresponding physical and chemical characteristics of the corrosive fluid.