Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) ›› 2009, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (6): 454-460.DOI: 10.1016/S1006-7191(08)60123-4

• Research paper • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Mechanism of zinc damaging to blast furnace tuyere refractory

Xuefeng YANG1,2, Mansheng CHU3, Fengman SHEN3, Zhuming ZHANG2   

  1. 1) School of Minerals Processing and Bio-engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
    2) Technology Center, Kunming Iron and Steel Limited Company, Kunming 650302, China
    3) School of Materials and Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
  • Received:2009-02-23 Revised:2009-04-14 Online:2009-12-25 Published:2009-12-16
  • Contact: Xuefeng YANG

Abstract:

The phenomena of tuyere upward-warp have been found at No.6 blast furnace in Kunming Steel Company China after its blow-in, which has made a great impact on the practical production of the furnace. Thus, a number of efforts have been made to elucidate the mechanism of this phenomenon. The results of investigation and tests revealed that the enrichment and expansion of zinc in the tuyere bricks is the main factor leading to the tuyere upward-warp. The eroding behavior of zinc is that the inner structure of the tuyere bricks turns from dense to loose with entering, enriching and expanding of zinc, which forms spot-like→stripe-like→ditch-like→vein-like→tumor-like eroding passage. Additionally, it is found that the sequence of deleterious elements entering the tuyere refractory is K, Na, Zn and Pb, respectively. Finally, the phenomena and process of zinc crystallization and growth in the refractory have been clearly observed and recorded during this investigation.

Key words: Blast furnace, Tuyere, Refractory, Zinc, Erosion, Deleterious elements