JP7736019B2 - Sintering machine operation management method - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a method for managing the operation of a sintering machine.

When operating a sintering machine, yield can be improved by uniformly firing the raw material charging layer. To achieve uniform firing of the raw material charging layer, it is important to understand the distribution of gas flow rates in the raw material charging layer.

Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which the thickness of a raw material charging layer is measured using a laser rangefinder, the density of the raw material charging layer is estimated based on the layer thickness, the aeration state of the raw material charging layer is determined based on the density, and the aeration state is made uniform using an aeration rod.

Patent No. 5458780

Patent Document 1 only measures the layer thickness and is unable to estimate the internal structure of the raw material charging layer. As a result, it is not possible to accurately estimate the distribution of gas flow rates within the raw material charging layer, making it difficult to accurately estimate which parts of the raw material charging layer will experience uneven burning.

The objective of this disclosure is to provide an operation management method for a sintering machine that can accurately estimate the distribution of gas flow rates in the raw material charging layer.

[1] A step of granulating granules from a sintering raw material based on current granulation conditions of a sintering machine;
charging the granulated particles into a container based on the current charging conditions of the sintering machine to form a simulated raw material charging layer;
Obtaining three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer;
estimating a gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the three-dimensional data;
A method for managing the operation of a sintering machine, including:

[2] The sintering machine operation management method described in [1] above, further comprising a step of controlling the depth of each of a plurality of ventilation rods arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pallet provided in the sintering machine, based on the estimated distribution of gas flow velocity inside the simulated raw material charging layer.

[3] The sintering machine operation management method described in [1] or [2] above, wherein the step of acquiring the three-dimensional data acquires the three-dimensional data using an X-ray CT device.

[4] A method for managing sintering machine operations described in any one of [1] to [3] above, wherein the step of estimating the gas flow velocity distribution estimates the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the current exhaust conditions of the sintering machine in addition to the three-dimensional data.

[5] The sintering machine operation management method described in [4] above, wherein the exhaust conditions include information on the negative pressure in the wind box of the sintering machine.

[6] A method for managing the operation of a sintering machine described in any one of [1] to [5] above, wherein the granulation conditions include information on the moisture content of the sintering raw material when granulating the granulated particles.

[7] A method for managing sintering machine operations described in any one of [1] to [6] above, wherein the charging conditions include information on the thickness of the raw material charging layer in the sintering machine.

The sintering machine operation management method disclosed herein makes it possible to accurately estimate the distribution of gas flow rates in the raw material charging layer.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a sintering facility according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the arrangement of ventilation rods. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of an operation management method for a sintering machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a calculation result of gas flow velocity in an example. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the results of gas flow velocity when a ventilation rod is used in an example.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example configuration of sintering equipment 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Sintering equipment 1 is equipment capable of producing sintered ore from sintering raw materials including iron-containing raw materials and carbon-containing raw materials.

The sintering equipment 1 includes a control device 10, a granulator 20, a sinterer 30, a crusher 40, a cooler 50, a sieving device 60, a container 70, and a 3D data acquisition device 80.

The control device 10 is capable of communicating with the granulator 20, sintering machine 30, crusher 40, cooler 50, sieving device 60, and 3D data acquisition device 80. The control device 10 controls the granulator 20, sintering machine 30, crusher 40, cooler 50, sieving device 60, and 3D data acquisition device 80.

Details of the configuration and functions of the control device 10 will be described later.

The granulator 20 granulates granulated particles from sintering raw materials containing iron-containing raw materials and carbon-containing raw materials. When the granulator 20 granulates the granulated particles, granulation water is added to the sintering raw materials. The sintering raw materials may further contain calcium oxide (CaO)-containing raw materials as auxiliary raw materials. The granulated particles granulated by the granulator 20 are transported to the sintering machine 30.

The granulator 20 may be any granulator capable of producing granulated particles, such as a drum mixer.

The sintering machine 30 may be any type of sintering machine that sinters granulated particles, but may be, for example, a Dwight Lloyd type sintering machine. The sintering machine 30 includes a sintering raw material supply device 31, a pallet 32, an ignition furnace 33, and a wind box 34. Although not shown in Figure 1, the sintering machine 30 also includes an air vent 35 and an air vent drive device 36, as shown in Figure 2.

The sintering raw material supply device 31 loads the granulated particles supplied from the granulator 20 onto the pallet 32.

Pallet 32 is an endlessly movable pallet. When granulated particles are charged onto pallet 32 from sintering raw material supply device 31, a raw material charging layer is formed on pallet 32.

The ignition furnace 33 ignites the carbon-containing raw material contained in the surface layer of the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32.

The wind box 34 sucks air downward from the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32. When the wind box 34 sucks air downward from the raw material charging layer, the combustion and molten materials in the raw material charging layer move downward from the raw material charging layer. In this way, the combustion and molten materials move within the raw material charging layer, causing the raw material charging layer to be sintered. As a result, a sintered cake is obtained from the raw material charging layer.

The ventilation rod 35 shown in Figure 2 is positioned downstream of the sintering raw material supply device 31. Here, "downstream" means downstream in the conveying direction of the pallet 32. The sintering machine 30 is equipped with multiple ventilation rods 35 arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pallet 32.

Figure 2 shows multiple ventilation rods 35 viewed from the transport direction of the pallet 32. As shown in Figure 2, multiple ventilation rods 35 are installed side by side in the width direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the pallet 32.

Note that while Figure 2 shows six ventilation rods 35 arranged in a row, this is just one example, and the number of ventilation rods 35 arranged in a row is not limited to five. The number of ventilation rods 35 arranged in a row may be four or less, or six or more.

The air rod drive device 36 shown in Figure 2 is a drive device that drives the air rods 35 up and down. As shown in Figure 2, the sintering machine 30 is equipped with an air rod drive device 36 for each air rod 35.

The ventilation rod drive device 36 can control the depth of the ventilation rods 35 by driving the ventilation rods 35 up and down. Here, the depth of the ventilation rods 35 refers to the depth to which the ventilation rods 35 are inserted into the raw material charging layer 101 formed on the pallet 32. In the example shown in Figure 2, the second ventilation rod 35 from the left and the first ventilation rod 35 from the right are deeper.

The ventilation rod drive unit 36 controls the depth of each ventilation rod 35 in response to commands from the control unit 10.

Let's return to Figure 1 and continue the explanation.

The crusher 40 crushes the sintered cake supplied from the sintering machine 30. The crusher 40 supplies the crushed sintered cake to the cooler 50.

The cooler 50 cools the crushed sintered cake material supplied from the crusher 40. The crushed sintered cake material cooled by the cooler 50 is supplied to the sieving device 60.

The sieving device 60 sieves the crushed sintered cake material cooled by the cooler 50 according to the particle size of the crushed material. For example, the sieving device 60 sieves the crushed sintered cake material into sintered ore with a particle size of 5 mm or more and return ore with a particle size of less than 5 mm.

In this way, sintered ore is finally produced by sieving using the sieving device 60. Furthermore, the return ore sieved by the sieving device 60 may be mixed with the sintering raw material and reused as a raw material for sintered ore.

The container 70 is a container of the same shape as the pallet 32 of the sinter machine 30. A simulated raw material charging layer can be formed in the container 70 in the same way that granulated particles are charged into the pallet 32 of the sinter machine 30 to form a raw material charging layer. The simulated raw material charging layer is a reproduction in the container 70 of the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32 of the sinter machine 30 currently in operation.

The granulated particles charged into the container 70 are granulated based on the current granulation conditions of the sintering machine 30. The granulation conditions are the conditions under which the granulated particles are granulated in the granulator 20 of the sintering machine 30. The granulation conditions may include information about the moisture content when the granulated particles are granulated in the granulator 20 of the sintering machine 30.

When granulated particles are charged into the container 70 to form a simulated raw material charging layer, the granulated particles are charged under charging conditions similar to the current charging conditions of the sintering machine 30. The charging conditions may include information about the thickness of the raw material charging layer when it is formed on the pallet 32 of the sintering machine 30.

By forming a simulated raw material charging layer in the vessel 70 in this manner, it is possible to form a simulated raw material charging layer in the vessel 70 that has a structure similar to the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32 of the sintering machine 30 currently in operation.

The three-dimensional data acquisition device 80 is a device capable of acquiring three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material loading layer formed in the container 70. The three-dimensional data acquisition device 80 may be any device capable of acquiring three-dimensional data, such as an X-ray CT device.

The three-dimensional data on the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer includes, for example, data on the position of voids within the simulated raw material charging layer and the position of granulated particles.

The three-dimensional data acquisition device 80 acquires three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the container 70 and transmits the acquired three-dimensional data to the control device 10.

Next, we will explain the configuration and functions of the control device 10. First, we will provide an overview of the functions of the control device 10.

The control device 10 acquires three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the container 70 from the three-dimensional data acquisition device 80.

The control device 10 estimates the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the acquired three-dimensional data. At this time, the control device 10 may estimate the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the acquired three-dimensional data as well as the current exhaust conditions of the wind box 34 of the sintering machine 30.

The wind box 34 exhaust conditions refer to the conditions of the wind box 34 when the wind box 34 of the sintering machine 30 sucks air downward from the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32. The wind exhaust conditions may include information about the negative pressure of the wind box 34.

When estimating the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the acquired three-dimensional data and exhaust conditions, the control device 10 may use general fluid analysis software to estimate the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed. For example, the control device 10 may perform CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) calculations to estimate the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed.

The gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed estimated by the control device 10 is considered to be similar to the gas flow velocity distribution inside the raw material charging bed formed on the pallet 32 of the sintering machine 30 currently in operation.

Based on the estimated distribution of gas flow speeds inside the simulated raw material charging layer, the control device 10 controls the depth of each of the multiple ventilation rods 35, which are arranged in a line across the width of the pallet 32, perpendicular to the conveying direction.

This allows the control device 10 to equalize the gas flow rate in the width direction in the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32 of the sintering machine 30 currently in operation, thereby achieving uniform firing in the width direction.

Next, we will explain the configuration of the control device 10.

Figure 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example configuration of a control device 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The control device 10 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or personal computer, or may be a dedicated computer configured to function as the control device 10 for the sintering equipment 1.

The control device 10 includes a control unit 11, an input unit 12, an output unit 13, a memory unit 14, and a communication unit 15.

The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

The control unit 11 reads programs, data, etc. stored in the memory unit 14 and executes various functions. The control unit 11 controls the granulator 20, sintering machine 30, crusher 40, cooler 50, sieving device 60, and 3D data acquisition device 80.

Based on the estimated distribution of gas flow speeds inside the simulated raw material charging layer, the control unit 11 controls the depth of each of the multiple ventilation rods 35, which are arranged in a line across the width of the pallet 32, perpendicular to the conveying direction.

The input unit 12 includes one or more input interfaces that detect user input and acquire input information based on the user's operation. The input unit 12 includes, for example, physical keys, capacitive keys, a touchscreen integrated with the display of the output unit 13, or a microphone that accepts voice input.

The output unit 13 includes one or more output interfaces that output information to notify the user. The output unit 13 includes, for example, a display that outputs information as an image, a speaker that outputs information as audio, etc. The display included in the output unit 13 may be, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display, etc.

The memory unit 14 may be, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk, or an optical memory. Part of the memory unit 14 may be external to the control device 10. In this case, part of the memory unit 14 may be a hard disk, memory card, or the like connected to the control device 10 via an arbitrary interface.

The memory unit 14 stores programs that the control unit 11 uses to execute various functions, as well as data used by those programs.

The communication unit 15 includes at least one of a communication module that supports wired communication and a communication module that supports wireless communication.

The operation management method for the sintering machine 30 executed by the sintering equipment 1 according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 4.

Step S101: Granulate the sintering raw material into granulated particles based on the current granulation conditions of the sintering machine 30.

Step S102: Based on the current charging conditions of the sintering machine 30, the granulated particles produced in step S101 are charged into the container 70 to form a simulated raw material charging layer.

Step S103: The three-dimensional data acquisition device 80 acquires three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the container 70. The three-dimensional data acquisition device 80 transmits the three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer to the control device 10. The control device 10 acquires the three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer from the three-dimensional data acquisition device 80.

Step S104: The control device 10 estimates the distribution of gas flow rates inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the acquired three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging bed.

In step S104, the control device 10 estimates the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging layer, and then controls the depth of each of the multiple ventilation rods 35, which are arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pallet 32, so as to equalize the gas flow velocity in the width direction in the raw material charging layer.

(Example)
An example of an operation management method for the sintering machine 30 in the sintering equipment 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG.

Figure 5 shows an example of the gas flow velocity calculation results.

In the graph shown in Figure 5, the horizontal axis represents the height position of the simulated raw material charging bed, and the vertical axis represents the gas flow velocity.

The gas flow rates shown in FIG. 5 were calculated under the following conditions.
Sintering raw materials: mixture of fine ore, lime, return ore and carbon material Container size: diameter 150 mm, height 600 mm
Granulation conditions: the same moisture content as when granulating with the granulator 20. Charging conditions: the same thickness as when forming a raw material charging layer on the pallet 32 with the sintering raw material supply device 31.

The gas flow rate shown in Figure 5 was calculated using the following procedure. First, the sintering raw material under the above conditions was granulated with the same moisture content as when granulated in the granulator 20. The granulated particles were then loaded into the container 70 under the above conditions. At this time, the thickness of the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the container 70 was set to the same thickness as when the raw material charging layer was formed on the pallet 32 by the sintering raw material supply device 31.

Next, an X-ray CT scanner was used as the 3D data acquisition device 80 to perform CT imaging of the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the vessel 70. The X-ray CT scanner has a 320 kV radiation source. CFD calculations were performed on the acquired 3D data to calculate the gas flow velocity within the simulated raw material charging layer. In this case, information on the negative pressure in the wind box 34 of the sintering machine 30 was used as the exhaust air condition. The gas temperature and gas viscosity values were also used in the CFD calculations.

The graph shown as "right side" in Figure 5 is the calculation result for the area corresponding to the right side when viewed from the upstream side of the conveyance direction of the pallet 32. Furthermore, the graph shown as "left side" in Figure 5 is the calculation result for the area corresponding to the left side when viewed from the upstream side of the conveyance direction of the pallet 32.

Referring to Figure 5, the gas flow rate is almost constant in the height direction on the "right side." Therefore, in this case, it is expected that firing will occur almost uniformly in the "right side" region. Furthermore, on the "left side," the gas flow rate is almost constant in the upper layers, but there are areas in the lower layers where the gas flow rate is high. This is presumably due to blockages occurring between particles, causing localized airflow. Therefore, it is expected that firing will not occur uniformly in the "left side" region.

Figure 6 shows the results when the depth of the aeration rods was determined based on the calculation results in Figure 5, and the aeration rods were inserted into the simulated raw material charging layer at the determined depth. For comparison, Figure 6 also shows the graph shown in Figure 5.

The gas flow velocities shown as "Right side (using vent rods)" and "Left side (using vent rods)" in Figure 6 were calculated using the following procedure. First, a simulated raw material charging layer was formed in the vessel 70 in the same manner as when performing the calculation in Figure 5. Then, based on the depth of the vent rods determined based on the calculation results in Figure 5, vent rods were inserted into the simulated raw material charging layer in the vessel 70. This allows the effect of inserting vent rods 35 in the sintering machine 30 to be simulated.

The ventilation rod was then removed, and CT images were taken using an X-ray CT scanner as the 3D data acquisition device 80. CFD calculations were performed on the acquired 3D data to calculate the gas flow velocity within the simulated raw material charging bed. Information on the negative pressure in the wind box 34 of the sintering machine 30 was used as the exhaust air condition. The CFD calculations also used values for gas temperature and gas viscosity.

The graph labeled "Right Side (Ventilation Rod Used)" in Figure 6 shows the calculation results after inserting a ventilation rod in the right-hand region. Also, the graph labeled "Left Side (Ventilation Rod Used)" in Figure 5 shows the calculation results after inserting a ventilation rod in the left-hand region.

Referring to Figure 6, when comparing the "right side (with vent rod)" with the "right side," the "right side (with vent rod)" has improved uniformity of gas flow velocity in the height direction compared to the "right side." Also, when comparing the "left side (with vent rod)" with the "left side," the "left side (with vent rod)" has significantly improved uniformity of gas flow velocity in the height direction compared to the "left side."

Then, when the ventilation rods 35 of the operating sintering machine 30 were controlled to the same depth as in Figure 6, uniform firing was achieved. In this way, by controlling the depth of the ventilation rods 35 of the operating sintering machine 30 based on the gas flow velocity distribution estimated using the simulated raw material charging bed, it was possible to uniformize the gas flow velocity distribution. This also made it possible to improve the sintered ore yield.

As described above, the operation management method for the sintering machine 30 according to this embodiment includes the steps of granulating granulated particles from sintering raw materials based on the current granulation conditions of the sintering machine 30, charging the granulated particles into the container 70 based on the current charging conditions of the sintering machine 30 to form a simulated raw material charging layer, acquiring three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer, and estimating the gas flow velocity distribution within the simulated raw material charging layer based on the three-dimensional data. In this way, the operation management method for the sintering machine 30 according to this embodiment acquires three-dimensional data of the structure of a simulated raw material charging layer that replicates the raw material charging layer formed on the pallet 32 of the sintering machine 30 during operation, and estimates the gas flow velocity distribution within the simulated raw material charging layer based on the acquired three-dimensional data. Therefore, the operation management method for the sintering machine 30 according to this embodiment can accurately estimate the gas flow velocity distribution within the raw material charging layer.

In addition, the operation management method for the sintering machine 30 according to this embodiment controls the depth of each of the multiple ventilation rods 35 based on the estimated gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging layer so that the gas flow velocity distribution approaches uniformity. As a result, the operation management method for the sintering machine 30 according to this embodiment can achieve uniform firing in the sintering machine 30 and improve the yield of sintered ore.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, multiple blocks shown in the block diagrams may be combined, or one block may be divided. Instead of executing the multiple steps shown in the flowcharts in chronological order as described, the steps may be executed in parallel or in a different order depending on the processing capabilities of the device executing each step, or as needed. Other modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

For example, in the above embodiment, the sintering equipment 1 is shown to be equipped with one control device 10, but the sintering equipment 1 may be equipped with multiple control devices 10. In this case, the multiple control devices 10 may share and perform the functions of the above-mentioned control device 10. For example, the process of estimating the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging layer formed in the vessel 70 and the process of controlling the sintering machine 30 may be performed by different control devices 10.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 sintering equipment 10 control device 11 control unit 12 input unit 13 output unit 14 memory unit 15 communication unit 20 granulator 30 sintering machine 31 sintering raw material supply device 32 pallet 33 ignition furnace 34 wind box 35 ventilator 36 ventilator drive device 40 crusher 50 cooler 60 sieving device 70 container 80 three-dimensional data acquisition device 101 raw material charging layer

Claims (7)

granulating granules from the sintering raw material based on the current granulation conditions of the sintering machine;
charging the granulated particles into a container based on the current charging conditions of the sintering machine to form a simulated raw material charging layer;
Obtaining three-dimensional data of the structure of the simulated raw material charging layer;
estimating a gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the three-dimensional data;
Including,
The method for managing operation of a sinter machine , wherein the container has the same shape as a pallet provided in the sinter machine and into which the granulated particles are charged to form a raw material charging layer . 2. The method for managing operation of a sintering machine according to claim 1, further comprising a step of controlling, for each of the ventilation rods, the depth of a plurality of ventilation rods arranged in a width direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the pallet, based on the estimated distribution of the gas flow velocity inside the simulated raw material charging bed. The sintering machine operation management method according to claim 1, wherein the step of acquiring the three-dimensional data acquires the three-dimensional data using an X-ray CT device. The sintering machine operation management method described in claim 1, wherein the step of estimating the gas flow velocity distribution estimates the gas flow velocity distribution inside the simulated raw material charging bed based on the current exhaust conditions of the sintering machine in addition to the three-dimensional data. The sintering machine operation management method described in claim 4, wherein the exhaust air conditions include information on the negative pressure in the wind box of the sintering machine. The sintering machine operation management method described in claim 1, wherein the granulation conditions include information on the moisture content of the sintering raw material when granulating the granulated particles. The method for managing operation of a sintering machine according to claim 1 , wherein the charging conditions include information on the thickness of the raw material charging layer in the sintering machine.