Burden distribution analysis by digital image processing in a scale model of a blast furnace shaft

During the realigning of Aceralia's blast furnace B in Gijon, a 1/10 scale half-section, three-dimensional cold model of the BF shaft was built to test charging patterns and the effect of gas flow in burden distribution. The front side of this half model is closed by a methacrylate sheet that allows images of the burden distribution inside the model to be obtained, during and after the charging process. image processing techniques were applied to obtain useful information from burden profile images. A complete study of a charging pattern is presented in this paper. The model has allowed study of some local effects of gas flow in burden distribution, such as changes in the final coke layer during ore charging, and the formation of a narrow window in the centre of the model that connects the successive coke layers.