Numerical simulation of flow characteristics in settler of flash furnace

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was carried out with CFX4.3 to investigate the melt flow and temperature distributions in the settler of a flash furnace. Sixteen cases of one slag tap hole adopted with one matte tap hole (1-to-1) and one slag tap hole adopted with two matte tap holes (1-to-2) operation modes were modelled. The simulation results show that the melt flows are similar in both two operation modes, but evident circulations can be found in the case of the 1-to-2 operation mode. The combination modes of the slag and matte tap holes are found to have a significant effect on the temperature distributions of the melt. The melt temperature is more uniform in the case of the 1-to-2 mode. Selection of a matte tap hole farther away from the inlet is more conducive to achieve a uniform distribution of the melt temperature in the settler in practical tapping operation.