Development of a Virtual Reality Blast Furnace Package Using CFD

摘要

Ironmaking and steelmaking involve many capital and energy intensive processes. As the most important component in ironmaking industry, blast furnace has received considerable interests and resources conducting research to improve its productivity, energy efficiency, environment impact, and product quality. Due to complex phenomena and the difficulties in taking measurements, the knowledge needed for optimization of blast furnace operation can be most readily obtained through the development of high fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) numerical simulations. However, with increasingly complex CFD capable of simulating and analyzing ever-larger amounts of data, interpolating and presenting the numerical data in a meaningful fashion is a key for effective communication between CFD experts and plant engineers. Recently, virtual reality (VR) technology made it possible for people to analyze huge amounts of CFD data in a virtual environment. The current study focuses on integration of CFD simulation data and VR technology to create a scientifically and practically realistic virtual blast furnace presenting complex operations and phenomenon. The virtual blast furnace creates a computer-generated world in which people who are not analysis experts can see the detailed furnace operations in a context that they can easily understand. It enables a close inspection of a component or activity regardless of the size of the model. This provides a perfect train tool for new operators, engineers who can learn the blast furnace operation more efficiently. With the application of virtual blast furnace, even people who are familiar with furnace operations can gain insights that make it possible to understand the root causes of observed problems and plan design changes in much less time.