A three-dimensional sector model for solid flow in a blast furnace geometry

The application of the discrete element method to ironmaking blast furnace (BF) simulation is often limited to 2D-slot models to reduce the computational time. In this work, a 3D-sector model is proposed with circumferential periodic boundary conditions to represent the full 3D model of BF geometry. The simulated solid flow pattern in the 3D-sector model is broadly similar to the results of the full 3D model, using much less computing time.