Abstract: A mathematical model based on discrete element method (DEM) was developed to investigate the behaviors of solid particulate motion in a COREX shaft furnace model from particle-scale view. The solid flow pattern and transient features of burden were simultaneously analyzed， especially the transient behavior of velocity and stress distribution were calculated. The results showed that the solid flow in COREX shaft furnace can be divided into three different flow regions: plug flow zone， quasi-stagnant zone and converging flow zone. The transient behavior of velocity distribution indicates that there are two types of velocity waves in the furnace. One is a downward wave caused by charging and the other is upward from bottom caused by discharging. The normal stress has a minor change with time. A high stress field exists on the top of the guiding cone， while for the furnace without guiding cone， the particles in the lower central zone present strong normal stress. On the contrary， the particles exhibit weak normal stresses in the converging flow zone.

Key words: COREX shaft furnace, DEM(discrete element method), flow pattern, transient features, normal stress