The aim of this research is to numerically simulate iron flow and heat transfer in the hearth of a blast furnace by solving the three-dimensional turbulent Navier-Stokes equation coupled with the transport equation of energy at steady state. Under the effects of conjugate heat transfer and natural convection, a computational fluid dynamic calculation was performed to generate flow field in the hearth and the temperature distribution in the refractories during the tapping process. The accuracy and computation of the model is validated using operation data from BHP Steel's No. 5 blast furnace. The shear stress and heat flux on the wall were then predicted for the different vertical movements, shapes of the coke zone (dead-man), and the lengths of the tap-hole. As shown in the results, it is worth noticing that an increase in the tap-hole length causes the peak values of shear stress to shift in the increasing azimuthal direction at a particular plane, and the location of the peak value of shear stress coincides with the location of higher temperature actually measured on the hearth wall, signifying enhanced heat transfer to the wall at location of peak stress. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.