The hearth of ＂heat transfer method＂ and the ceramic cup synthetic hearth bottom of ＂heart isolation method＂ are two most popular designs for blast furnace （BF）. Although there are successful real examples, some disadvantages, for instance large heat loss and high cost, still exist for these designs. According to the theory of heat transfer, based on the calculation of temperature distribution of the hearth bottom, it is elucidated that all brick layers at the hearth bottom may not be considered as the only reason why different structures exhibited different temperature distributions although total heat resistance is the same, and then based on the effect of hot metal and cold water on different temperature distribution ranges, the concepts of ＂heat resistance＂ and ＂cooling enhancement＂ are put forth. Based on this, the disadvantages and the factors affecting temperature distribution, of the two types of hearth bottoms were illustrated. On the basis of these analyses, a novel structure for BF hearth bottom designing that can easily form ＂self-protecting＂ slag layer stably, called ＂the method of gradient brick layout that has an optimum combination of cooling enhancement and heat resistance＂ was proposed; it can not only prolong the hearth bottom longevity but also reduce the cost and heat loss. Also, the optimum arrangement of thermal couples in hearth bottom was suggested based on the previous studies on erosion prediction carried out by the author.
