8/10/2019 FLIR - Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

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APPLICATION STORY

Ladle SafetyIt is well known that refractory linings insteel mill ladles have limited lives, anduseful life may be shortened even moredue to breakage of refractory bricks from

mechanical shock. As the lining wearsor develops breaks, the outer part of atransport ladle can be exposed to moltenmetal. If not caught in time, the result canbe ladle disintegration and a molten metalbreakout, threatening the lives of workersand destroying equipment.

Fortunately, thermal imaging cameras candetect hot spots on the ladle that warn ofa failure far sooner than a visual inspection.This allows the ladle to be taken out ofservice in a timely manner and scheduled for

relining exactly at the right time and at theoptimum replacement cost.

Ladle Monitoring SystemUsually the thermal imaging camera fromFLIR is placed in robust housings, and locatedin fixed positions where they have a clearview of a filled ladle as it passes by on the

gantry crane. Those cameras capture videoimages of the ladle in real time, and calculatetemperatures over the ladles surface. A fewcameras can cover the entire surface of theladle, but typically a few regions of interest(ROIs) are predefined for closer scrutiny andanalysis. The thermal images of ROIs wherefailures are more likely to occur can bestored in PC memory for later comparisonto current images. Defining ROIs also allowsFLIRS IR Monitor software to ignore hightemperatures on objects around the ladlethat are within the cameras field of view

(FOV), which in turn lowers the amount ofunwanted alarms.

Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

Steel mill ladles have limited lives. As their refractory linings wear or develop breaks due toshock, the outer part of a ladle can be exposed to excessive temperatures. If not caught intime, the result can be ladle disintegration and a molten metal breakout, threatening thelives of workers and destroying equipment. FLIR thermal imaging camera systems are usedto monitor ladles in real time and warn of a breakout before it happens, saving hundredsof thousands of dollars by preventing injuries, equipment damage, and productiondowntime.

FLIR A310 thermal imaging camera

Thermal imaging cameras can detect hot spots on the

ladle that warn of a failure far sooner than a visualinspection. This allows the ladle to be taken out of servicebefore failure occurs.

8/10/2019 FLIR - Mill Ladle Refractory Monitoring

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APPLICATION STORY

For more information about thermal imaging

cameras or about this application,

please contact:

FLIR Commercial Systems B.V.Charles Petitweg 214847 NW Breda - NetherlandsPhone : +31 (0) 765 79 41 94Fax : +31 (0) 765 79 41 99e-mail : flir@flir.comwww.flir.com

These thermal video images andcorresponding temperature data are carriedover Ethernet and fiber optic cables to theindustrial PC, which avoids problems from

the electrically noisy mill environment. TheIR Monitor software can then compare eachimage frame from a camera to the imagetemplates stored in PC memory. This gantrycrane operator does not have to stop thecrane at any particular location to captureimages and the production can continuesmoothly. When there is a match betweenthe template and the corresponding portionof a cameras FOV (i.e. one or the ROIs),temperatures are calculated. If a temperatureexceeds the ladles predefined parameters,an alarm is triggered. The exact parameters

temperatures for alarms can be adjustedeasily, based on mill experience.

Alarmingly high temperaturesThe alarm could be just a warning if thetemperature isnt too high, and movement ofthe ladle to the converter mill can continue.The operator can then compare the warningtemperature to a trend analysis done by thesoftware to determine if the ladle can remainin service for another pour.

If the ladle temperature is above a critical

level, however, an emergency alarm will betriggered which will immediately stop thegantry crane movement. In addition, alarmmessages and images can be sent to a millmanagers office via Ethernet, email, or ftp.

Torpedo carThis application is not just useful for millladles. The same system can also be used fortorpedo car monitoring. The objectives arethe same, and the major system differenceis in the mounting of the thermal imaging

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cameras. Typically, cameras are placed on

both sides of the rail track that along whichthe torpedo cars are transported to theconverter mill.

The torpedo cars are preheated before themolten metal is poured in to prevent it fromhardening. Thermal imaging cameras canalso be used to optimize this preheatingprocess by minimizing the duration andthe energy consumption while ensuringthat the refractory is sufficiently heated toprevent the molten metal from hardening. A

thermal imaging

camera can seethrough thepreheat flameand monitorthe refractoryt e m p e r a t u r efrom a safedistance. Thise l i m i n a t e sthe use ofthermocouplesthat are lessaccurate and

burn outfrequently.

Typical Setup

The schematic illustration on this pagedepicts a typical setup for an automated MillLadle Refractory Monitoring System usingthe FLIR A310 Camera. Although the analogvideo and digital I/O outputs from thiscamera allow it to operate as a standalonesmart sensor, most steel mill applicationsuse its digital data stream, sent over Ethernetlines, in computer controlled automationsystems. The A310s Ethernet interface cansupply the cameras video signal to virtuallyanywhere and facilitates monitoring frommultiple locations.

FLIRs IR Monitor software is used to controlall camera functions, collect temperaturedata, display thermal images, and performdata analysis. The operators display is theprimary interface for alarm functions.

The ladle monitoring system will automatically recognize predefined regions of interest

(ROIs) and compare the measured temperature with previously set parameters.

The ladle monitoring system will automatically recognize predefined regions of interest (ROIs) and compare themeasured temperature with previously set parameters.