A Novel Approach for Real-Time Monitoring of Process Influencing Events Inside the Blast Furnace Using Infrared Thermography

Abstract

A blast furnace is a metallurgical reactor that produces liquid hot metal from solid raw materials. The top section of the blast furnace comprises various process influencing parameters such as surface topography, central gas flow width and location, and temperature distribution. The blast furnace operator requires visibility and measurement of these parameters to optimize the furnace performance. This study describes the use of an infrared-based technology called Thermal Hawk^® in aiding the blast furnace operator to obtain insights into the blast furnace process to optimize the stability of the process. Thermal Hawk^® comprises a high-resolution uncooled microbolometer housed inside a cooling and purging enclosure. Globally, infrared-based measurement technology has been well-tested at the top cone of the blast furnace to obtain temperature distribution and central gas flow characteristics. In this study, Thermal Hawk^® has been tested at a novel installation site to continuously monitor various events, from the distribution of the raw materials to the flow of gases through the raw materials in real-time inside the blast furnace. The value propositions of Thermal Hawk^® are not limited to temperature measurement but also encapsulate numerous possibilities using the real-time video feed inside of the furnace. The feed obtained in real-time aids the blast furnace operator in diverse ways such as capturing abnormal events inside the blast furnace, enhancing process optimization, and enhancing safe operations.